Michael Jordan: An American Hero (1999)

Let's be realistic.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Michael Jordan came from a solid middle-class family. He was very lucky from the beginning of his life; despite encountering some problems. One problem; gambling. Michael gambled out of competition; not out of greed; so it was a problem, and a severe one. But because he had the guts to see the basketball coach of his high school privately, he was able to eventually make the team and excel after much practice.In North Carolina U, things were a bit different. I loved the monopoly sequence. Michael wisely avoided complications with young women; he concentrated on his basketball. His family did not care for him leaving college for 6 million dollars playing for the Bulls. How could he make 6 million on any other job? He couldn't. The realization set in that 6 million right now was worth more than finishing college.Jordan had an easier time making the Bulls than making his high school or university team. His early teammates, who were mediocre at best, were jealous of him and his talent. The thing I respected most about Jordan was his dedication to the game. He didn't need to make the social scene or big man at the party. I liked the first dumping scene from his girlfriend. Michael had good taste in women.But Jordan's game was hurt a bit by his gambling, which had gotten progressively worse. The press becomes his enemy; always something stressful for an athlete. He overcame these problems, but could not solve the problem of his father's murder. I have nothing but the greatest respect for any son whose father was his best friend. But this movie was too sugary; a diabetic would die if they saw it.

There were so many goofs in this movie. I only watched it once, and I still ask myself why I did. For starters, Jordan never had an afro in college. In the pros, he did not go bald until about 1989, but they had him bald as a rookie. Also as a rookie, which was 1984, I know those shoes were from the 1995 or 1996 season. I also did not understand the locations of certain scenes. I know that the scenes of the Bulls home games were filmed in what looked like the L.A. Sports Arena, where the Clippers used to play. And what's with the zero for players with single digit numbers. For example, John Paxson was number 05. And the actors could not look less like the real people. Robin Givens as Juanita? Juanita is not that dark, and Debbie Allen does not look like his mom. Also, Phil Jackson is about 6-8 and Michael Jace was taller than the guy that played Jackson. There were so many things wrong with this movie, I'm glad the only evidence it was ever made is this website.

In the 1960's when Michael Jordan was a young boy in the suburban middle classes throwing a basketball into a dustbin instead of a hoop and playing baseball, nobody would have suspected what he would become some thirty years later. An early experience of racism perhaps puts him off baseball but he takes up basketball with the same intensity that he approaches everything. High Schools seems him working hard to get into the main school team and from there he continues into North Carolina's starting line up. It is here that he makes his name and when he is drafted by the Chicago Bulls it is only the worries of his doting parents that cause him pause.Like most people across the globe, I'm an admirer of not only Jordan's skills but also his drive to get what he wanted – that I had a thimbleful of that motivation. So it was natural that I would take the chance to watch this film, especially since this was the first I had seen available on television in the UK. Having read the book "Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World he Made" I like to think that I am at least a bit aware of Jordan's history if nothing else and it is a shame that this film doesn't quite have the same eye for a story and for a character that the aforementioned book did. Instead the film is like a sprint through elements of the story, never missing an opportunity to simplify or turn into melodrama anything that might have approached an interesting moment. The basic story doesn't feel anywhere near as interesting or as inspiring as it really is mainly because the film just skims through things to the point where it feels more than a "by the numbers" TV filler movie than it is a true story; in fairness that is just what it is – by-the-numbers filler stuff; the subject really deserved better.The cheap and cheerful effect is felt mainly in the script, which allows for no real character development and no development of themes. The writers knew they had to have their Jordan be competitive, learn teamwork and other things that are well known – so these things are put in in one or two scenes and then never really run through the character as a trait in the way it should have been. Outside of this there is nothing and all the actors just feel like they are reading lines and playing whatever character is easiest to do. Some have been very harsh on Jace but, having seen him do good work with a good character on The Shield, I can't help but feel sorry for him because the script gives him nothing to work with apart from basic emotions and actions. Support is no better; Hudson just plays it affable and warm, Givens has two notes to hit and just about does them. The very low budget is shown in the actual production – nobody wanted to pay out cash to use the NBA logos and such so the strips simply have the words "Chicago Bulls" written on it and the NBA logo is just a wiggley line! The game action would have struck me as being pretty damn important but it is sorely lacking; normally we see the celebrations after a win (very poor atmosphere) but the one or two shots we see in the whole film are filmed so that we assume it goes in so that Jace doesn't have to make the shot to get the take to count! Overall this is a worthy subject but a terrible film. It is cheap, poorly written, the characters are paper-thin and the game action is so lame as to make you wonder why they bothered with it at all. There is a fascinating character piece within this story and there are plenty of books that tell it reasonably well but this film is certainly not able to do anything with it. In fairness it is no worse than all the melodramatic nonsense clogging up daytime television but the fact that we all know the real story (and know it much better than this told it) means that this is a total waste of time.

The name pretty much butchers this (ahem) movie. Look, Michael Jordan is a great Basketball player & a legend to the NBA (let alone the Chicago Bulls). But he was never a soldier in a war or anything like that. So why would Fox Family intitle this (ahem) movie 'An American Hero'.That Michael Jace character doesn't really look much like M.J.. But the rest of the movie should be at least worth watching. That is, if it's still on T.V. anymore now that the Fox Family channel is dead & gone.