Where to watch The Air Up There
2 1/2 Stars
Jimmy Dolan is a college basketball coach who wants a big promotion. To get it, he needs to make a dramatic find. He ends up deep in Africa, hoping to recruit Saleh, a huge basketball prodigy Jimmy glimpsed in a home movie. But Saleh is the chief’s son and has responsibilities at home, since the tribe’s land is threatened by a mining company with its own hotshot basketball team.
The popularity of basketball films peaked during the 1990s. “The Air Up There” is one of at least three movies released in 1994 that centers around the game. Kevin Bacon, playing the most unlikely basketball coach in cinema history, brings his affable and quirky energy to the role. I initially thought this would be a typical Disney movie, but it’s actually a bit rougher around the edges, and it’s those offbeat moments that truly resonate.
“The Air Up There” concludes with a basketball game that determines land rights in Kenya. The local actors and settings are authentic and refreshing, even if the plot’s circumstances are somewhat ordinary. Paul Michael Glaser, the film’s director, tells the story competently from a visual perspective and delivers a feel-good ending. Compared to other films trying to capitalize on the basketball craze of the era, “The Air Up There” is a worthwhile watch.
Directed by: Paul Michael Glaser
Written by: Max Apple
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Charles Gitonga Maina, Yolanda Vazquez