The Rookie Review
by Robin Clifford (robin AT reelingreviews DOT com)April 4th, 2002
"The Rookie"
Jim Morris (Dennis Quaid) is a high school science teacher who, years ago, had a chance to play big league baseball. But, he blew out his shoulder and had to put his ambitions and dreams behind, settling for a happy, if uneventful, life with his wife, Lorri (Rachel Griffiths), and their three kids in the west Texas town of Big Lake. When the members of the high school baseball team he coaches pose a bet that, if they make the state finals, Jim will try out for the big league, there are surprises all around in "The Rookie."
Attorney turned screenwriter John Lee Hancock makes his directing debut with the feel good film "The Rookie." This true-life, G-rated sportster covers a lot of ground with its Good News Bears team of ball players who make a deal with their coach, Morris. The Big Lake Owls have never had a winning streak. Hell, they never win, period, but they are willing to put it on the line for Jim when they make a deal - if they make it to the state championship, their coach will try out for a pitching spot in the majors. Jim, knowing that the Owls are perennial losers, agrees to the plan. Little does he know that his boys will be true to their word as they have the best season of their lives and do, indeed, make it to the state championship.
Now, Jim has to put up or shut up and he, with his kids in tow, heads to the tryouts for the Devil Rays farm team. He pitches his best and, just as he prepares to head home, the team scout informs him that he pitched every ball at a remarkable 98mph! He is told that he may just get a call from the club and Jim's life enters a whole new phase. Fortunately, his wife Lorri could not be more supportive of her man and, being a good west Texas wife and mother, she sends him off to fulfill his dream.
There is a bunch of stuff going on in "The Rookie," so much that I have to say the film feels too short at 130 minutes runtime. It's not that I would want the movie to run longer, but there is too much material to cover, properly, in the allotted time. There are really several stories going on here - the rags to riches tale of the Owls, who turn from losers to winners to force their coach to reach for his dreams; Jim's quest to become a big league pitcher years after he though the dream had died; a story about fathers and sons where Jim gives his boy, Hunter (Angus T. Jones), all the love and attention that he didn't get from his Navy dad (Brian Cox); and, finally, the loving supportive relationship between Jim and Lorri, a woman who could almost be deemed a saint for her patience and understanding. Feel good is the bottom line for "The Rookie."
Helmer Hancock does an assured job of marshalling his cast and crew in a no-nonsense way that moves things along briskly. It helps that he has a talented, likable lead in Dennis Quaid as the oldest rookie in the major league. Quaid has the handsome good looks and physical ability to make this true-life adventure eminently watchable and believable. Rachel Griffiths is almost saintly as the supportive wife character that not only stands by her man, she pushes him to realize his dreams. Young Angus T. Jones is a cute little kid and does a pretty darned good job as a boy who idolizes his dad - he is more impressed that his father is playing for a team named after a fish (the Devil Rays) than he is of his dad playing in the big league. Brian Cox, as the stern, career-oriented Navy CPO who missed out on his son's growing up, lends his usual dignity to the role.
John Schwartzman provides crisp lensing that captures the feel of a small, west Texas town. The rest of the techs are first rate, too. The inspirational screenplay by Mike Rich covers a lot of ground, perhaps too much, but ties things together, neatly, by the end.
I never got the feel of the love of the game in "The Rookie" but appreciate the inspirational message it delivers. The G rating will attract the baseball fans of all ages but the story is a bit too mature for younger kids. I give it a B.
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