I saw this when I was a kid and thought it was the best movie ever. Saw "Fish" again while in my late 20s, and my fake snobishness at the time didn't allow me to enjoy it anymore. Saw it again recently, and now? I love it. Really love it. It's never anything more than it seems to be: lots of basketball for basketball fans, and that's OK.
If you're looking for something more, consider that Julius "Dr. J" Erving headlines the cast in the opening credits. Meadowlark Lemon, the Harlem Globetrotters legend, is third. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is fifth, even though he doesn't have a single line. Considering how funny he is in "Airplane," not allowing him to speak was a mistake. Even so, Dr. J is the start, and the more Dr. J moves we get to see, the better.
Obviously, Dr. J wasn't cast for acting abilities, but let's give him credit for one scene late in the movie when he gives a pep talk to his teammates during the big game. It's actually pretty stiring. It had me ready to jump through the screen and give it my all ... until my back seized up from getting out the recliner so fast.
If you're curious, Gene Siskel recommended this movie on the old Siskel & Ebert show, while Roger Ebert didn't. Those 1970s and '80s broadcasts are on YouTube, and it shouldn't be hard for you to find the one in which they review this movie. The funniest part is how Siskel laments about how they have such a lousy basketball team in Chicago. All he needed to do was wait a few years.
If you're looking for something more, consider that Julius "Dr. J" Erving headlines the cast in the opening credits. Meadowlark Lemon, the Harlem Globetrotters legend, is third. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is fifth, even though he doesn't have a single line. Considering how funny he is in "Airplane," not allowing him to speak was a mistake. Even so, Dr. J is the start, and the more Dr. J moves we get to see, the better.
Obviously, Dr. J wasn't cast for acting abilities, but let's give him credit for one scene late in the movie when he gives a pep talk to his teammates during the big game. It's actually pretty stiring. It had me ready to jump through the screen and give it my all ... until my back seized up from getting out the recliner so fast.
If you're curious, Gene Siskel recommended this movie on the old Siskel & Ebert show, while Roger Ebert didn't. Those 1970s and '80s broadcasts are on YouTube, and it shouldn't be hard for you to find the one in which they review this movie. The funniest part is how Siskel laments about how they have such a lousy basketball team in Chicago. All he needed to do was wait a few years.