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All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
The Rookie
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  out of 4
| *Also starring: | Angus T. Jones, Brian Cox, Jay Hernandez, Beth Grant, Mario Ernesto Sanchez, Russell Richardson |
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Review by Susan Granger
2½ stars out of 4
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Filled with wholesome values and good intentions, this family-geared
sports saga pushes all the drama buttons. And Dennis Quaid delivers a solid,
totally credible performance as earnest Jim Morris, a high-school science
teacher who, in 1999, really did make it in big league baseball. Problem is:
it's boring, very boring. Written by Mike Rich ("Finding Forrester") and
directed by former screenwriter John Lee Hancock ("Remember the Titans," "A
Perfect World"), it begins with a surreal sequence in the dry, dusty West Texas
landscape and segues to young Jimmy (Trevor Morgan), a Navy brat and baseball
fanatic, whose insensitive father (Brian Cox) is transferred from one post to
another, finally settling in the tiny oil town of Big Lake, Texas. Flash-forward
to Jim (Dennis Quaid), now coaching at Big Lake High School. He's in his mid-30s
with a wife (Rachel Griffiths of "Six Feet Under") and three kids, particularly
an adoring eight year-old son (Angus T. Jones). Frustrated that the guys on his
baseball team view themselves as losers, he urges them to "follow your dreams,"
while they - in turn - challenge him to try out for the big leagues. His injured
arm has healed and he pitches at 98 m.p.h.! So when his squad wins its District
Championship, he goes to tryouts, throws fast balls and is quickly signed up by
a farm team of the Tampa Devil Rays. Chock-full of clichés with a schmaltzy
music by Carter Burwell, it's all plodding and predictable with a few
heart-tugging moments. According to the closing credits, the real Jim Morris,
after being the oldest big-league rookie in 30 years, went on to play major
league baseball for two years. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "The
Rookie" is an uplifting, shamelessly sweet 6 - but so solemnly slow-paced that
you want to scream, "Play ball!"
Copyright © 2002 Susan Granger
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