PHOTO BY , COURTESY OF HAPPY MADISON PRODUCTIONS

NEW FLICKS: HUSTLE

Where is it playing?: Netflix

What's it rated?: R

Jeremiah Zager (We the Animals) directs Adam Sandler as Stanley Sugerman, a globetrotting but down-on-his-luck basketball scout for the Philadelphia ’76ers who dreams of a coaching job that will keep him closer to home and his wife Teresa (Queen Latifah) and daughter Alex (Jordan Hull). Just as his dream comes true, team owner Rex Merrick (Robert Duvall) dies, and his son Vince (Ben Foster) sends Stanley back on the road. 

What follows is a story about Stanley’s desperate search for a potential NBA star that will get him home and coaching. He finds that potential star in Bo Cruz (Juancho Hernangomez), a tough Spanish streetballer and hustler who may or may not have the mental fortitude to make it in the pros.

Sandler is an inherent goofball and lowbrow comedy specialist, but he’s too often dismissed as only that. In fact, he’s a terrific actor given the right material. He broke out as a dramatic actor in Punch-Drunk Love (2002), proved his dramatic bonafides in Reign Over Me (2007), and cemented his status as a gifted actor with Uncut Gems (2019). This film is right up his alley—offering a mix of comedy and drama with a lot of heart. (117 min.)

—Glen Starkey