Michael Jordan: Come Fly with Me (1989) (V)

Release Date:

26 January 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Short | Sport

Plot Keywords:

Basketball Player | Basketball | Chicago Bulls | Character Name In Title

Cast

Michael Jordan	...	Himself
Jay Thomas	...	Narrator

Runtime:

42 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Movie Connections:

Edited into Ultimate Jordan (2001) (V)

A promo piece with naff music and narration but the man and the moves make it a great watch regardless

Made towards the end of the eighties by the NBA, this film focuses on Michael Jordan's rise through college ball to become a domineering force within the NBA. Given the period, the film concentrates on the 1986/87 season in terms of action but also tackles the wider impact Jordan had on the NBA and the impact that fame had on him. With this in mind it is no surprise that the content is awesome; although this is before all the championships, Jordan is still fierce on the court and the moves are just unbelievable and had me hitting review several times just to be sure I had just seen what I had seen. I'm not saying anything you don't already know, but the clips are almost all sick.

Problem with it is, it is a promotional film for the NBA by the NBA and it is a poor product filled with a sickly sense of gushing and self-love from the producers. Giving respect to the man is one thing that I have no issue with at all but this is different from what we get here. The approach is very much of "corporatisation" of Jordan the product (clearly not a word but nobody is reading my stuff to get an education here). What this means is that the energy and rawness that we see in Jordan contrasts badly with a marketing presentation that has dated badly (assuming it was not rubbish back in the day to begin with). This comes across in several ways but the most obvious is the narration. Hammy and pointless is one description but it is just annoying regardless how you phrase it. The dialogue is corny with lots of "corporate" words that nobody uses in real life and it never says something with one word if it can use twenty instead. On top of this we have awful constant music that would not feel out of place in a lift in a medium-priced hotel chain, the sort of music that reminds you that maybe your job isn't so bad as at least you ain't churning this stuff out 9 to 5!

OK, so suffice to say that the actual packaging of the film is rubbish – really rubbish. The interviews are mostly upbeat soundbites but at least these are a bit of fun and interesting as Jordan's family are just themselves and cheery to listen to. Of course though it is the action that makes this worth seeing and in this regard Jordan does it again – saving the film by his sheer effort and presence. A poor package then but a brilliant collection of clips and moves.