Barely a year after Disney's "Air Bud" was released with moderate success, athletic pooch Buddy returns to conquer the gridiron in a formulaic follow-up from Dimension Films.
Played mainly by Rush and Zak, the leaping, four-legged hero is the primary attraction for targeted family audiences in "Air Bud: Golden Receiver", which is dedicated to the memory of the original Buddy.
Despite advancing for a few first downs in the early going, "Golden Receiver" is a see-saw battle with a game plan that includes lame slapstick, junior high school sports, familial discord and winning the championship to save mom's romance and the coach's job. When the focus is on supersmart Buddy foiling the villains or running for a touchdown, the movie delivers bush-league thrills that will appeal best to the 10-and-under crowd.
Director Richard Martin -- son of comedian Dick Martin, who makes a cameo as a befuddled sportscaster with Tim Conway in the finale -- is more concerned with keeping the pace fast than adequately telling the uncomplicated story. The central conflict between lead Josh (Kevin Zegers, reprising his role from the first film) and his single mother (Cynthia Stevenson) over the intrusion of dashing veterinarian Patrick (Gregory Harrison) into their lives is fumbled when it's obvious the two bland adults are made for each other.
Urged on by best friend Tom (Shayn Solberg), sulking Josh decides to play for the Fernfield Timberwolves even though basketball is his first sports love. He bears a grudge against affable, friend-to-all-animals Patrick, who pursues Stevenson's mousy character with all the best intentions.
Desperately needing some genuine tension, the film is unfortunately blitzed on several occasions by two Russian circus kooks (Nora Dunn, Perry Anzilotti) who steal extraordinary animals and pets for their traveling show. Inspired by Boris and Natasha, the cartoonish creeps lose ground every time their play is called, though they succeed in sidelining Buddy the day of the big game.
A little "pooch smarts" and the help of a righteously vengeful chimp save the day, but the piling on of cliches, such as the crowds breezily accepting a dog playing in organized school sports, stifles any hope of a game-winning comeback. Instead, Buddy in his cute shoulder pads and helmet leads the Timberwolves to a last-second triumph, though Josh has to struggle momentarily with his emotions when one of his star teammates is injured.
Warm and gentle overall, with tackle football portrayed as rough-and-tumble fun, "Bud II" is eager-to-please fluff with inspiring themes and values. One is hounded, however, by the almost soulless approach, which is somewhat countered by the spirited performances of Zegers, Stevenson and Robert Costanzo as the beleaguered coach.
AIR BUD: GOLDEN RECEIVER
Dimension Films
Keystone Pictures
in association with Dimension Films
A Robert Vince production
Director: Richard Martin
Screenwriters: Paul Tamasy & Aaron Mendelsohn
Producer: Robert Vince
Executive producers: Michael Strange, Anne Vince, William Vince
Director of photography: Mike Southon
Production designer: Rex Raglan
Editors: Bruce Lange, Melinda Seabrook
Costume designer: Patricia Hargreaves
Music: Brahm Wenger
Casting: Abra Edelman, Elisa Goodman
Color/stereo
Cast:
Josh Framm: Kevin Zegers
Jackie Framm: Cynthia Stevenson
Patrick Sullivan: Gregory Harrison
Natalya: Nora Dunn
Popov: Perry Anzilotti
Coach Fanelli: Robert Costanzo
Tom: Shayn Solberg
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: G...
Played mainly by Rush and Zak, the leaping, four-legged hero is the primary attraction for targeted family audiences in "Air Bud: Golden Receiver", which is dedicated to the memory of the original Buddy.
Despite advancing for a few first downs in the early going, "Golden Receiver" is a see-saw battle with a game plan that includes lame slapstick, junior high school sports, familial discord and winning the championship to save mom's romance and the coach's job. When the focus is on supersmart Buddy foiling the villains or running for a touchdown, the movie delivers bush-league thrills that will appeal best to the 10-and-under crowd.
Director Richard Martin -- son of comedian Dick Martin, who makes a cameo as a befuddled sportscaster with Tim Conway in the finale -- is more concerned with keeping the pace fast than adequately telling the uncomplicated story. The central conflict between lead Josh (Kevin Zegers, reprising his role from the first film) and his single mother (Cynthia Stevenson) over the intrusion of dashing veterinarian Patrick (Gregory Harrison) into their lives is fumbled when it's obvious the two bland adults are made for each other.
