Warning: Spoilers for Netflix's Hustle!
Netflix's Hustle, starring Adam Sandler, manages to avoid two major tropes linked to the city of Philadelphia and its sports fans. Directed by Philly-native Jeremiah Zagar, Hustle follows NBA scout Stanley Sugerman (Sandler) as he searches for the league's next diamond in the rough. His search abroad takes him to Spain, where he sets his sights on Bo Cruz, played by Juancho Hernangómez. Stanley then brings Bo back to Philly to help him train ahead of the NBA draft.
Hustle is primarily set in the city of Philadelphia, and the Netflix movie was filmed throughout the surrounding area. Stanley, fittingly, works as a scout for the Philadelphia 76ers with dreams of becoming a coach one day. Though the Sixers' new owner, Vince Merrick (Ben Foster), isn't keen on Bo, Stanley still decides the train him for the NBA Draft Combine. As Stanley and Bo build a professional relationship, Hustle features NBA cameos, including several 76ers like Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle, and Tyrese Maxey.
Without experience leading to the professional level, Bo falls into the perfect underdog scenario common in sports movies. One of the best examples would be Rocky, which was notably set in Philadelphia and focused on Sylvester Stallone as an underdog boxer who instantly won over the city. The Rocky franchise starring Stallone is still synonymous with Philly, especially the Rocky theme song and the beloved training sequences featuring the character running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The montages involving the landmark steps have become a sports trope stemming from the movie, symbolizing motivation and perseverance. While many TV shows and movies have parodied the sequence, Hustle avoids the tourist-filled Rocky steps during Bo Cruz's training sequence. Instead, Stanley makes Bo constantly run up the hill streets of nearby Manayunk in under two minutes. Granted, when Bo succeeds in this torturous feat, he runs up the steps at the top of the hill and punches the air like Rocky. Thankfully, Hustle still avoids the full cliché, which can also be said about another aspect of the movie.
When Bo first comes to the United States from Spain to train with Adam Sandler's Stanley in Hustle, he has an unfortunate encounter in the Philadelphia airport after being flagged for a prior aggravated assault conviction. Shortly after Stanley gets everything cleared up, he tries to ease Bo's worries, as he's likely uneasy about leaving his mother and daughter back in Spain. Sandler's character then tries to get Bo excited about his new surroundings by saying, "Philadelphia, baby. You're gonna love it. Best sports fans in the world. Actually the worst, but that's what makes 'em the best." This line perfectly describes the intensity and passion of Philadelphia sports fans without falling into the trope of labeling them simply the best or simply the worst.
Oftentimes, Philly fans get a bad reputation for their loud and unfiltered passion for the city's sports teams. While every city has fans that are bad seeds, Philadelphia seems to get more media attention based on events that occurred decades ago as a way to continue the reputation. Still, the city has embraced this reputation and underdog mentality equivalent to Rocky while also following in line with Stanley's line that they're the best because they're the worst. If teams play well, Philly fans will be in full support, and if their teams are playing poorly, the same fans won't let players get away with it.
Sandler, who is a New York Knicks fan, surely did his research when he took on the role of the Philadelphia-loving Stanley Sugarman. It helped to have Jeremiah Zagar in the director's chair, bringing accuracy to the city's mentality when it comes to sports. Even better is that Zagar made it a point not to fully fall into tropes and clichés that often link to the city and its sports fans by going for more of an authentic feel in Hustle.