Jordan Minter Reviews: The Year Of The Yao

Starring Yao Ming

When you are 7 and a half feet tall and Chinese, you tend to get noticed everywhere you go. Now consider being just 22 years old and being picked first over all in the NBA draft. Now you REALLY get noticed. Leaving his homeland and setting course for the United States at that young age is what Yao Ming did in 2002 and this film chronicles his first year in the league and his first year in America. Already a huge star and gifted athlete in his homeland, Yao must now make the transition in a foreign land and overcome more obstacles than any of us will face in a lifetime and hes got about 2 and a half weeks to get used to it before the world gets their first peek at what all the fuss is about.
With heavy weight names like Bill Clinton, Adam Sandler, P.Diddy and Shaq all weighing in with their first impressions you start to get a sense of exactly how big this person is and the magnitude of what it means for the two very different countries involved.
Its like starting a new job and having a bunch of co workers watching over your every move, except that in this case its your co workers and 300 million casual fans that are doing the watching. No pressure I'm sure. The fact that Yao Ming still remains so grounded to this day is a testament to his upbringing and demeanor. His humility is astounding and Americans could learn a great deal from his example.
You cheer for him and laugh with him and you are bummed out when he is as well. The ups and downs in this first year for Ming would be enough to make most men walk away from it all deflated and disheartened but Ming takes everything dealt his way and comes out stronger in the end.
Peppered with funny everyday scenarios and the odd serious tone, this documentary delivers a heartfelt account of one mans journey into a brand new world that very few of us could ever fathom. It is uplifting and rewarding to watch. Honestly, I don't say that sort of thing about movies these days.
This one is hard to find but I urge you to seek it out as I'm sure you wont be disappointed.
In particular, check out the extras on the DVD and look for the segment entitled Vitamins And Gin. Here Ming mistakenly drinks the equivalent of 5 or 6 shots of gin after taking his vitamins (he thought it was water). Human reaction in documentaries is often far better than any scripted scene in regular movie fare.
If you live near me, lemme know if you would like to see it and I will let you borrow mine. You may have to special order it otherwise.

Rating (for basketball fans) 4 chicken wings out of 5
Rating (for casual fans) 3 1/2 pizza slices out of 5

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