Doggie Dunk
Dr. Daniel's review of Air Bud

in for observation

Starring Michael Jeter, Cynthia Stevenson, Kevin Zegers, Wendy Makkena, Eric Christmas, Bill Cobbs.

Directed by Charles Martin Smith. Rated PG. 98 minutes.

    Okay, here's the deal. You're gonna giggle, for sure, but, I've always told you the truth before, so why fib now, you know? Y'all know Orson, my dog. He's a sturdy ol' pooch, Orson is. Has his quirks, but, then again, so does everybody else. It ain't exactly my fault that his favorite food is Dinty Moore Beef Stew, but I cope with it. It's not really a problem that he had to have his own chair in the living room. I dealt with that and bought him a broken-in La-Z-Boy at a garage sale. Well, it was either that or give up my Super Deluxe Barcalounger with the vibrating back cushion, freon-lined cupholder, and the rabbit-fur footrest. And that just wasn't going to happen.
   He's all right, for the most part. He gets a half a Coors a day after work, and every soup bone from the Carver Point Diner's Wednesday Night Soup-A-Rama Special. And, about three years ago, I noticed that he'd sit and watch movies with me. At first, I thought he was just sitting there, but I noticed that, every now and then, his head would tilt when something would happen on the screen. No big deal, right. But then, I noticed other things.
   He started growling at Sydney Greenstreet when we watched The Maltese Falcon on the fifteenth of every month (Don't start - it's just a quirk of mine, 'kay?) He whined all through the last thirty minutes of It's a Wonderful Life, but he stopped and started wagging his tail when Bert the Cop finds Harry on the bridge with his lip bleeding again. And, he barked and snarled so much through Jaws, I thought he was going to have a stroke. He wouldn't let me put him in the tub for three months, thanks to that dang shark. When he got to stinking so bad that I made him sleep outside, he changed his mind. But, the boy had learned about movies, sure enough.
   He hid under the sofa for a day or two after Old Yeller, but Lassie Come Home primed him for doggie movies, so, now, whenever we get a good dog movie, I load him up in the truck and we go to the Thunderbird Drive In. I take two cans of Dinty Moore and a Coors for him, a six-pack of Cherry Coke and a pizza for me, and we sit in the bed of the truck and watch Doggie-Rama, or whatever. He snacks and sips, but his eyes never leave the screen.
   So, when Air Bud opened the other night, we loaded up and motored to the Thunderbird. We had to stop and pick up a can opener, so we missed the coming attractions, which ticked him off a little, but, once he got settled in, friends and neighbors, he and I saw a pretty good movie, even if it did star a golden retriever.
   The pooch in question, Buddy, plays Bud, a dog forced horribly into show business by his cruel owner, Norm Snively, played by "Evening Shade's" Michael Jeter. Snively forces Bud to wear a dumb clown costume and do stupid tricks, the sinister cad. Well, one day, Norm's truck hits a bump and bounces Bud right out of the back. He's stranded by the side of the road in his clown get-up.
   Bud meets up with Josh Framm (Kevin Zegers), a depressed little kid whose dad died in a plane crash. (Kinda depressing start for a "family movie", huh? Dead dad, abandoned dog? Dang, people....) Josh and dad used to play roundball together, but he can't bring himself to play again since the accident. He accepts a job as the lowly towel boy for the team, instead. Well, Josh and Buddy meet up, and, guess what? Buddy plays a mean game of basketball! He jumpstarts Josh's spark for the game, and helps the boy get through the grieving process, too.
   I'll ignore the usual clichés that had to be in this movie; i.e., the Big Game, the Big Shot, etc. I give a ton of credit to director Charles Martin Smith, the sometime actor best known as "Terry the Toad" in American Graffiti. He keeps the movie on its track, albeit an obvious one, but doesn't let it slide into a slow, plodding display of dog tricks like we were offered in Homeward Bound and Yellow Dog. Instead, in a rarity I hope sets a precedent, we actually watch a human actor and an animal actor that look natural together. We're given the story of a lonely little boy and an abused dog that help each other learn to trust and love again. It never looks fake, and, better yet, Bud the Dog never looks like some supertrained animal. He just comes across as an animal who just happens to be able to put a ball through a hoop with a headbutt. (I realize how silly that last sentence sounds later, but the sentiment's real. Get over it, people.)
   If the gimmick sounds familiar, you may remember Bud from his appearances on David Letterman's "Stupid Pet Tricks." Bud is superbly trained, and, to be quite honest, I hope they do more films with Bud. He's cuddly-cute, obviously clever, and he can show more emotion in his facial expressions and body language than half the humans in showbiz today. (Maybe Bud should side-tutor stiffs like Chuck Norris and Andie MacDowell.) Bud could easily catch on with the family-film crowd who are crowing over the lack of "quality product" for kids. Run Bud into a Benji/Lassie thing, and use the dog's natural talents. Eddie from "Frasier" would have cause to worry, believe me.
    Not to be a broken record, but, in a summer full of crashes and chestwounds, I had little hope for anything suitable for kids, other than Hercules. Some of the plot points smell like day-old Alpo, but other than that, Air Bud is a solid winner. If they could've kept it fresh throughout I'd have more to wag my tail about, but, all in all, Orson and I would both be proud to share our Dinty Moore with Bud any day.