Subject: REVIEW: SPACE JAM (1996)

From: [email-masked] (Michael J. Legeros)
Date: 19 Nov 1996 19:25:28 GMT

SPACE JAM
                       A film review by Michael John Legeros
                        Copyright 1996 Michael John Legeros

(WB)
Directed by     Joe Pytka
Written by      Leo Benvenuit, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, Herschel
                Weingrod
Cast            Michael Jordan, Bugs Bunny, Wayne Knight, Bill Murray,
                Theresa Randle, voice of Danny DeVito, Lola Bunny, Daffy
                Duck, Wylie Coyote, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Larry Bird,
                Charles Barkley
MPAA Rating     "PG"
Running Time    88 minutes
Reviewed at     General Cinemas at Pleasant Valley, Raleigh, NC 
                (08NOV96)                

==

    An animated tribute to North Carolina's most famous native not
currently crusading against radical homer-sexual agendas, SPACE JAM is
both a surprise and a disappointment.  Who would've thought that such a
commercially crass premise (ninety minutes of Hare Jordan) would yield
such a fun family film?  While the brilliant colors, frenzied
characters, and pulse-pounding soundtrack are a dandy distraction for
the wee ones, Mom and Dad are guaranteed a good time by the many flashes
of adult humor, like a PULP FICTION gag here, a bit of sexual innuendo
there, and all of those gloriously exaggerated (and refreshingly
politically incorrect) speech impediments.  (Watch when Daffy coats the
lens after a particularly moist monologue.)

     Animation fans are also in for a treat, though they're likely to
lament the absence of any discernible edge.  Missing are the Toons' twin
trademarks:  rapid-fire wit and violent physical humor.  Sure, the final
reel breaks loose, but most of the gags (and the animated characters
themselves) are lamer, tamer versions of the originals.  Even a bigger
letdown is how... familiar the whole experience is.  What does SPACE JAM
say about our exposure to celebrities-- and the entertainment industry
as a whole-- when a well-attended, decently- reviewed blockbuster can be
built by simply casting a bunch of basketball stars, cartoon characters,
and one actor (Bill Murray) as themselves?  

     Grade: B

--

Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC, USA, Earth
[email-masked] (h) - [email-masked] (w)
I'm also on the Web!  http://www.pagesz.net/~legeros/