Review: Air Bud: Golden Receiver (1998)

Where have all the G ratings gone?

This summer has not offered the goods to kids under 13 or parents who enforce the ratings system. For example, I couldn't take my 10 year-old daughter to DOCTOR DOLITTLE because of its PG-13 status.

But we went today to AIR BUD: GOLDEN RECEIVER, a rather unwieldy title but a decent film for kids. And only the second theatrical release this summer, I believe, rated G. (MULAN is the other.)

The sequel to last year's AIR BUD, this film expands upon the premise of a dog's prowess at basketball. With a quick opening that does its job - moving fast and reinforcing Bud's craftiness and basketball expertise -- the story unfolds easily and reintroduces us to Josh Framm (Kevin Zegers), now an eighth grader, and his mother Jackie (Cynthia Stevenson). After a series of events that complicate the plot, we discover the family dog's amazing skill at catching a football.

The football motif is corny and fun; it makes the viewer remember the type of film she is watching. This is a kids' movie, and it's all right that a dog catches passes and eludes tacklers. It's even all right that there is no objection whatever that Bud dresses in a cute quasi-uniform and scores touchdowns against other eighth-grades football teams.

The complications are what doesn't work so well.

First, Gregory Harrison plays Patrick Sullivan, a handsome veterinarian who cares for Bud. It's refreshing, by the way, that Bud likes him back - a turnaround from many family pets' uncanny instincts and hatred of a human character. It's Josh who feels threatened when Patrick begins to date his mother. Even though Josh is himself a personable adolescent and not an obnoxious stereotype of a teenager, he shows a sulking attitude when Patrick and Jackie grow close. Why would a smart and supportive father figure turn off a boy like Josh? Are a couple of shots of Josh's deceased test-pilot father enough to make us believe Josh's motivation to act like he does?

Another subplot involves a sinister but comic Russian duo, played by Nora Dunn and Perry Anzilotti. Their motive is greed when they set out to complete their circus of stolen animals with unique talents. Dunn and Anzilotti prove solid caricature actors as they pursue Bud. Their schemes and fates provide quite a few chuckles when the subplot surfaces now and again. What is missing is the connective tissue. In the first BUD, Josh came in contact with the baddie, who was the dog's original owner. Here, however, the Framm family never even sees the Boris and Natasha clones. Yes, the slapstick adds another funny dimension to the story, but by the end we feel as if an alarm were set but failed to go off. Too many details, including a threat to fire the lovable football coach, come to naught.

Cynthia Stevenson turns in a credible performance as Jackie. She brings a mousy, compassionate quality to Josh's mother. The film, with its general audience rating, does not show much intimacy between Jackie and Patrick, but the actors convince us that a happy ending is possible. As I stated before, it's the relationship between Josh and Patrick that is oddly bloodless.

The animal training deserves some mention. Four big, feathery dogs were used to portray Bud, and the editing is slick and watchable. Somehow this dog manages to catch everything thrown his way. Even though we can tell the pigskin is half-inflated, the effect is cute. And the pooch's uniform is precious: white-painted, ancient leather helmet, smallish shoulder pads that make him look half bulldog, and blue jersey featuring "K 9."

The film gave me a few belly laughs, which is a sort of litmus test I apply to comedies. Even though AIR BUD: GOLDEN RECEIVER is a B-film, it appeals to a G audience. That and the laughter it provides are enough to earn our money at the box office.

Related Air Bud: Golden Receiver Links:

It's not whether you win or lose...
It's where you bury the ball.

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