8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, Januay 12, 1994
No 'Air' Jordans found here
By SARAH STEWART
In the past, basketball films have
been a medium for somewhat serious
The Air Up There
Directed by Paul M. Glaser; written
by Max Apple; with Kevin Bacon and
Charles Gitonga Maina.
subject matters. In "Hoosiers," Gene
Hackman drove audiences to cheer
for the underdog, and "White Men
Can't Jump" confronted racial ste-
reotypes under the hoop. But the new-
est member of the genre, "The Air Up
There," is little more than a glorified
example of illegal recruiting tactics.
Kevin Bacon, still unable to live
up to his performance in "Footloose,"
plays Jimmy Dolan, the disgruntled
assistant coach of St. Joseph's Col-
lege, hoping to succeed the retiring
head coach. When he challenges their
top recruit, Buddy Wilson (Keith
Gibbs) to a game of one-on-one and
beats him overwhelmingly, a future
I q
Stand Out In YOUR
Next Presentation.
-- .
as St. Joe's head coach seems un-
likely. The humiliated recruit refuses
the school's offer, leaving Dolan to
recapture the trust of the head coach
in order to secure his future.
So, with little speculation, Dolan's
off to Winabi, Africa, where he hopes
As if buying cattle for
the village, a blatant
recruiting violation,
weren't enough, it is
Dolan's job to coach
the Winabi basketball
team against the more
experienced Mingori
Mining, with the
Winabi land going to
the winner.
to reclaim his own glory by recruiting
the 6-foot, 10-inch African whom he
happens to see on a film documenting
the college's charitable efforts. After
facing the stereotypical hardships of
suddenly being the minority, Dolan
finally reaches Winabi and Saleh
(Charles Gitonga Maina), the tall boy
who brought him there.
Of course Saleh is everything
Dolan had hoped for: he's a natural
talent, an eager pupil and an instant
Dolan admirer. But he's also a tribal
prince in a village that has been threat-
Kevin Bacon saving an African village? That's about as realistic as him beating a top recruit in one-on-one.
Use Color: It Stands Out!
ened by the more powerful, more
Americanized leader of Mingori.
Naturally, Saleh must decide between
his needy village and St. Joe's prom-
ise of basketball stardom.
Saleh's smile brings out the mother
in everyone. His long legs contribute
to his convincing physical presence,
and his love of basketball appears
sincere.
Unfortunately, the rest of the film
is less impressive. Just when the
audience is drawn to the promise of
Saleh, the film's focus turns to Dolan
and his crusade to help save the vil-
lage from the greedy hands of Mingori.
As if buying cattle for the village, a
blatant recruiting violation, weren't
enough, it is Dolan's job to coach the
Winabi basketball team against the
more experienced Mingori Mining,
with the Winabi land going to the
winner.
Apparently, director Paul M.
Glaser was overly intent on gradually
building up to a climactic basketball
scene, as Dolan must first endure the
pains of becoming an official Winabi
tribesman to secure himself a place
on the team and help assure victory.
The image of Bacon struggling to
reach the top of an unrealistically
steep mountain is inspirational
enough, but it appears drastically out
of place in the generally fun-loving
context of "The Air Up There" and
creates an unnecessary lull in the film*
Even after sitting through the
aforementioned fluff, the basketball
itself is a disappointment.
Maina, an actual player, performs
several dramatic slams, but an under-
developed rivalry between teams and
less than exciting choreography stifles
the potential for a nail-biting conclu-
sion.
THE AIR UP THERE is playing at
Showcase.
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J@auary12-15o.1991
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Beginning January 10.7b-OB
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