Urged on by best friend Tom (Shayn Solberg), sulking Josh decides to play for the Fernfield Timberwolves even though basketball is his first sports love. He bears a grudge against affable, friend-to-all-animals Patrick, who pursues Stevenson's mousy character with all the best intentions.
Desperately needing some genuine tension, the film is unfortunately blitzed on several occasions by two Russian circus kooks (Nora Dunn, Perry Anzilotti) who steal extraordinary animals and pets for their traveling show. Inspired by Boris and Natasha, the cartoonish creeps lose ground every time their play is called, though they succeed in sidelining Buddy the day of the big game.
A little "pooch smarts" and the help of a righteously vengeful chimp save the day, but the piling on of cliches, such as the crowds breezily accepting a dog playing in organized school sports, stifles any hope of a game-winning comeback. Instead, Buddy in his cute shoulder pads and helmet leads the Timberwolves to a last-second triumph, though Josh has to struggle momentarily with his emotions when one of his star teammates is injured.
Warm and gentle overall, with tackle football portrayed as rough-and-tumble fun, "Bud II" is eager-to-please fluff with inspiring themes and values. One is hounded, however, by the almost soulless approach, which is somewhat countered by the spirited performances of Zegers, Stevenson and Robert Costanzo as the beleaguered coach.
AIR BUD: GOLDEN RECEIVER
Dimension Films
Keystone Pictures
in association with Dimension Films
A Robert Vince production
Director: Richard Martin
Screenwriters: Paul Tamasy & Aaron Mendelsohn
Producer: Robert Vince
Executive producers: Michael Strange, Anne Vince, William Vince
Director of photography: Mike Southon
Production designer: Rex Raglan
Editors: Bruce Lange, Melinda Seabrook
Costume designer: Patricia Hargreaves
Music: Brahm Wenger
Casting: Abra Edelman, Elisa Goodman
Color/stereo
Cast:
Josh Framm: Kevin Zegers
Jackie Framm: Cynthia Stevenson
Patrick Sullivan: Gregory Harrison
Natalya: Nora Dunn
Popov: Perry Anzilotti
Coach Fanelli: Robert Costanzo
Tom: Shayn Solberg
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: G...
- 8/10/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A formulaic family film that scores enough points to draw a decent audience in its theatrical release, Disney's "Air Bud" does not show a dog slam-dunking on a basketball court as in the film's print ads, but it's got plenty of furry footwork and a nose for easy shots at emotional manipulation.
Directed by Charles Martin Smith from a screenplay credited to Paul Tamasy and Aaron Mendelsohn, "Air Bud" is less rowdy than the "Mighty Ducks" films and closer to "The Secret Garden", with brooding young Josh (Kevin Zegers) discovering an overgrown basketball court and meeting his tail-wagging, soon-to-be best pal.
In a clunky opening, the golden retriever star (Buddy) is shown enduring his humiliating life as a costumed attraction for a bad party clown dubbed Norm Snively (Michael Jeter), who drives the requisite falling-apart pickup. The unnamed canine slips off the truck and hides from people, which is what dadless Josh wants to do since moving to a new mountain home with his family.
His mom (Wendy Makkena) is gentle and fair, but Josh doesn't talk a lot and misses playing basketball with his father, a test pilot killed in the line of duty. Along comes Buddy, who can butt the ball like a seal into the basket. Buddy does run into trouble more than once -- with destructive physical comedy the result -- but on the court he's a barking show-off with the chops.
Josh and Buddy become major attractions in the junior high school basketball program and the team heads toward the finals, but there are numerous complications, including a jerky rival (Brendan Fletcher) on the team, the rival's super-jerky dad (Norman Browning), a former NBA legend (Bill Cobbs) who's also hiding from the world, and the repulsive slob Snively, who succeeds in taking the dog back.
Poor Buddy has to wear another costume and watch Josh lead his team to glory, while the filmmakers are more concerned with overdoing the kid-tells-dog-to-get-lost scene than questioning the collective lust for glory that drives junior hoopsters and adults to such paroxysms in an otherwise bucolic setting.
