As pure -- but certainly not perfect -- a sequel as there can be, "Air Bud: Golden Receiver" is essentially a retreading of the original film with only a few new elements thrown in. About as predictable as they come -- much like its predecessor -- the film does manage to easily and efficiently accomplish its goal of entertaining kids with decent family material. Although the picture suffers from a lack of originality, it still manages to come off as a harmless, lightweight diversion that should please most kids and some of their parents.
Conforming to the "How To Make A Sequel" formula/rule, the film brings forward many elements from the first picture. Josh is still affected by the loss of his father, but sports -- and a wise, but sympathetic coach -- get him out of his funk. The athletic pooch character obviously returns -- this time with a penchant for the pigskin over basketball -- and some villainous characters appear set on using the canine for their own good. Consequently Buddy is "dognaped" just before the big game and, well, does all of this sound familiar?
Of course kids love repetition (thus the worn out videotapes of their favorite Disney movies, etc...) as well as silly sight gags and this film offers plenty of both to keep the little ones from squirming in their seats. Thus, there are shots of Buddy doing all sorts of tricks and stunts, and his goofy appearance wearing a football helmet, shoulder pads and a jersey, as well as doing pushups and rolling on the ground "celebrating" touchdowns will definitely engage the target audience.
Things don't fare quite as well for the adults in the audience, but the proceedings are certainly easy enough to sit through (but only once). Director Richard Martin and screenwriters Paul Tamasy and Aaron Mendelsohn (both of whom wrote the original "Air Bud") have obviously focused more on the kids than the adults -- and rightly so -- but at least try to inject a little humor aimed at the parents.
Most notable is a scene where Tim Conway and Dick Martin (the father of this film's director, and known best for his involvement in TV's "Laugh In") appear as the announcers for the big game. Unfortunately, their material is only slightly amusing at best, and clearly isn't as funny as one would imagine it (and they) should have been.
Then we have the standard issue, buffoon villains who are used here only as a harmless plot complication. As played by Nora Dunn (TV's "Saturday Night Live") and Perry Anzilotti ("Bean"), these Russian misfits are seemingly molded after the old Boris and Natasha cartoon characters. Like Conway and Martin, however, their material is rather lame and oddly enough they conspicuously disappear for a long time during the movie (showing up near the end just to inject the predictable complication).
The performances from the main cast are enjoyable and likeable, but nothing special enough to draw attention to them. Kevin Zegers returns from the original film, and Cynthia Stevenson ("Home For the Holidays") takes over as Josh's mom, while Gregory Harrison (TV's "Trapper John M.D.) is likeable, but about as bland as all of the other performers. That's not to say that any of them poorly perform, it's just that everyone comes off like the good neighbors next door -- it's pleasant being with them, but they're not that exciting or noteworthy.
That's been left to the canine star -- or stars since six golden retrievers play the part -- and "Buddy" gets to show off the physical prowess evidenced in the first film. Probably unbeknownst to most audiences, however, the original "Air Bud" (the main one of three who appeared in the original) has since passed on to the great fire hydrant in the sky. Fortunately to human eyes, his breed pretty much looks the same from one dog to the next and the replacement(s) can't be noticed.
While the filmmakers obviously had to introduce a new sport for the canine to master -- and the press kit notes that soccer is likely to be the sport of choice should there be another film in this series -- I personally didn't find the football antics as amazing as the original's ability to bounce a basketball with his nose and have it go through a hoop. More akin to catching a frisbee, such scenes are okay, but lack the fun and originality evident in the original.
Despite the film's very predictable nature and the fact that it only offers a slight variation from the original movie's plot, it still comes off as a fluffy, lightweight piece of celluloid that should easily entertain the kids and not bore their parents to death. Certainly not a clever or highly imaginative film, it nonetheless succeeds at its goal, and for that we give "Air Bud: Golden Receiver" a 5.5 out of 10.
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