A dramatic Adam Sandler has become the best Sandler for viewers and critics alike. Hustle has made the case again as everyone is loving Adam Sandler’s performance as hard-on-his-luck scout Stanley Sugarman. Much like last year’s Uncut Gems, reviewers are giving the Netflix sports drama and Sandler all their flowers as the film is absolutely crushing it on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Netflix sports film is currently rated as “Fresh” with a 91% rating from film critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Many reviewers felt the film’s story followed the sports movie formula but singled out the cast’s performances (especially Sandler) along with the direction from Jeremiah Zagar as reasons to stream the movie. In CinemaBlend’s review of Hustle, Eric Eisenberg called for the Saturday Night Live alum to star in more basketball films after the actor showed “actual gravitas.”
But critics weren’t the only ones impressed by the project as the audience score is currently sitting at a 91% rating as well. Their sentiments followed critics by raving about the Big Daddy actor's performance. So, reviewers across the board are heaping praise on Adam Sandler and the sports drama as a whole.
All this acclaim for the Happy Gilmore actor and the sports drama was the cherry on top after having a minor hiccup at first. Sandler admitted that originally Juancho Hernangomez’s character was supposed to be based in China. But because Netflix lacked a footprint in the country, executives asked him to change the country to somewhere in Europe or Latin America. Luckily, things worked out as audiences got to see Sandler recruit Hernangomez from Spain instead.
Besides the Utah Jazz forward’s film debut, viewers and critics love seeing Sandler flex his dramatic skills once more. Uncut Gems’ success proved he could compete with Hollywood’s greatest actors (without securing a well-deserved Oscar nomination). He’s even preparing to re-team with directors The Safdies on another movie. That isn’t the only project in the works as he will star alongside Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan and Isabella Rossellini in the Netflix sci-fi drama Spaceman.
This doesn’t mean Sandler’s trademark comedy is falling to the wayside as he and Jennifer Aniston re-teamed to play sleuthing husband-and-wife duo Nick and Audrey Spitz in Murder Mystery 2. They’ll be joined by Shazam!’s Mark Strong, King Richard’s Tony Goldwyn, and other A-listers in the sequel. Thankfully, he worked out kissing Aniston onscreen with some coaching from his real-life wife. He will produce the Adam Devine-led comedy The Out-Laws for Netflix. He even popped up in the Norm MacDonald’s final special Nothing Special (again on Netflix).
In the meantime, you can watch Adam Sandler’s acclaimed performance in Hustle by getting a Netflix subscription. You can also catch the sports drama in theaters. Maybe the sports film will be Sandler’s next shot at getting an Oscar nom. You can check out other amazing movies on Netflix while you’re there.
