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Poster for The Air Up There

The Air Up There

Jimmy Dolan went to recruit a new player. What he found was a whole new ballgame.

1994 · 1h 47m · PG Comedy, Family
Directed by Paul Michael Glaser

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Overview

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.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
22%
Tomatometer
Rotten

Working a bit too hard to send the crowd into a frenzy, the action in this basketball-oriented yarn isn't exactly fantastic, but it is mildly entertaining.

Brian Lowry, Variety
Rotten

Children may find this funny, but the film isn't geared to very young audiences. It includes much more violence and profanity than its PG rating indicates.

Janet Maslin, New York Times
Rotten

Like the multitude of Disney visitors to Africa before (and after) him, he must learn to respect the noble savages he wishes to exploit. Saleh and his Winabis are not for sale -- at least, not immediately.

Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Rotten

Neither Max Apple's script nor Paul M. Glaser's direction succeeds in convincing you that these characters live, or that this story has anything to do with any thing.

David Mills, Washington Post
Rotten

A lightweight, brainless family movie chronicling the triumph of the underdog.

James Berardinelli, ReelViews

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