Directed by Adam Del Deo, James D Stern. (PG) 88 min. Opens May 6.
The criteria for being a decent NBA centre are basically twofold --
if you're seven feet tall and have a pulse, you're gold. So it's
understandable why, back in 2002, the moribund Houston Rockets
franchise decided to spend a valuable draft pick on the seven-foot-six
Chinese centre Yao Ming. Even in his late teens, Yao was inarguably the
greatest Chinese basketball player of all time, but pundits predicted
that the double-whammy transition to American pro sports and celebrity
culture would prove difficult.
Well, not so much. Adam Del Deo and James Stern's polished doc The Year of the Yao showcases
its subject's remarkable adroitness, both on and off the court, in his
rookie season. At the age of 22, Yao not only became an NBA all-star
but also an iconic figure in his native China. He probably couldn't
have done it, though, without another rookie teammate: his full-time
translator, Colin Pine. Their tender rapport creates the feeling of a
Mutt-and-Jeff buddy comedy -- when Pine takes Yao to a Houston Taco
Bell, the latter's deadpan dismissal of the cuisine ("this is not very
good") is made funnier by his little buddy's enthused gobbling.
Sportswriters
suspected that Yao knew more English than he let on but the film shows
how much Pine's friendship and expertise helped the towering centre's
development. When they part at the film's end, it's an airport goodbye
worthy of Rick and Ilsa, if Ilsa had been a uni-browed Chinese
leviathan.
If
The Year of the Yao is ultimately more
charming than terrific, it's probably due to the slickness of the
filmmaking. The fast-cut montages of hardwood action and snatches of
inspirational music suggest a SportsCenter update distended over 90
minutes. The film is at its best when the pace drops, the voice-over
gives it a res, and Yao's engaging personality holds court.