Jimmy Dolan (Kevin Bacon) is going for the biggest recruit of his lifetime and it's going to take more than some campus visits, cheerleaders, and lobster dinners to land him.
The Air Up There is a lot of things and I'd be lying if I didn't say it's also a little exploitative. They did reduce the exploitative nature of the film by making Jimmy Dolan's recruiting mission more about learning about himself than landing the big fish. Still I think this movie is more of a glimpse at how far college coaches will go to net a major recruit, especially at a major program. We hear about recruiting violations and recruiting scandals all of the time: false promises, sexual favors, under-the-table money, and more.
In The Air Up There Jimmy Dolan is willing to pull out the same tricks to bring in Saleh (Charles Maina) except they don't have the same effect in Winabi, Kenya. In somewhat sloppy fashion the movie melded into a touching one about family, tradition, culture, and integrity: some of the more important virtues. You can say The Air Up There was about the recruit recruiting the recruiter.
The Air Up There is a lot of things and I'd be lying if I didn't say it's also a little exploitative. They did reduce the exploitative nature of the film by making Jimmy Dolan's recruiting mission more about learning about himself than landing the big fish. Still I think this movie is more of a glimpse at how far college coaches will go to net a major recruit, especially at a major program. We hear about recruiting violations and recruiting scandals all of the time: false promises, sexual favors, under-the-table money, and more.
In The Air Up There Jimmy Dolan is willing to pull out the same tricks to bring in Saleh (Charles Maina) except they don't have the same effect in Winabi, Kenya. In somewhat sloppy fashion the movie melded into a touching one about family, tradition, culture, and integrity: some of the more important virtues. You can say The Air Up There was about the recruit recruiting the recruiter.