CS Daily Archive > DVD of the Day > 01/21/05

Let's Get Ready to Rumble

by dennis sampson

The Great White Hype

Tony Hendra and Ron Shelton

Intermittently more sitcom than satire, The Great White Hype is the story of boxing promoter Reverend Fred Sultan (Samuel L. Jackson), who theorizes that the best way to get rich is to pit current champ James "The Grim Reaper" Roper (Damon Wayans) against a Great White Hope. From Bull Durham to White Men Can't Jump, co- writer Shelton can now add boxing to his cache of sports knowledge (a cache he returned to in 1999's lesser pugilistic 'play, Play It to the Bone). A strong familiarity with this flamboyant world allows for a vivid canvas on which sharply drawn characters mouth off endlessly to one another; that's a good thing, because the players and dialogue are often so witty, we forget that not much happens in the story. Almost like the Reverend Sultan himself, there's a lot of flash, but not much underneath.
– Dennis Sampson is a commercial production coordinator and unproduced screenwriter. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his better half, Susan, and their dog Tripp.

The Great White Hype
Twentieth Century Fox Home Video
Rated R; 95 min.


Buy it now for only $9.98

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