It’s been 30 years since the release of White Men Can’t Jump, Ron Shelton’s in-depth dramatic film about our shared collective dream of getting to go on Jeopardy!. (Basketball is also involved, if memory serves.) And since the forward progression of time in Hollywood can only mean one thing, it’s also been just three months since it was announced that the film was getting the reboot treatment, with musician Jack Harlow stepping into the sneakers of Woody Harrelson’s gambling-loving courtside hustler, Billy Hoyle.
Many people have pointed out that this isn’t exactly the best swap of actors Hollywood has ever attempted, in so far as Woody Harrelson is quite a good actor, and Jack Harlow’s accumulated acting credits are as “Jack Harlow” in a bunch of Jack Harlow music videos. But you know who’s not sweating it? Woody Harrelson himself, who gave Harlow and the reboot film a full-throated endorsement in a recent interview.
In fact, Harrelson—talking to Yahoo Entertainment about his upcoming film The Man From Toronto—even went a little further than that, declaring that Harlow and crew will “make a better movie than we made. I’m looking forward to watching it.” When questioned on this point, Harrelson issued a disclaimer that we’re probably going to have to incorporate into our own lives when we say something that is, patently, bullshit: “I’m trying to be expansive!”
The White Men Can’t Jump reboot is being directed by Charles Kidd II, probably best known for directing the music video for Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.” As Harlow is currently the only cast member attached, it remains to be seen who’ll be taking on the parts originated by Wesley Snipes, Rosie Perez, and Tyra Ferrell in the original film, which, despite Harrelson’s magnanimous words, was a pretty major critical and commercial success back in 1992.
