| The Rookie | | Cast : | Dennis Quaid | | Director : | John Lee Hancock | | Studio : | Walt Disney Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | March 29, 2002 | | DVD Released Date : | January 25, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | G (General Audience) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 17, 2005 | | Summary | Straight Pitch | Content
 | I'm not much of a sports fan, and yet, quite a few of my favorite movies, interestingly enough, are sports movies. It was in watching Rookie that I realized why, as I listened to Jim Morris, played by Dennis Quaid, talk about his dreams. Sports movies are often less about sports and more about beating the odds to capture a dream held close to the heart. These are stories of hope, courage, determination, persistence, and a passion for doing what one is meant to do.
In line with this, sports movies are fequently devoid of special effects. No glitz. No flashy distraction. Just good down to earth stories with a lot of heart.
Rookie ranks with perhaps the top ten, if not top five, of my favorite movies. All the elements of a good plot are here. It doesn't hurt that the story is a true one, based on Jim Morris, as told in his own words, about how he came to play for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as an "old man."
The story begins with the boy, whose military, emotionally distant father is completely insensitive to his son's need for his attention and support. Boy loves baseball, with a passion, but father moves the family from town to town in pursuit of his military career, and he runs his family in a similarly military manner: cold, commanding, no arguments. From time to time, Jim makes an effort to solicit his father's approval, but it is not forthcoming.
The final military post brings the family to a small town in Texas, and it seems no one there cares about baseball. What the boy hasn't found in his father, he appears to find in the warm heart of a store owner who may not carry "baseball stuff" among his merchandise, but, seeing the crestfallen and lonely boy's face at this news, immediately brings out a catalog with promises of ordering all things baseball.
The story jumps to the adult Morris. He has a family, a wife who is the good woman behind the good man, two small children. His young son, Hunter, played by Angus T. Jones (today of "Two and a Half Men" fame), is something of a star in this movie, too, tugging at the heartstrings as he portrays how a son looks to his father to be his hero. Morris has become a high school science teacher who coaches the school baseball team, the Owls. His dreams, it seems, are long over. He had been on the brink of playing professional baseball, but injuries kept him on the sidelines, and he quit his dream before it was his. Morris's bitterness with his father's lack of support is still very much alive in the adult son, and there are great scenes between the man and his elderly father (played by Brian Cox), who with age has mellowed, has been divorced by his wife, lives alone, and still has no understanding about the sport, but at last senses he has not been much of a dad.
When the Owls do poorly on the field, coach Morris chides them on not playing with enough passion. He talks to them about not giving up. I cheered out loud, yes!, when his team called him on his own hypocrisy. They have seen him pitch, they know their coach not only still has his good arm, they know he still aches to follow his dream, even if he has lost courage. A deal is struck. They will win their tournament, but then their coach must go to the try-outs.
They win the tournament.
It's an absolutely wonderful scene as Morris struggles with his children while going to the try-outs. He hasn't had the guts to tell his wife about this "foolish" settling of a deal, and he ends up with a crying baby in a stroller, his small son cheering from the back of a pickup truck, while other athletes chuckle at the "old man" trying to pitch. Until he throws the pitch. He clocks 98 miles per hour.
And it's a beautiful thing, how Morris continues to struggle with doubts and is torn between following his old dream and being with the family he so loves. He goes back and forth more than once. He even asks his father for advice--who gives him advice he doesn't want to hear. At one point, his wife withholds her support. This is madness, and the family can't live on $600 a month while daddy plays ball. But when she realizes how much her son Hunter looks up to his father, how important it is to not only hear the good advice of a father, but to see that father as a role model who shows the courage and determination to face his fears and give his dream a try, well, she gives in. She not only gives in, she becomes her husband's biggest fan, except perhaps Hunter.
Morris ends up playing major league baseball. The hard pursuit comes to its most satisfying end. Yes, Hunter, your daddy is a hero. And Morris, pitching his first major league game, finally makes peace with his father. Who still may not understand baseball. But who is finally starting to understand about being a father.
