Airborne is a 1993 American comedy-drama film centered on inline skating, starring Shane McDermott, Seth Green, Brittney Powell, Chris Conrad, Jacob Vargas, and a then-unknown Jack Black.
Plot
Airborne - Trailer (1993) - Oh, sweet nostalgia. "The way surfer dude Mitchell Goosen sees it, there are two kinds of people: those who surf and those who don't. So when Mitch (Shane McDermott) relocates from surfside...
Mitchell Goosen (McDermott) is a teenager from California who loves to surf and rollerblade. His zoologist parents are given the opportunity for grant work in Australia for six months. Eager to accompany his parents to the surf-friendly shores of the South Pacific, he is dismayed to find out that he will not be joining them and instead will be living with his aunt and uncle in Cincinnati, Ohio, so as to finish the remainder of his high school semester. He arrives in the midst of a winter storm to a blue-collar Midwestern city, quickly coming to the realization that this is far from the free-spirited beach atmosphere that he has been accustomed to. To add to his disillusion, he meets his cousin Wiley (Green), who at first glance is an awkward teenager and whose parents' lifestyle and demeanor, though warm and hospitable, is a bit old-fashioned.
Mitchell's first day at school is met with the typical fish out of water obstacles as he immediately grows to the disfavor and jealousy of the gritty hockey players who chastise Mitchell for his easy going "Maharishi" philosophy and "California" appearance. These antagonists include Jack (Conrad), Augie (Black), Snake (Vargas), Rosenblatt, and the Banduccis. With an upcoming hockey game against the rival "preps", led by the aggressive and arrogant Blane, Wiley and subsequently Mitchell are asked to fill-in for two students, who are caught putting a laxative into one of their teacher's coffee (never shown in the film). Mitchell inadvertently scores a goal for the preps, cementing his disdain by the hockey players, and in particular Jack, who proceeds to tackle Mitchell while still on the ice, concussing him and leaving him unconscious for what appears to be hours.
Over the course of the next few weeks, Mitchell and Wiley are harassed relentlessly, but one bright spot comes in the form of a girl named Nikki (Powell), who Mitchell falls in love with, and she seems to reciprocate. During a double date with his cousin and Nikki's friend Gloria, Blane, who used to date Nikki, appears and physically confronts Mitchell and Nikki, who are only saved when Jack arrives to stand up for Nikki who, as it turns out, is also Jack's sister. Jack attempts to make Mitchell fight him by making fun of his relationship with Nikki, but Mitchell doesn't fight back, and claims that despite all the torture Jack and his friends put on him and Wiley, he will never fight back, because he'll be going back to California in three months. Though Mitchell's claim stops Jack from attempting to fight him, it greatly disappoints both Nikki and Wiley; Nikki because Mitchell claims that he'll be glad when he goes back home, and Wiley because he thinks Mitchell should've done something, and not back away from the confrontation like he just did.
All the issues Mitchell has experienced culminates with a dream Mitchell wakes to which convinces him to peacefully confront the situation. Mitchell decides to proactively join Jack and his ice hockey brethren for a street hockey game against the preps. Mitchell does well in the game and though he doesn't fight back against Blane when he attacks him, he embarrasses him by pulling down his pants; this endears a change of heart from his teammates.
Snake, Augie, the Banduccis, and the rest of the hockey team, with the notable exception of Jack, solicit Mitchell's help and rollerblading expertise in a race down a harrowing street route termed Devil's Backbone against the preps to settle their score once and for all. It is agreed upon that the first team with three members crossing the finish line will be deemed the winner. An aggressive and athletic Snake reaches the finish first for Mitchell's team, but two preps swiftly follow suit. Needing only one more person to win and with Blane in sight of the end, Blane decides to barrel into Mitchell but poorly times his attack and instead lands in the waters below. This leaves Jack and Mitchell in clear sight of the finish line, as they approach in tandem victory to the cheers of their awaiting schoolmates, and kisses of respective love interests. Mitchell has finally earned the respect of Jack and his friends, and he is lifted on the shoulders of a cheering crowd as the movie ends.
Cast
- Mitchell - Shane McDermott
- Wiley - Seth Green
- Nikki - Brittney Powell
- Jack - Chris Conrad
- Aunt Irene - Edie McClurg
- Uncle Louie - Patrick O'Brien
- Augie - Jack Black
- Gloria - Alanna Ubach
- Snake - Jacob Vargas
- Blane - Owen Stadele
- Walt - Chris Edwards
- Tony Banducci - Daniel Betances
- Mark Banducci - David Betances
- Ice Skating / Roller Hockey Extra - Travis Hafer
- Supermac - Christian McVeigh
Reception
Critical
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 29% approval rating based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 2.9/10. In a review for the Los Angeles Times, Chris Willman commended the production team for their efforts, praising cinematographer Okada for giving the film "a surprising natural-light look" and composer Copeland for providing "a well-above-average rock score", and giving huge credit to second-unit director Steve Boyum, stunt coordinator Pat Parnell and the skaters for making the skating scenes and finale "inherently cinematic". Willman added that, "Off the skates, it's at best mediocre Nickelodeon fare", writing that "[A]s the first major filmic celebration of in-line skating and holy Rollerbladers, Airborne (citywide) is hell on wheels and itchy limbo off. The occasional action scenes are as appropriately tortuous as the tired teen-out-of-water plot is torturous. This is a kid-flick that's speed-skating on one leg." The New York Times's Stephen Holden called it "a modest attempt to take a familiar genre, the surf movie, and spin it into a new subgenre, the Rollerblades film."
Box office
The film was released in 982 theaters. It made $2,850,263 domestically, and $1,262,239 in its opening weekend.
References
External links
- Airborne on IMDb
- Airborne at AllMovie
- Airborne at Box Office Mojo
- Airborne at Rotten Tomatoes
