AIR BUD

SYNOPSIS:
Recovering from his father’s untimely death, 12 year old Josh Framm (Kevin Zegers) moves with his mother (Wendy Makkena) to the sleepy town of Fernfield, Washington. As the new kid on the block, Josh has no friends and is too shy to try out for the school basketball team. However, when practicing on an abandoned court, he befriends a runaway golden retriever named Buddy, who appears to be like a canine Michael Jordan. Josh and Buddy make the school team, thanks to the school's amoral coach (Stephen E. Miller) who will do anything to make his team win. Buddy’s on-court antics cause a media frenzy. But during one game, the coach goes too far and gets fired. It's Josh who suggest that the school janitor, who happens to be an ex-star player for the New York Knicks (Bill Cobbs), become their next coach. Then Buddy’s former owner, a nasty clown called Norm Snively (Michael Jeter) comes along with a scheme to cash in on the dog’s celebrity, just as they are rallying the town’s school team to the state basketball finals.

"When a film distributor fails to screen a film for the media, one suspects there's a valid reason for that decision. However, in the case of Air Bud, that decision is both mystifying and absurd. Apart from the fact that the film received positive reviews when released in the US last year, good family films come along all too rarely, and they're not the easiest to market. It's a pity that this gentle and amusing film will largely go ignored, because there are no space ships, or sinking ships, or forgettable special effects. No, there's none of that, but a well-written script and a sense of old-fashioned humanity. Exquisitely shot on location in Canada and featuring some wonderful performances by its fresh cast, Air Bud is a delightful story of loss, friendship and acceptance. It could have been a silly farce about a basketball-playing dog, but director Charles Martin Smith manages to rise above conventional cliché, presenting us with a sentimental and funny account of a young boy's growth following the death of his father. At the same time, it's a loot of fun, featuring a remarkable dog who does, in fact, know how to play basketball (or did: sadly, he died not long after filming). The basketball game sequences are imaginatively mounted and clever, and the film doesn't attempt to insult the intelligence of its intended audiences. While some cynical critics will either ignore or dismiss the film, others will realise that in age where family cinema is almost a forgotten art, this energetic and charming movie fills an important niche. It's a rare delight."
Paul Fischer