Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 25, 1994 TAG: 9403250048
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The timely story concerns a young Harlem man's desire to use basketball to escape the mean streets, but the director's background in television shows through. Several important details and key plot ingredients ring totally false. Essentially, this one's an afterschool special with lots of foul language and a little violence.
The film begins with the single most ludicrous opening flashback you've ever seen. At the risk of spoiling the suspense, let's just say that it shows you why they don't usually put basketball goals on the roofs of tall buildings.
Flash forward to the present. Kyle-Lee Watson (Duane Martin) is a hotshot high school point guard who hopes to be recruited by Georgetown University. But his long lost friend Bugaloo (Marlon Wayans) wants to introduce Kyle-Lee to Birdie (Tupac Shakur), the local drug dealer who also sponsors a team in a playground tournament.
Shep (Leon) is a security guard the high school. He has shallow secrets in his past and a good jump shot. He also has eyes for Kyle-Lee's single mom (Tonya Pinkins).
The rest of the plot is surprising only in its complete predictability. It's difficult to believe that this one was co-written by Barry Michael Cooper who has been so sharp with his scripts for "New Jack City" and "Sugar Hill." The formula plot lacks any believability and the characters are cliches. His collaborator, director and producer Jeff Pollack, comes to this film from the TV series "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," and he brings a certain mainstream blandness to the story.
Almost all of the violence occurs off-screen, and the violence that is shown is quick and clean. Compared to a good, serious film like Ernest Dickerson's "Juice," "Above the Rim" comes across as being afraid to deal honestly with its own subject matter.
On a more positive note, Tupac Shakur is a fairly effective though stereotyped villain, and comedian Bernie Mac provides some good moments as a troubled homeless man. As for the basketball scenes . . . well, they're probably not going to make anyone forget "Blue Chips."
Above the Rim *
A New Line release playing at the Valley View Mall 6. 94 min. Rated R for language, violence.
by CNB