Summaries

A basketball coach travels to Africa to recruit a new star.

Jimmy Dolan is a college basketball coach who wants a big promotion. To get it, he needs to make a dramatic find. He ends up deep in Africa, hoping to recruit Saleh, a huge basketball prodigy Jimmy glimpsed in a home movie. But Saleh is the chief's son and has responsibilities at home, since the tribe's land is threatened by a mining company with its own hotshot basketball team.—Reid Gagle

Jimmy Dolan is a college basketball assistant coach who wants to find a new star for his team since he believes this will get him a promotion to head coach at the school. He sees a home video of a prospect named Saleh and travels to Kenya to recruit him. Upon arriving in this country, Dolan finds himself confronted not only with the challenges of basketball but also with the challenges of adjusting to and learning how to live in the midst of a brand-new culture. Though Dolan is initially opposed by Saleh's father who is also the leader of the village, he later agrees to let his son play. Dolan and Saleh both teach each other life lessons before they take the court for one final game with everything on the line. One of the most dramatic scenes in the film involves the instruction of Saleh by Dolan regarding the "Jimmy Dolan Shake and Bake."

Details

Keywords
  • american abroad
  • fish out of water
  • wager
  • kenya
  • basketball coach
Genres
  • Comedy
  • Family
  • Sport
Release date Jan 6, 1994
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) PG
Countries of origin United States Japan
Language English
Filming locations Hoedspruitt, South Africa
Production companies Hollywood Pictures Interscope Communications Longview Entertainment

Box office

Budget $17080000
Gross US & Canada $21011318
Opening weekend US & Canada $5240859
Gross worldwide $21011318

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 47m
Color Color
Sound mix Dolby SR
Aspect ratio 1.85 : 1

Synopsis

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