No one was prepared to say goodbye to Lance Reddick, when he unexpectedly died of heart disease at the age of 60 earlier this year. Which makes it all the more heartbreaking that The Wire star has what is essentially a posthumous goodbye speech in the 2023 White Men Can’t Jump, which began streaming on Hulu today.
This remake of the 1992 comedy of the same name casts Sinqua Walls and Jack Harlow in the roles previously played by Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. Walls’ character, Kamal, is a former high school basketball star with a temper that cost him his scholarship. Kamal feels like he’s let down his father, Benji Allen (Reddick), a legendary basketball coach who dreamed of seeing his son play in the NBA. All of Kamal’s regrets coming pouring out of him while he sits by his dad’s hospital bed, where Benji is being treated for his worsening symptoms of multiple sclerosis, or MS. It’s easily the best scene in the film, anchored by two strong performances from both Walls and Reddick, but most especially Reddick.
“You’re not supposed to be living like this,” Kamal tells his father. “I’m sorry for letting you down.”
“Is that what you think? You let me down?” Benji replies. “I hid my illness thinking I was protecting you. I was scared, and so I made you scared, too. I’m the one who let you down, son. I don’t give a damn about the NBA.”
Then comes the real truth bomb, which Reddick delivers with the melodic gravitas of a Sunday preacher: “My biggest regret is not giving you the tools to work through your problems. It’s time to stop punishing yourself, just because things didn’t work out how we hoped. Your family deserves to know the joyful you, not the guy with a chip on his shoulder.”
If you’re not crying yet, you will be when Reddick concludes his monologue with a wistful smile as he tells Kamal, “I was so happy to see you playing basketball again, because I remember how much you used to love it, how much it got you through. I’m sorry I took away that joy.”
It’s a powerful speech, and no other actor could have done it justice like Reddick does. He’s such a powerhouse, that, despite the fact that his character is confined to his hospital bed, it feels like he’s standing on a podium in front of a crowd of thousands. It’s that classically-trained Yale School of Drama diction paired with a dulcet voice that could make reading the phonebook out loud entertaining. And it’s a reminder of what a great talent was lost in March 2023, gone far too soon.
Later in the film, Kamal’s father dies, making that hospital speech Reddick’s final scene in the film. But White Men Can’t Jump director Calmatic and writers Kenya Barris and Doug Hall pay tribute to the late actor by dedicating their film to him. At the end of the movie, just after the first part of the credits role, a title card reads, “In Memory of Lance Reddick.”
Reddick has a few more posthumous roles coming up in projects that have yet to be released, including the upcoming 2024 action movie Ballerina and the 2024 Percy Jackson and the Olympians series on Disney+, which will star Reddick as Zeus. And, it seems clear, his legacy as one of the greats will live on indefinitely.