Tyler Herro makes acting debut in White Men Can't Jump
White Men Can’t Jump (1992) is a basketball classic featuring Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, the two teaming up to hustle competitors en route to lucrative earnings in streetball pick-up games, then a high-profile tournament. Widely considered one of the best basketball films of all time — up there with Love and Basketball, He Got Game, Hoosiers, Space Jam and Coach Carter.
Because Hollywood has run out of new ideas, it decided a remake of the original was necessary, a Hulu exclusive featuring Louisville rapper Jack Harlow. He would take over Woody Harrelson’s old role, while Sinqua Walls, best known for his roles in Teen Wolf, Power, American Soul and Shark Night 3D, would replace Wesley Snipes. The original boasted a $31 million budget and earned $90.8 million in the box office, while the remake is a straight-to-streaming release.
See where this is going?
Look, the movie was fine, but its 3.9/10 IMDB score and 29% critic grade on Rotten Tomatoes are justified. Writing was OK and the humor was good — Harlow was particularly funny and naturally gifted with line delivery — but for reasons I don’t understand, the actors come across like they have never played competitive basketball before. And it’s bizarre considering Walls actually played Division I at the University of San Francisco — he said in a pre-release interview that he’s been playing since he was six years old and specifically raved about the quality of basketball in the movie.
“Honestly, the most important thing was to make sure that this was authentic with basketball. That’s something that we truly really cared about,” Walls told Collider. “A lot of the movie moves at a pace where we had to do single takes, and those movements don’t work unless someone can authentically play basketball to a level that makes the most sense. That’s why the basketball in it is so good. We’re all gonna be critical of it, so it was important to make sure that was infused naturally.”
Oddly enough, most of the basketball scenes felt unnatural and even cringy at times. Ball handling felt off with awkward screens and passes, dramatizing simple layup attempts. Hell, the majority of extras with limited or zero lines barely looked like they could make a left-handed layup. Nobody is asking for a team of high-profile athletes to line the cast, but you’re telling me they couldn’t find actual hoopers in Los Angeles of all places capable of filling the roles? Go to any local park or gym on a Saturday morning, you’ll find countless old heads capable of looking the part.
Harlow was touted as a former Gonzaga star still hoping to play professionally while Walls was a former No. 1 overall recruit who (SPOILER ALERT) ultimately gets a shot with the Los Angeles Lakers. Neither are terrible — again, Walls actually played college basketball — but the duo was just not believable as one capable of winning a $500K prize in a competitive setting. And if you’re going to remake a classic like White Men Can’t Jump, you should probably start there.
But hey, that’s not why we’re here. Pardon me for venting. The reason this rant is here on KSR, presented by On3, is that former Kentucky standout Tyler Herro actually makes his on-screen debut in the film. Why, you ask? Well, Harlow and Herro are close friends in real life, with the former actually releasing a song about the latter back in 2020, conveniently and simply called Tyler Herro.
“My homeboy Tyler, he play in South Beach,” Harlow famously said in the song, which now has over 80 million views on YouTube. “He told me this Summer he gon’ fix my jumper.”
And to his credit, Harlow’s jumper did look much improved in the movie three years later. It was actually an early plotline, defeating his co-star in a shooting contest with cash on the line, the start of their on-screen relationship.
So here’s how the former Wildcat’s cameo in the 20th Century Studios film plays out. Harlow, playing an all-natural, meditating health guru distributing detox juices and blends throughout the movie, watches his hustle buddy finally live out his professional basketball dreams. While Harlow’s own hooping days come to a close, he does wind up making a living as a wellness expert of sorts.
Insert Herro, who happens to be in Los Angeles with the Miami Heat taking on the Lakers, Walls’ new team. The current Heat standout hires Harlow to work with him on meditating as he battles a secret anger management issue.
“Get the f*** out of my face, I’m not stretching s***! Go!” Herro shouted at a team trainer.
“You need to go talk to your client?” Walls asked Harlow.
“It’s pregame, he’s good,” the Louisville native responded.
“I’ve never met Tyler Herro. Isn’t he supposed to be, like, a real chill dude?”
“No, they’re trying to protect his image. He’s got anger issues, for real.”
Then back to Herro, who shouts more expletives as he punts a basketball into the stands of Crypto.com Arena.
“What do you want? What could you possibly want?” Herro tells Harlow, now approaching him on the court during warmups.
“Remember, you hired me. I’m on your side,” Harlow says. “Bro, look where you’re at. Look who you are. Now, let’s do our exercises. You know what we do. Inhale.”
Check out Herro’s acting debut in its entirety below:
Herro nor Harlow will be winning any awards for their on-screen performances, but hey, they’ve got to start somewhere, right?
Maybe I’m being too hard on the movie overall, letting nostalgia cloud my judgment on an unnecessary remake when the first was an all-timer for basketball lovers like myself. Don’t let my opinion sway you if you were excited about it — it’s not a bad popcorn and candy weekend flick, something to watch if you’re looking for something to do.
Just don’t expect to take the basketball seriously. And it sure ain’t the original.
Go Cats, though.
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