The Air Up There (1994)

Jimmy Dolan is a college basketball coach who wants a big promotion. To get it, he needs to make a dramatic find. He ends up deep in Africa, hoping to recruit Saleh, a huge basketball ... See full summary »

Director:

Paul Michael Glaser

Writer:

Max Apple

Stars:

Kevin Bacon, Charles Gitonga Maina, Yolanda Vazquez

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Bacon	...	Jimmy Dolan
Charles Gitonga Maina	...	Saleh
Yolanda Vazquez	...	Sister Susan
Winston Ntshona	...	Urudu
Mabutho 'Kid' Sithole	...	Nyaga
Sean McCann	...	Ray Fox
Dennis Patrick	...	Father O'Hara
Ilo Mutombo	...	Mifundo
Nigel Miguel	...	Halawi
Eric Menyuk	...	Mark Collins
Keith Gibbs	...	Buddy Wilson
Miriam Owiti	...	Beisa
Douglas Leboyare	...	Ikedo
Francis Mutei	...	St. George
Gibson Gathu Mbugua	...	Harimbo

Storyline

Jimmy Dolan is a college basketball coach who wants a big promotion. To get it, he needs to make a dramatic find. He ends up deep in Africa, hoping to recruit Saleh, a huge basketball prodigy Jimmy glimpsed in a home movie. But Saleh is the chief's son and has responsibilities at home, since the tribe's land is threatened by a mining company with its own hotshot basketball team.

---

Plot Keywords:

basketball | africa | college basketball | athletic scout | tall man | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Family | Sport

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 January 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Afrika csúcsai

Filming Locations:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$17,080,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$21,011,500 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures, Interscope Communications, Longview Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the story of his National Championship heroism, Jimmy Dolan refers to a play at the end of the fourth quarter of a game. College basketball is played in two halves, not in quarters.

---

Quotes

Saleh: You came halfway around the world to watch me play this basketball?
Jimmy Dolan: That's what I said.
Saleh: (pointing to his head) Are you healthy up here?
Jimmy Dolan: Never said that.

---

Connections

Featured in Where Are They Now?: A Delta Alumni Update (2003)

---

Soundtracks

"ST. JOSEPH'S ALMA MATER"
Written by Brock Walsh

User Reviews

A humorous look at NCAA recruiting

College coaches are known for going to great lengths to woo their recruits. They meet the family, the athlete, and try to present themselves as being just like them, with similar views and values. They kiss up to the parents while singing the praises of the fine institution which pays them. In Jimmy Dolan's (Kevin Bacon) case, his limits are tested when he finds a star player, Saleh (Charles Gitonga Maina) in a documentary video of an African school sponsored by an American. Once he sees Saleh, it's off to Kenya.

In Kenya, Dolan meets with the predictable culture shock and skepticism/hostility from the locals, who wonder why a white guy from America would travel all the way to their land. He "befriends" the local nun/missionary, Sister Susan (Yolanda Vasquez), who advises him of the futility of trying to recruit the firstborn son of the tribe leader, who is duty-bound to his people. Enter an evil mining-company owner from a neighboring tribe who is trying to steal the Winabe tribe's lane, however, and the next thing we know, Dolan has joined the Winabe tribe (a swipe at American coaches who no doubt have bonded with their recruits in similar ways), and is their player-coach for the big game, a game where the Winabe land and Saleh's promise to play at St. Joe's if they win are on the line.

Bacon captures Dolan's essence very well, as an unsympathetic character placed into a very sympathetic situation. The movie is his coming-of-age tale, as we watch him mature from self-centered assistant coach to full-fledged mentor.