Space Jam: A New Legacy is a pretty decent movie. It won't win any Oscars, but come on, it's a Space Jam sequel – what were you expecting? It also doesn't pave the way for LeBron James to follow The Rock or John Cena into acting, and relies on crossovers far too much in its second act – despite the first act centring around how soulless relying on licensed cameos can be – but in the final act, when the Tunes and the Goons hit the court, it's stellar. It doesn't spend enough time giving the lesser Tunes love though, and nowhere is that clearer than with Gossamer.
Gossamer, if you're unfamiliar with the Looney Tunes, is the big red furry one. While clearly not in the same echelon as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, or Porky Pig, Gossamer is a classic Tune, and he's always been one of my favourites. He's included in Space Jam: A New Legacy, but only just. His inclusion is similar to Granny in the original Space Jam, largely a background character who is occasionally involved in a gag but never has any of their own. In A New Legacy, Granny finds the spotlight, getting lines, scoring points, and regularly involves herself in the humour. Maybe in ten years there'll be a third Space Jam with Giannis Antetokounmpo in the starring role, and Gossamer will finally get his Space Jam moment. I live in hope.
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With such a huge cast to use – and with several NBA stars besides James on the other team who all need their moment to shine too – Space Jam: A New Legacy's tactic seems to be to give everyone one chance. The big name stars may get two or three, but 'everyone gets one' is a good policy of making sure the whole cast is used while taking advantage of their unique attributes. If we had fewer crossovers or a pacier start, we might have had more basketball and more time for shenanigans, but even within Space Jam: A New Legacy's structure, it just about works. The problem is Gossamer's moment is having part of his fur shaved off so Porky Pig can make a Yosemite Sam disguise. There's so much more to Gossamer than that, and it's not even really his gag, it's just using him for the set up.
I suppose I shouldn't complain too much, one because it doesn't do to overthink Space Jam this much, and two because fellow underrated Tune Marvin the Martian gets a lot more screen time than I expected. But amongst Looney Tunes features, Space Jam is the holy grail. It's 25 years since the last one, and they might never make another. This is the big leagues, the NBA Finals. Go hard or go home. Unfortunately, Gossamer spends almost the entire Finals on the bench.
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