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{{short description|1996 film}}
{{Distinguish|Great White Hope (disambiguation){{!}}Great White Hope}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Great White Hype
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| cinematography = [[Ronald Víctor García]]
| editing = Earl Watson
| studio =
| distributor = [[20th Century Fox]]
| released = {{Film date|1996|05|03}}
| runtime = 91 minutes
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'''''The Great White Hype''''' is a 1996 American [[Sports film|sports]] [[comedy film]] directed by [[Reginald Hudlin]]. It stars [[Samuel L. Jackson]], [[Peter Berg]], [[Damon Wayans]], [[Jeff Goldblum]], [[Jon Lovitz]], [[Cheech Marin]], [[John Rhys-Davies]], [[Salli Richardson]] and [[Jamie Foxx]].
The film satirizes racial preferences in boxing, and was inspired by [[Larry Holmes]]'s [[Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney|1982 fight]] with [[Gerry Cooney]] (who was known as "The Great White Hope") and [[Mike Tyson]]'s [[Mike Tyson vs. Peter McNeeley|1995 return fight]] vs. [[Peter McNeeley]].{{cn|date=September 2024}} [[Entertainment Weekly]] called Rev. Fred Sultan (Samuel L. Jackson) a "[[Don King]]-clone."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tucker |first1=Ken |title=
The film was distributed by [[20th Century Fox]] and was released on May 3, 1996.
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Conklin arrives in [[Las Vegas]] and starts to train for his return to the ring. Thanks to shady dealing, Conklin suddenly is named the No. 8 challenger in the world. Boxing pundits and officials easily see the scam unfolding and label the fight a disgrace. However, the prospect of a white vs. black fight continues to hold the prospect of a large payoff. Conklin gets in shape quickly, regaining some of his old form, while Roper dismisses the fight as a joke - to the point where he puts on 25 pounds and is barely able to run after an ice cream truck.
Meanwhile, crusading television journalist Mitchell Kane ([[Jeff Goldblum]]) has finally gathered enough evidence to disgrace the unethical Sultan, but at the last moment, Kane is seduced by power and joins Sultan's squad. As Sultan's ego grows, Kane sees an opportunity to usurp his position. Though Conklin was never believed to stand a chance in the fight, Kane recognizes that he may actually win, and has Conklin sign with him rather than Sultan. Throughout all this, the true top contender to the heavyweight title, Marvin Shabazz ([[Michael Jace]]), and his
Sultan and his crew use the media to promote the fight and publicize the white vs. black angle, even fabricating an [[Irish people|Irish]] ancestor for Conklin. The racial angle works, and money starts to pour in. On the fight day, Millions tune into [[Pay-Per-View]] on the day of the fight, and Kane is confident about a new era beginning with a Conklin upset. The fight begins, and Conklin
The film ends with Sultan, his crew, Roper and hundreds of attendees and paparazzi celebrating their financial success.
==Cast==
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* [[Cheech Marin]] as Julio Escobar
* [[John Rhys-Davies]] as Johnny Windsor
* [[Susan Gibney]] as Vivian
* [[Salli Richardson]] as Bambi
* [[Jamie Foxx]] as Hassan El Ruk'n
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==Reception==
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]] the film has an approval rating of 42% based on reviews from 24 critics.<ref>{{cite web |title= The Great White Hype (1996) |url= http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/great_white_hype/ |website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date= February 25, 2022 |archive-date= September 9, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240909091145/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/great_white_hype |url-status= live }}</ref> Audiences surveyed by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film a grade C+ on scale of A to F.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |title= GREAT WHITE HYPE, THE (1996) C+ |work= [[CinemaScore]] |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |archive-date= 2018-12-20 }}</ref>
[[Roger Ebert]] gave the film 2 out of 4 and wrote: "It starts out well, as a wicked satire on professional boxing, and then loses its energy, tires of juggling its characters and ends so abruptly at 91 minutes that it feels like the last reel is missing."<ref>{{cite web |last= Ebert |first= Roger |author-link= Roger Ebert |title= The Great White Hype movie review (1996) |url= https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-great-white-hype-1996 |website= [[Chicago Sun-Times]] |access-date= 2020-04-12 |archive-date= 2020-04-12 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200412124329/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-great-white-hype-1996 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= The Great White Hype |url=https://ew.com/article/1996/05/10/great-white-hype-2/ |website=EW }}</ref>
==Soundtrack==
{{Main|The Great White Hype (soundtrack)}}
A soundtrack containing rap music was released on April 30, 1996 by [[Epic Records]]. It peaked at 93 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] and 27 on the [[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums]]. [[Camp Lo]]'s single "Coolie High" became a minor hit, peaking at 25 on [[Rap Songs|Rap charts]].<ref>{{Cite news |title
==See also==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Great White Hype}}
[[Category:1996 films]]▼
[[Category:1996 comedy films]]▼
[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s satirical films]]
[[Category:1990s sports comedy films]]
▲[[Category:1996 comedy films]]
▲[[Category:1996 films]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox films]]
[[Category:African-American comedy films]]
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[[Category:American satirical films]]
[[Category:American sports comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language sports comedy films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Reginald Hudlin]]
[[Category:Films scored by Marcus Miller]]
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