The White Men Can’t Jump remake differs from the beloved 1992 sports comedy of the same name in a number of ways. However, for the most part, the 2023 new movie release aims to capture the spirit of its predecessor by channeling the elements that made it so entertaining. Something that director Calmatic didn’t shy away from for his revamp was the occasional use of over-the-top moments. That couldn’t be truer than with the crazy flamethrower sequence that was teased in the trailers. The scene may seem far-fetched, but you may be surprised to learn that it was actually inspired by a WorldStar Hip Hop video.
Yes, you read that right. Ahead of the movie’s release, I had the privilege of speaking with Calmatic, who discussed various aspects of the filmmaking process. During our chat, I couldn’t help but ask him about the screenplay, which was written by Doug Hall and black-ish creator Kenya Barris (who spearheaded the remake). Talk then turned to the flamethrower, which is brought out by a character following a basketball game. Interestingly, the director revealed to me that he and his collaborators initially had another idea in mind for that moment:
I think originally it was kind of written as someone had a gun or something like that. And we were just like, ‘How can we just make this feel different?’ You know what I mean? And then the idea of a flamethrower came up and it was like, ‘Does that sound too crazy?’
It actually would’ve made a lot of sense for a gun to be used for the scene. The moment in the revamp was meant to parallel an iconic scene from the OG White Men Can’t Jump flick, which sees a character going to get a gun after being hustled in a basketball game. Though that probably would’ve worked here as well, it’s clear that Calmatic wanted to switch things up a bit.
Though the director’s comments also suggested that he originally had doubts regarding whether someone would actually whip out a fire-based weapon during such a grounded situation. However, he was eventually convinced of it, thanks to the ever-popular WorldStar Hip Hop, and the clip he describes sounds unreal:
But at the same time, I remember seeing a video on WorldStar [Hip Hop] about some dude in New York, who like brought a flamethrower to the hood. And I was like, ‘Yeah, this could happen. It’s people out here with mobile flamethrowers. You know what I’m saying? So like, why not? Why not bring it into this film and make it feel bigger and make it more of a you know, cinematic, adventurous moment for the trailer and for the film.’ And so once they gave us the green light to be able to bring a flame thrower to the middle of south central, I was like, ‘Yeah, we gotta do that.’
Those who regularly frequent the video aggregator surely know that some truly wild pieces of footage have gone viral the site since its conception in 2005. I can’t believe I’m saying this but, given what’s been shared there in the past, we probably shouldn’t be all that surprised that there’s a video of some using a flamethrower in such a way. It was likely a surreal moment for those who were actually present during the ordeal. I don’t know about all of you but I’d rather experience that while watching a movie as opposed to seeing it first hand.
Of course, handheld weapons weren’t the only thing on the filmmaker’s mind while he was constructing his latest feature. He also had to conduct a wide search to find two capable leads and eventually got them in Sinqua Wells and Jack Harlow, who did something “funny” to land his role. They ultimately proved to have the chemistry needed to convey the humorous bond between the two main characters. That relationship also shines through when the pair do their best to avoid getting burned to a crisp. Take a look at the moment for yourself in the video below:
Viewers are sure to have plenty of thoughts after watching that clip, which honestly feels like something out of a bonkers cartoon. I can see users dropping all the memes and gifs on social media. Whatever you do though, just don’t try to emulate the person from the WorldStar Hip Hop video. Because it’s probably best that people don’t use flamethrowers to settle their differences.
See out the humorously dangerous scene by steaming White Men Can’t Jump now using a Hulu subscription.
