Hustle (2022) review

Prized 76ers scout Stanley Sugerman (Adam Sandler) gets promoted to assistant coach by the team owner Rex Merrick (Robert Duvall), but when Rex passes away suddenly his son Vince (Ben Foster) takes over and immediately makes demotes him to look for the "missing piece" for the team ... which lands him in Spain, where he - by sheer luck - finds Bo Cruz (NBA power forward Juancho Hernangómez), who has some personal baggage.  Director Zagar is from Philly and his love - and understandable frustration - with his home town comes through sharply, but the movie itself also hits those same all-too-familiar notes a little hard as it creakily moves along (did I mention Bo's "weakness" is he can't handle banter?) ... and setting it in the City of Brotherly Love and referencing Rocky is the easiest of moves.  Sandler puts in a strong performance as the audience's rumpled and snarky guide through the less-than-glamourous off-the-court side of professional basketball, and I wrote down one of his lines to keep in mind for the future: "Guys in their fifties don’t have dreams. They have nightmares ... and eczema."