Six stars. Do not miss. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 10, 2005 | | Summary | A Man with a Dream | Content
| I'll be honest I'm almost always a sucker for a good sports movie. So it should come as no surprise that when Disney delivers a classic film like this I'm sure to be hooked. In this film you have a man Jim Morris challenged by his students to follow his dreams. In spite of all obstacles such as age, and family responsibilities Jim Morris still succeeds in following his dreams and managing his personal life. Like many others have said this movie isn't sappy like some Disney movies and it's not overly macho like some sports movies. Instead this is a fantastic compromise that the whole family can enjoy. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 03, 2005 | | Summary | Disney cheese? Not at all! | Content
| This is a movie that people who don't know the story might not like it. It's too easily dismissed as a sappy Disney fairytale like "Angels in the Outfield." However, this is totally true, and that makes all the difference. I can remember this guy even pitching against my team and hearing his story then! Put on screen this is great. Baseball stories like this are hard to come by, and as a big baseball fan, this movie satisfies my craving for a good story. Watch this and know ahead of time that this is true--it will help you like it! |
| Rating | | | Date | June 06, 2005 | | Summary | Dennis sure could throw | Content
| Some people are saying that this story is not realistic. How can it not be, this is a true story. Okay, maybe the real Jim Morris could not throw ninety- eight miles per hour but it was still a good story. One of the most dissapointing but one of my favorite scenes is when Jim stops on the road and decides to throw a baseball past the speed limit indicator. He first gets like seventy- six miles per hour. Than when he walks past the speed indicator to go get the ball the seventy-six turns into a ninety-six. I am guessing the indicator did not work very well and it took a while for it to light up to what he really threw. I also think it's neat how jim Morris si in a sort of a poor town and he gets to get noticed and still pitch for the majors. It sure is dissaponting though that he had to be on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. That baseball team has been terrible every sibce it started. They showed Royce Clayton up to bat for the Rangers. This is in Jim's first games to pitch in the majors. Royce Clayton does not even play for the Rangers anymore. I wonder how they got him to be in the movie. Another great plot and realistic one is when Jim can not seem to fit in with all the younger guys. He is into different things then the young guys and seems to be the only one who has a wife. Jim Morris's son is not annoying. He was a great little actor in this movie. Another realistic thing in this movie is when Jim comes to pitch and he's got a baby, a little daughter, and a little son. He has to get the kids to change the diapers while he pitches. That is so much like life. Your wife might not be able to take the kids with her and your stuck with them while you have to do something way more important. The young ballplayers on the team really must have wanted the coach to go to the majors because they made a deal with jim that if they won every game then he would have to pitch for the scouts and if they lost then they would have to run the whole practice that they had. They won all their games so he had to try out. He was a pretty good coach for that high school baseball team. I think anybody should buy this movie. God bless you and America. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 28, 2005 | | Summary | One Of The Best Baseball Stories Around | Content
| Jim Morris didn't win the World Series. He doesn't hold any great records in Major League Baseball. He won't make it to Cooperstown. What he did do, and this is the most important thing, is take a second chance on a dream.
"The Rookie" tells the story of Morris growing up as a military brat, being dragged across the country wherever it needed his father to be. His dream was to pitch in the big leagues, but injuries, and perhaps a little bad luck, cut his career in the majors short. He ended up in a little hole-in-the-wall town in Texas(don't all great baseball stories involve a small town?). He became a teacher and coached the less-than-spectacular high school baseball team.
When the team's catcher asks Morris to pitch to him, Morris starts to realize that whatever cut his dreams short so many years ago is now gone. With a little coaxing(and a wager with his team), Morris tries out at Angelo State for the Bigs. He makes it. The story then follows the ups and downs of being a minor leaguer. Eventually, though, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays call him up and he is asked to meet the team at The Ballpark in Arlington, home of the Texas Rangers. There, he fulfills his dream of making it, and the story continues from there.
What makes this story so great is that it has a wonderful message of never giving up set in actual events. The cinematography of this film accurately captures the emotions that run roughshod over Morris as he attempts to make it to the Show. My favorite sequence is when he makes it to Arlington and walks up to the ballpark. If you've ever been to a Rangers game, you know how massive and imposing the Ballpark in Arlington can be. Imagine walking up to it and knowing you might pitch there that night. Though Arlington may not have the great history of Yankee Stadium or Fenway, its sheer size is a fearsome thing to experience. The camera captures this imposing force perfectly.
Overall, a great family-oriented film that will not let you down.
Highly recommended. |
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