Air Bud 4 is the latest in the series about the sports-playing dog, Buddy. This time around, though, it's a little bit different. Instead of teaming up with his regular pal, Josh Framm (played by Kevin Zegers), Buddy teams up with Josh's younger sister, Andrea (played by Caitlin Wachs).
Of all the Air Bud movies, I enjoyed this movie's plot the most. It focuses on Andrea and her many "problems": starting junior high school, her brother going away to college, her parents ignoring her in favor of the new baby, and her (at first) pathetic attempts at playing baseball. Unfortunately, Buddy is not as involved in the sports scenes as he was in the first three movies. He really doesn't even play until the near-end of the movie. This makes the pace of the movie a little slow at times. (It's also hard to accept that a dog can be a great baseball hitter.) Of course, being Disney, the movie is predictable and gives off warm fuzzies (which is not a bad thing). The subplot of the scientists is never really explored, which is a good thing; it would have ruined the movie. This is not a movie to rush out and rent/buy (unless you have a wife who loves Golden Retrievers, like mine), but it's a good film to watch when you have some time to spare. I recommend it for anyone who likes this series.
