Does anybody wanna see NBA star Micheal Jordan team up with cartoon icon Bugs Bunny to play in a basketball game against aliens who have stolen the powers from the best basketball players in the world? You may think I’m making this all up but trust me, this is a real thing. This movie is semi based on commercials staring Micheal Jordan and occasionally the Loony Tunes characters to sell the hottest new shoes at the time called Air Jordans. The ads were a huge hit and then the producers at Warner Bro’s decided why not turn the commercials into a feature-length motion picture. Needless to say, it didn’t do so hot with critics at the time, but with the movie gaining a cult status among those who grew up with it, Can Space Jam find its place among other sports movies? Or is it a mindless cash grab that has been blinded by nostalgia?
Micheal Jordan is one of basketball’s legendary players, but after years of being great at his sport, he decides to retire and take up baseball like his father which concerns his crowd of fans. Meanwhile, somewhere in space, there lives the theme park of Moron Mountain and the boss of the theme park is desperate to find new attractions when sales start to go down. His group of minion servants suggests getting the Looney Tunes and the boss sends them to earth to find and force them to become slave attractions on Moron Mountain. The Loony Tunes make a claim that they need a chance to defend themselves so they challenge the alien minions to a basketball game knowing how small and inexperienced they are. What the Looney Tunes didn’t count on was the aliens going to a basketball game and stealing the talent of the best players in the world. Soon the aliens become huge monsters with the ability to play basketball super well. Desperate, The Looney Tunes seek the help of Micheal Jordan to come out of retirement and to help take down the aliens, and to win their freedom back before they become enslaved for the rest of their lives.
Ok, let me be really honest for a minute. I never grew up in the 90’s so I may have some biased opinions, but that does not stop me from saying how absurdly insane this movie is. It’s basically one big commercial for Air Jordans and the movie doesn’t even try to hide that fact. Yet even despite that, it still manages to be entertaining but in a so bad it’s good kind of way. The premise is ridiculous in its writing that it’s actually kind of remarkable at how it takes advantage of its weirdness and has a lot of fun doing so in the process. This is not like The Lego Movie where it’s clever in telling a compelling story while still being a giant commercial because the writing of Space Jam is not clever enough to be anything more than what it is. It’s insane, but I admire its cheesiness and overall wackiness of the plot in the way that it somehow feels like some employees’ fan-fiction at Warner Bro’s. Characters are either overacting or underacting which can make for an awkward but surprisingly hilarious experience. Micheal Jordan himself is your bland and typical sports leader but that’s only the way the director portrays him and in the end, he is still a role model so the film treats him just like one. Your favorite Loony Tunes characters are in no way done offensively, but they really could have been better in their line delivery at points.
This film is drenched in the ’90s from its pop culture references to its soundtrack. It’s definitely a timepiece that can be seen as a good thing for those who grew up with the movie or a bad thing for those who want timeless storytelling. The live-action shots are typical family movie filmmaking and aside from maybe a few shots of basketball stadiums and Micheal Jordan doing his thing there really is not much to it. The animation is something else as it’s wacky and over the top but in an entertaining sort of way. The hand-drawn elements are great and full of personality but some of the other effects like the CGI haven’t aged super well. I will admit that the final basketball game actually looks rather cool at times when seeing the Tune Squad going up against the Monstars as it looks and feels like being at an actual game but having that added with Looney Tune wackiness. The soundtrack is undoubtedly recognizable and the tunes are quite catchy. They are obviously 90’s era songs but I will give the film credit that it did create the feeling of being at a basketball game in certain scenes.
This film is a doozie. It’s overall insane in its premise, guilty in its commercialism and pandering, yet it still is unintentionally entertaining in its willingness to go all out and push the limits of how far you can take a storyline such as this. I can’t bring myself to say it’s a legitimately good movie, but it has its place among fans and I have to admire how a film went so far to be one giant commercial that it also managed to be entertaining to a fault in the process. I kind of like it for that in a so bad it’s somewhat good sort of way. It’s not the best movie based on a commercial but it is quite an experience if your willing to look over its flaws.
(Final Grade: B-)