Barking at the Big Screen: Air Bud Spikes Back

Air Bud Spikes Back ends the series on the sand volleyball court.

Air Bud Spikes Back is the fifth and final movie in the series, releasing in 2003. It follows Seventh Inning Fetch, and precedes the first in the Air Buddies spinoff series.

Storyline

Andrea Framm (Katija Pevic) and Tammy Sorenson (Chantal Strand) have just finished their last day at Fernfield Junior High, but Tammy’s family is moving to San Diego, which neither of them are too thrilled by.

Noah (Jake Smith) and the Framms’ Golden Retriever Buddy enter (and win) the agility competition (which involves a flyball box) at the Fernfield Summer Fair, which catches the eye of two would-be thieves hoping to swipe a priceless diamond.

With Noah’s assistance, Andrea takes up petsitting (mostly dogs) to raise money to go visit Tammy while Patrick and Jackie are at a veterinary conference in Idaho.

Her grandma’s parrot Polly sparks a dog stampede through an arts-and-crafts show at the fair, but Buddy helps round everyone up for Andrea and her new neighbor Connor (Tyler Boissonnault), who plays volleyball. Still, repairing the damage wipes out her savings.

Gram’s (Edie McClurg) parrot is later kidnapped by the thieves.

Connor decides to teach Andrea how to play volleyball, since he’s already learned that Buddy can play, and besides, the team that wins the summer league title wins an all-expenses-paid trip to watch the AVP beach volleyball tour stop in Malibu.

When setter Tasha has to leave the team in midseason because of an extended family vacation, Buddy takes her spot and the Timberwolves advance through the championship tournament.

About two hours before the final match, the thieves succeed in kidnapping Buddy, and he escapes with the diamond safely in his possession, leading them to the beach, where Sheriff Bob arrests them.

Polly reunites with Gram, and Andrea’s team wins the match. Shortly thereafter, the team is watching the tournament in Malibu, Andrea visits with Tammy, and Buddy teams with Gabrielle Reece to win a match.

Plot holes aplenty

This series isn’t exactly known for its continuity consistency, but Katija Pevec looks nothing like Caitlin Wachs, which is very distracting while watching.

These criminals are pretty clever by the (admittedly terribly low) standard for antagonists in these movies – they have a detailed plan, execute it successfully, and nearly steal the diamond. (And they’re also foiled by a carousel, so….yeah, it’s still an Air Bud movie.)

Having a dog play volleyball actually makes a lot of sense. It’s feasible physics-wise, and sand volleyball is laid-back by its very nature, so it could happen. BUT – and this is a big problem – Buddy would be at least nine or 10 by the time of this movie, at the very best elderly, likely arthritic, and possibly dead. There’s no way an elderly dog could play volleyball at this level.

Buddy beats a border collie at an agility competition? See previous point about his age.

This veterinary conference feels like it goes on forever – at least two weeks, as best I can judge from Andrea’s improvement and the progress of the season.

Gram’s parrot is a male, but his name is Polly.

The sand volleyball tournament getting front-page newspaper coverage actually makes sense from a journalism perspective, which is saying something for this series. The Summer Fair has just ended, and there’s very little news happening in the summertime, so you really have to search for stories.

Several times the Timberwolves very clearly get four hits before sending the ball over the net, which is very illegal (three’s the max). But most of the times when this happens is in the final match, where Sheriff Bob is officiating, and it’s possible that his eyesight isn’t good enough to catch it.

Malibu is about three hours northwest of San Diego, so that’s a ways for Tammy’s family to travel, but still within the realm of possibility.

Summary

Air Bud Spikes Back is pretty much the same as all the others, for better or worse. If you like the rest of the series, you’ll enjoy watching it, if not, you won’t.

Have any comments or thoughts on the movie? Let us know in the comments!