7. Space Jam: The Final Dunk
Space Jam is a movie that a lot of 90's kids have turned their back on. It's a clear case of hating something in concept, while disregarding the execution. I will admit in looking back that
Space Jam was a product of capitalization. Warner Bros was looking to capitalize on the fame of Micheal Jordan. Micheal Jordan, ever the shrewd self-promoter, wasn't above a bit of mugging to further his brand. Thus the movie became a marketing machine that made sure no one left the theater without a craving for everything from McDonald's to little Taz (the Tasmanian devil) dolls. Still, it could have been worse. Other studios tried to capitalize on the fame of NBA players in the 90's. Touchstone Pictures threw their hat in the ring with a little fantasy epic about a rapping genie starring Shaquille O'Neil. Remember how that turned out? Apparently well enough to warrant a superhero movie released the next year once again starring Shaq. So
Space Jam is already batting 1,000 because it isn't
Kazaam or
Steel. Sometimes an idea that seems overblown and wrong just flat out works. Some story guy at Warner Bros probably thought: "Hey, you know who people like? Micheal Jordan. You know who else they like? Bugs Bunny. They should be in a movie together." Remember, this was the 90's. Looney Tunes is always in-vogue and Micheal Jordan could have been caught snorting cocaine off a corpse and people would still love him. So naturally, the movie got made. Everything about it was big time, from the story (Micheal Jordan and the Looney Tunes vs evil space aliens), to the effects (outdid ID4 at the time in sheer volume of effect shots). However, it was the small things the movie got right that made it a solid hit. The script was actually quite funny. It had a sly, satirical edge with lots of in-jokes about celebrity and the ridiculousness of fame. The directing was solid. At the helm, with guidance by producer Ivan Reitman, was music video/commercial legend Joe Pytka. The acting was actually okay. They surrounded M.J. with a bunch of solid character actors and funny men in case he wasn't any good (Hello, Bill Murray!), but His Airness actually did a good job. He's no Lawrence Oliver, but he wasn't awful. He just showed up and was himself; a naturally charismatic and likable athlete, born leader and role model. I also have to give him credit for his performance since for most of the film he was acting against nothing (he did better than the actors in the
Star Wars prequels). He didn't come off stiff or wooden, but did a good job. Heck, they made a basketball game with M.J. and a bunch of cartoon characters seem believable Ah, the 90's. Our seventh moment comes from that game. For those not in the know, Micheal Jordan owned gravity and was not a kind master. His aerial acrobatics thrilled audiences worldwide during his heyday and will continue to 'til kingdom come. The finale of the big game culminates with Micheal performing one of his dunks. A signature M.J. dunk would have been impressive enough, but remember this is
Space Jam; everything was dialed up to 10 (or 11) so any old regular dunk wouldn't cut it. Behold, the "imagineers" behind
Space Jam really
stretched their minds to come up with a spectacular dunk for M.J. to perform. I'm still convinced to this day M.J. could do it without strings. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ3MU5hREHI