Appearing only at the end, Eric Christmas is crowd-pleasingly over-the-top as the crotchety judge who allows Buddy to choose an owner. There's little in the way of surprises, and a few cute running gags have to go a long way. The strongest team players, Zegers, Makkena and Cobbs admirably stay in game face as they share the ball with Buddy.
Owned by trainer Kevin DiCicco, Buddy is already a media sensation with "22,000 career baskets" and countless personal appearances. He steals the movie at every opportunity. Director Smith does not handle all aspects with equal success, but he keeps this mongrel production from straying into fantasyland.
AIR BUD
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures presents
in association with Keystone Pictures
A Robert Vince production
Director Charles Martin Smith
Writers Paul Tamasy, Aaron Mendelsohn
Producers Robert Vince, William Vince
Executive producers Michael Strange,
Anne Vince
Director of photography Mike Southon
Production designer Elizabeth Wilcox
Editor Alison Grace
Music Brahm Wenger
Casting Abra Edelman, Elisa Goodman
Color/stereo
Cast:
Norm Snively Michael Jeter
Josh Framm Kevin Zegers
Jackie Framm Wendy Makkena
Arthur Chaney Bill Cobbs
Judge Cranfield Eric Christmas
Buddy/Air Bud Buddy
Running time -- 101 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Directed by Charles Martin Smith from a screenplay credited to Paul Tamasy and Aaron Mendelsohn, "Air Bud" is less rowdy than the "Mighty Ducks" films and closer to "The Secret Garden", with brooding young Josh (Kevin Zegers) discovering an overgrown basketball court and meeting his tail-wagging, soon-to-be best pal.
In a clunky opening, the golden retriever star (Buddy) is shown enduring his humiliating life as a costumed attraction for a bad party clown dubbed Norm Snively (Michael Jeter), who drives the requisite falling-apart pickup. The unnamed canine slips off the truck and hides from people, which is what dadless Josh wants to do since moving to a new mountain home with his family.
His mom (Wendy Makkena) is gentle and fair, but Josh doesn't talk a lot and misses playing basketball with his father, a test pilot killed in the line of duty. Along comes Buddy, who can butt the ball like a seal into the basket. Buddy does run into trouble more than once -- with destructive physical comedy the result -- but on the court he's a barking show-off with the chops.
Josh and Buddy become major attractions in the junior high school basketball program and the team heads toward the finals, but there are numerous complications, including a jerky rival (Brendan Fletcher) on the team, the rival's super-jerky dad (Norman Browning), a former NBA legend (Bill Cobbs) who's also hiding from the world, and the repulsive slob Snively, who succeeds in taking the dog back.
Poor Buddy has to wear another costume and watch Josh lead his team to glory, while the filmmakers are more concerned with overdoing the kid-tells-dog-to-get-lost scene than questioning the collective lust for glory that drives junior hoopsters and adults to such paroxysms in an otherwise bucolic setting.
Appearing only at the end, Eric Christmas is crowd-pleasingly over-the-top as the crotchety judge who allows Buddy to choose an owner. There's little in the way of surprises, and a few cute running gags have to go a long way. The strongest team players, Zegers, Makkena and Cobbs admirably stay in game face as they share the ball with Buddy.
Owned by trainer Kevin DiCicco, Buddy is already a media sensation with "22,000 career baskets" and countless personal appearances. He steals the movie at every opportunity. Director Smith does not handle all aspects with equal success, but he keeps this mongrel production from straying into fantasyland.
AIR BUD
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures presents
in association with Keystone Pictures
A Robert Vince production
Director Charles Martin Smith
Writers Paul Tamasy, Aaron Mendelsohn
Producers Robert Vince, William Vince
Executive producers Michael Strange,
Anne Vince
Director of photography Mike Southon
Production designer Elizabeth Wilcox
Editor Alison Grace
Music Brahm Wenger
Casting Abra Edelman, Elisa Goodman
Color/stereo
Cast:
Norm Snively Michael Jeter
Josh Framm Kevin Zegers
Jackie Framm Wendy Makkena
Arthur Chaney Bill Cobbs
Judge Cranfield Eric Christmas
Buddy/Air Bud Buddy
Running time -- 101 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- A comedic misfire and romantic nonstarter, "Changing Habits" packs a lot of story into its 93 minutes, but there's not enough pizazz to the dialogue or magic in the performances.
