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Adam Sandler demonstrates actual gravitas with his turn - which is a sentence that I never thought I'd write, but it's the reality.

This is clearly Sandler's film, and he makes Stanley a mensch, even when he's screaming into the phone about what he's owed after the 30 years he's given the League. 

Hustle is far better than I expected it to be and should be on everybody's list to stream this weekend. Even if you aren't a basketball fan, I guarantee you will find a lot to love in this movie.

The actor plays a basketball scout who finds the recruit of a lifetime on a Spanish street corner.

Director Jeremiah Zagar mixes the actor's doofus and talented-performer sides in a compelling, cliché-avoiding sports tale.

It's a fiction that feels real -- in part because of all the NBA players in it, but also because Sandler brings authenticity to the role of a downtrodden scout who finds a Spanish superstar-in-the-rough.