Woody Harrelson Weighs In On Jack Harlow’s ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ Remake: ‘I’m Feeling Great About It’

When the news broke that Jack Harlow would be starring in a remake of the classic 1992 basketball comedy White Men Can’t Jump, many of the original movie’s fans were distraught. After all, remakes of classics are rarely as good as the originals (or so goes the conventional wisdom about such things), and Jack Harlow is far better known for rapping about Tyler Herro than imitating him on the court. As I noted way back in my interview with Jack for the Bleacher Report two-on-two for NBA All-Star, though, he’s a committed, regular hooper, so I always liked the casting.

It turns out one of the original film’s co-stars agrees with me, so I feel even better about this assessment now. During an interview with Yahoo Entertainment about his upcoming film The Man From Toronto, the hosts asked Woody Harrelson how he felt about Jack Harlow potentially recreating his role as hot-headed trash talker Billy Hoyle in the remake. Woody’s answer is unequivocally enthusiastic as he gushes, “I’m feeling great… I think Jack’s gonna crush it. They’re gonna make a better movie than we made. I’m looking forward to watching it.”

Those still skeptical about the “First Class” rapper’s basketball chops needn’t worry. Earlier this year, Jack showed out in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, knocking in a couple of long-range jumpers — harder for the average person than NBA fans might realize, considering the length of the NBA three-point line — and played some respectable defense. He also appears in an ad for Kawhi Leonard’s New Balance sneakers alongside the Clippers star, which means he probably got at least a few pointers. And while the whole “acting” component of starring in a movie remains a question mark, the film’s producers were obviously confident enough in his audition to give him a shot. With Woody’s co-sign, the torch has officially been passed. Now, let’s see what Mr. Harlow does with it.