The feature debut of writer Scott Davis Jones and director Lynn Roth, "Changing Habits" premiered recently at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, where audiences responded favorably to the leads played by Moira Kelly ("Unhook the Stars") and Dylan Walsh ("Congo"). With a supporting cast that includes Christopher Lloyd, Teri Garr, Eileen Brennan and Shelley Duvall, the independent production has a fighting chance as a carefully handled limited release.
With short hair and a tomboy attitude, Kelly plays troubled Soosh Teagarden, a thieving young artist who moves into a convent to save money. Working days at a chic Melrose Avenue clothing store in Los Angeles, Soosh is the daughter of a renowned painter (Lloyd), but they are antagonistic toward each other. She blames him for her mother's suicide years earlier.
At the dilapidated nunnery, Soosh makes friends with another conflicted tenant (Marissa Ribisi) and wonders at the silent, coy ways of Sister Agatha (Duvall), who is adept at minor repairs. But it's the tolerant, rules-breaking Mother Superior (Brennan) who truly appreciates Soosh and makes her welcome.
Soosh finds a mothballed chapel in the basement and starts painting a mural of her personal life struggle. While shoplifting at an art store, she's caught and then asked out on a date by the owner Felix Walsh). Her defenses start to go down, but he disastrously takes them to an art opening for her father's latest exhibition.
Not easily discouraged, Felix pursues Soosh and on his own probes the death of her mother.
Roth and cinematographer Michael Mayers ("Denise Calls Up") find ways to visually spruce up the humdrum milie.
CHANGING HABITS
Initial Entertainment and Teagarden Pictures
Director Lynn Roth
Writer Scott Davis Jones
Exec. producers Cindy Cowan, Graham King
Producers Abra Edelman, James Dodson
Director of photography Michael Mayers
Production designers Dena Roth, Gail Bennett
Costume designer Denise Martinez
Color/stereo
Cast:
Soosh Teagarden Moira Kelly
Theo Teagarden Christopher Lloyd
Felix Dylan Walsh
Connie Teri Garr
Mother Superior Eileen Brennan
Sister Agatha Shelley Duvall
Erin Marissa Ribisi
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
The feature debut of writer Scott Davis Jones and director Lynn Roth, "Changing Habits" premiered recently at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, where audiences responded favorably to the leads played by Moira Kelly ("Unhook the Stars") and Dylan Walsh ("Congo"). With a supporting cast that includes Christopher Lloyd, Teri Garr, Eileen Brennan and Shelley Duvall, the independent production has a fighting chance as a carefully handled limited release.
With short hair and a tomboy attitude, Kelly plays troubled Soosh Teagarden, a thieving young artist who moves into a convent to save money. Working days at a chic Melrose Avenue clothing store in Los Angeles, Soosh is the daughter of a renowned painter (Lloyd), but they are antagonistic toward each other. She blames him for her mother's suicide years earlier.
At the dilapidated nunnery, Soosh makes friends with another conflicted tenant (Marissa Ribisi) and wonders at the silent, coy ways of Sister Agatha (Duvall), who is adept at minor repairs. But it's the tolerant, rules-breaking Mother Superior (Brennan) who truly appreciates Soosh and makes her welcome.
Soosh finds a mothballed chapel in the basement and starts painting a mural of her personal life struggle. While shoplifting at an art store, she's caught and then asked out on a date by the owner Felix Walsh). Her defenses start to go down, but he disastrously takes them to an art opening for her father's latest exhibition.
Not easily discouraged, Felix pursues Soosh and on his own probes the death of her mother.
Roth and cinematographer Michael Mayers ("Denise Calls Up") find ways to visually spruce up the humdrum milie.
CHANGING HABITS
Initial Entertainment and Teagarden Pictures
Director Lynn Roth
Writer Scott Davis Jones
Exec. producers Cindy Cowan, Graham King
Producers Abra Edelman, James Dodson
Director of photography Michael Mayers
Production designers Dena Roth, Gail Bennett
Costume designer Denise Martinez
Color/stereo
Cast:
Soosh Teagarden Moira Kelly
Theo Teagarden Christopher Lloyd
Felix Dylan Walsh
Connie Teri Garr
Mother Superior Eileen Brennan
Sister Agatha Shelley Duvall
Erin Marissa Ribisi
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 3/24/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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