Review of Space Jam (1996) by Connor P — 16 Jul 2015

I loved this movie as a kid. So, when I watched it for the first time in at least 10 years the other day, along with some fellow 20-somethings, I was a little skeptical and nervous as to how it would go. I was pleasantly surprised.

My adult friends and I actually found ourselves laughing pretty regularly at this film! By no means at all is this the greatest thing to ever hit theaters, but its also not as horrible as the critics on here suggest, IMO.

Here's my totally honest rundown of the movie.

The bad:

1) Yep, Michael Jordan is a HORRIBLE actor.

2) It is most definitely a kids movie. There are lots of over-the-top cheesy moments and the pacing is sometimes awkwardly rushed to help maintain the attention spans of a younger audience.

3) Holy crap is it dated. Not sure how it would be received by many kids today, since it is most definitely a product of the 1990's. The music, the style, the references, all straight out of 1996.

But, there is still some good in this film:

1) Despite his poor acting, it's still MIchael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players to ever take the court. This movie also serves as a humorous self-criticism of the period in MJ's career where he tried to play baseball, and then ended up returning to basketball after that failed.

2) Despite the high levels of cheese, as I said before my adult friends and I actually found ourselves laughing a fair amount during the movie (and no, none of us were drunk). That was probably due in part to...

3)...BILL MURRAY. Yep, Bill is here, and literally comes to save the day in the movie.

4) Standing beside Bill and MJ is an impressive host of other big-name stars of both screen and NBA court, and it is many of their scenes and interactions that are the funniest for adults.

Final verdict: If you're looking for a serious movie with serious plot, move along, this isn't for you. BUT, if you're looking for some good clean family fun, or just a quick trip down memory lane, I would totally recommend Space Jam! A classic for the 90's generation.