Basketball Movie Review
Space Jam
Michael Jordan's baseball detour, Looney Tunes physics and peak-90s NBA celebrity collide in a movie that makes less sense the harder you think about it — so do not.
As cinema, chaos. As basketball culture, first-ballot Hall of Fame. The shoes, soundtrack, Monstars and Jordan mythology are permanent now.
Movie details
1996 · 1h 27m · Comedy · Family
Director Joe Pytka
- Michael Jordan — Himself
- Wayne Knight — Stan Podolak
- Theresa Randle — Juanita Jordan
- Bill Murray — Himself
- Jordan had a custom full-size court built on the Warner Bros. lot so he could train while filming; the setup became known as the Jordan Dome.
- After shooting, Jordan's pickup runs drew a ridiculous guest list including Magic Johnson, Reggie Miller, Dennis Rodman, Grant Hill, Shaq, Juwan Howard and other NBA stars.
01
The Take
Space Jam is not a normal movie and grading it like one misses the point. It is Michael Jordan's baseball sabbatical, Looney Tunes, Nike-era mythology and NBA celebrity blended into something that should have evaporated after opening weekend but instead became a permanent piece of basketball childhood for an entire generation.
02
Does the Basketball Hold Up?
The Tune Squad game is cartoon nonsense, yet the basketball identities are weirdly precise. Barkley without his talent is funny because everybody knows what Barkley is supposed to look like. Jordan gets to play the impossible version of Jordan. The movie survives on basketball shorthand even while gravity has left the building.
03
Best Basketball Moment
Jordan stretching his arm halfway across the arena for the winning dunk. It is completely illegal in every known ruleset and somehow the only acceptable ending.
04
Ball Cred
Jordan, Barkley, Ewing, Bogues, Bradley and Johnson on screen, plus the legendary pickup runs happening behind the scenes. Nobody can call the basketball realistic; nobody can call the basketball presence fake.