Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

johnstonjames cute, Innocent, and by far one of the silliest sports movies ever made, this is classic, slapstick Disney comedy nostalgia at it's most indicative. a sweet reminder of why so many of us were fond of Disney's humour while growing up. just like wholesomeness, cute charm, and imagination were Disney trademarks we came to expect, a quirky, off beat sense of humour was also something that embodied the Disney filmgoing experience of the Disney golden age. when the numerous children's audience flocked to the Saturday matinée to see a Disney film they usually expected it to be good for a few laughs. after all, the whole Disney enterprise's foundation in the beginning were cartoons.that's pretty much what Disney's 'Athlete' is, like most live action Disney comedies, it's a cartoon show with real actors. everything here from characterization to the visual approach is played very broadly. even the African continent in the George of the Jungle cartoons by Jay Ward seemed more serious than this over the top depiction. Jan Michael Vincent's jungle boy Nanu is taken less seriously and more satirically than the Tarzan films.the gags here are pretty funny and more memorable than the film is given credit for. many of the scenes with Vincent and his Tiger pet are appealing, cuddly, and endearing. especially the moment when JMV runs toward his love interest in clichéd slow mo', only to bypass her and throw himself in the arms of his little Tiger pal for a big screen kiss. very amusing and classic Disney. the scenes where Roscoe Lee brown enchants Tim Conway and miniaturizes him are very funny and pretty surreal. there is also a lot of funny stuff with voodoo dolls even though voodoo is not a African belief. more like Haiti.some people might be uncomfortable with Roscoe Lee Brown's witch doctor and perceive it as mildly racist. i think that's taking things to seriously since the witch doctor role is done so broadly and doesn't amount to much more than a lot of "walla walla bing bang". besides, Brown's witch doctor has some very funny lines, especially in the scene where he meets with the America Medical Assoc. and begins making snide remarks and jabs at the American medical community.all in all this isn't a great movie or a all time great comedy, but it is definitely a very cute movie a good Disney film. mostly that's what a Disney movie should boil down to, they should be ever so cute and feel like Disney above all. after all, Disney isn't 'South Park' and it shouldn't be. like all of Disney's classic baby boomer comedies, 'Athlete' manages to have humour with some edge, but it doesn't forsake family values or wholesomeness. definitely a must for anyone who likes Disney and cute Bengal kitties.

Poseidon-3 One in a long series of formulaic, "teenager with a difference" Disney comedies, this movie is of interest mainly for its cast and its occasional bits of amusement accidentally tossed in amongst the tedium. Amos plays a college athletics coach, who leaves on a sojourn to Africa with his assistant Conway in tow, after suffering yet another humiliatingly bad season. While there to forget his troubles, he is introduced to Vincent, a spectacularly talented young man who is the orphaned child of missionaries and who has been raised in the wild. He can outrun a cheetah, out-jump a monkey and basically outdo anyone or anything in the realm of sports. In an extended sequence, Amos coerces him to return to his school (with his pet tiger along for the adventure!) and play for his track & field team. Since Vincent has been in the jungle his entire life, he needs a tutor to help him with his college subjects (!) and so Amos enlists pretty Haddon to help him. This leads the jealous and devious Goldman to retrieve Vincent's witch doctor mentor Browne from the continent and have him taken back, out of the way. Browne uses voodoo to foul up Amos's dreams of glory for Vincent and to keep Conway from alerting Amos to his presence. Naturally, it all ends well, this being a Disney movie. Amos (who made something of a historic footnote by playing the first black lead in a Disney film in decades) is animated and enthusiastic in his role, though a bit one note. It's hard to imagine that the man here, straining to make a lot of tired jokes funny and overplaying a lot of them, is the same one who stormed off of "Good Times" because of the scripts and who later made such an impact in "Roots." Conway's improvisational style sort of butts up uncomfortably against the carefully structured formula comedy found here and his timing seems off as a result, though he does have an amusing extended sequence in which he is shrunken to the size of a doll and knocked around inside a purse and around a bar area. Vincent, who, naturally, is in peak shape here, is hilariously bad in his acting, but impressive in the action sequences. It's also quite stunning to see him (and Amos, Conway and Walker!) cavorting with a real tiger in the film! Haddon, not coincidentally playing a girl named Jane, has a rather sensuous moment with Vincent as she's tutoring him, but otherwise isn't given much to do. (She would famously appear in Playboy right after filming this, confounding the Disney executives!) Browne is clearly enjoying his sly, magical role and has a lot of fun disrupting things and yanking the chains of those around him. Walker tries to inject some humor into her preposterous role of a nearly blind landlady who keeps mistaking the tiger for an inebriated tenant. Some real life sportscasters appear to lend an air of authenticity to the patently unreal proceedings, chiefly Gifford, McKay and Cosell, who has trouble playing himself, though he does tick off an amusing line or two along the way. It's not a bad movie, it's just a very routine one with humor that had to be a tad stale even at the time of release.

rdfrd Silly? You bet - and don't we love silly. A fish out of water? Most certainly - and aren't we all, at one time or another, a fish out of water. Loads of fun? Most definitely. The story line comes from the fertile imagination of someone impacted by Tarzan, but Tarzan was never this much fun. From Africa to America, covering a whole bunch of different types of people, including a tiger and a near-sighted landlady, The World's Greatest Athlete provides humor and a wonderful chance to relax. It gives you a happy chance to laugh at yourself and everyone else. The whole family will enjoy it. Our family found it a favorite when it first came out - and now that I am retired I still enjoy having a laugh at it now and then.

Cruisinangel2004 I was lucky enough to be able to see part of "Athlete" being made at my college in Stockton, California in 1972.I also got to meet Jan-Michael Vincent, John Amos and Tim Conway.I also had a confrontation with the tiger. Those memories will be something I won't forget. To top it off, John Amos and Tim Conway also made a surprise visit to my parents, cousin, and Aunt's restaurant also located in Stockton, California. It was called "Al Funzo's.It was a great evening for me, and my family, and the Restaurant patrons that came in that night.As for the movie, The World's Greatest Athlete" was and still is excellent, and ranks high in my list of favorite movies.