The Air Up There
Tagline(s): Jimmy Dolan went to recruit a new player. What he found was a whole new ballgame.Released: January 7, 1994
Studio: Hollywood Pictures / Interscope Communications
Genre: Comedy, Sports
Directed by Paul Michael Glaser
Stars: Kevin Bacon, Charles Gitonga Maina and Yolanda Vazquez
Rotten Tomatoes: 28%
Metacritic: Not rated
Budget: $17 million
Box Office: $21 million
Synopsis
Kevin Bacon plays Jimmy Dolan, a college basketball assistant coach, aiming to seek advancement to head coach by recruiting the next big basketball star for his college. A chance viewing in the background of a video by a catholic missionary, shows him footage of Saleh, played by Charles Gitonga Maina, and Dolan heads off to Africa to secure his quarry and of course, to learn something about himself along the way.
Recollections
None
Review
The poster belies the problems with this movie with its mixture of white saviour and cultural imperialist motifs. Kevin Bacon gives a note-perfect Kevin Bacon performance and is his typically charming-self. The support cast are capable, with a shout-out to Mabutho 'Kid' Sithole in a charismatic role as Nyaga.
Director Paul Michael Glaser is better known for his role as Starsky in Starsky and Hutch and his directorial output has been decidedly average, having also directed Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Running Man.
You know exactly what's going to happen in a movie like this and the director capably fits the pieces together and makes a coherent movie but it is so tone-deaf to the broader implications of its theme that it makes for uncomfortable viewing.
You know exactly what's going to happen in a movie like this and the director capably fits the pieces together and makes a coherent movie but it is so tone-deaf to the broader implications of its theme that it makes for uncomfortable viewing.
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