User reviews

Walt Disney's "The Rookie" is based on the story of Jim Morris, a former minor league picher who made one of the most amazing comebacks in sports history, ending an almost 10 year retirement and making his Major League debut in 1999 at the age of 35.

The film opens with a brief synopsis of Morris' childhood, which included a series of re-locations - his father was a military man. And even when his family settled for good in football crazed Texas, Morris' passion for baseball remained strong.

The childhood segment then jumps ahead about 23 years to the adult Morris (played by Dennis Quaid) who is now a baseball coach and chemistry teacher at Big Lake High School (in real life it was Reagan County High School in Big Lake, Texas). It is mentioned that he attempted a career as a baseball player but that it didn't work out.

Morris's team is struggling and he lectures them about giving up on their dreams. They turn the table on him, telling him that he should try out for a Major League team. At several times when he pitches to them in practice, they express amazement at the speed with which he throws. Morris seems unconvinced but agrees to a deal with his players in which if they win district, he will try out for a Major League team.

Big Lake does win district and, adhering to his end of the deal, Morris attends a Tampa Bay Devil Rays try out. Phenomenally, he throws 98 miles an hour - faster than he threw during his minor league career and an outstanding speed even for a Major League pitcher. After another try out with the team, Morris is offered a contract with the Devil Rays.

This leaves him with a tough decision - stay in his comfortable life or once again pursue his Major League dream by going through the minor league grind of making little money and spending months at a time away from home. And the decision is even more agonizing than during his first minor league stint because he now has a wife and three children.

Morris signs with the Devil Rays, begins at the AA level and moves up quickly to the AAA level, one level below Major League Baseball. But as the season winds down, the chances of him getting "called up" grow increasingly slim.

For the most part, I love this movie. There are lots of great performances and likable characters and it's easy to find yourself really pulling for Morris. Also, the movie does a great job portraying professional baseball at both the major and minor league levels. And most of all, it teaches the timeless message of holding tight to your dreams even when they seem distant and almost impossible to achieve.

Still, the movie has some flaws. While generally accurate, it exaggerates and even fabricates a few things. Check out http://espn.go.com/page2/s/closer/020410.html for some examples. Also, except for one scene in which he prays with his players, the movie completely ignores Morris' Christian faith. But considering Disney's left wing zeal, that's not surprising.

Presumably, a lot of the exaggerations/fabrications were done to make the story more dramatic. Yet the 20 minute documentary on Morris that is included on the DVD features some information that makes his story more dramatic but is excluded from the movie.

For example, from birth until his family settled in Texas for good when he was 12, Morris re-located 14 times. And his initial minor league career ended after four surgeries through which he lost half of the muscle in his left (pitching) shoulder, thus making his throwing 98 mph even more inexplicable.

To fully appreciate and understand the story of Jim Morris, it's good to not only watch "The Rookie" but to watch the DVD's documentary, check out the aforementioned link to the movie's inaccuracies and probably also to read Morris' biography, also titled "The Rookie." I haven't read the book but I hope to one of these days.

But overall, "The Rookie" is a very good portrayal of a miraculous story and is a powerful testament to the power of dreams and the triumph of the common man. 8/10

A fine story about following your dreams and actually taking a stab at Doing something about them when the chance strikes. Nothing was easy for Morris either-he had a family, job, job opps elsewheres, a mortgage, etc-it wasn't like he could just drop what he was doing and blithely hop on the greyhound to play AAA ball for 4 months. It took guts. I am glad that they showed his indecision, almost up 'til he got the callup to the majors.

I can remember seeing him pitch against the Red Sox(I think...), it was a great story. Though Morris actually looks more like John Kruk or a Mills Watson than Quaid-that's okay.

Quaid does a very good job playing the man, the teacher, coach and 'oldest rookie'.... As someone who is in the the same age group, I certainly can ID with his plight. You're not Quite too old to do what you had dreamed of as a kid, but it's getting there. You have to do it sooner than lator.

Believably told, nicely edited, paced, acted, good to see the familiar faces of the late Royce Applegate, Brian Cox and Rachel Griffiths here.

Good job all around, glad to see it hit.

*** outta ****...who woulda thought that the Tampa Devil Rays woulda been the subject of such a good movie early on?

It was nice to go see a movie with no sex, no cuss words and just a good story. A movie of this calibre is rare nowadays, with most having a poor story but lots of sex and violence. It is nice to be able to take the WHOLE FAMILY to see an entertaining movie with very good acting by the whole cast. GO SEE IT.

Usually I review a movie just after I've seen it, but the last time I saw this one was a full 2 weeks ago. Yet it still sticks in my mind and heart.

Baseball movies are inspirational by nature and seem to have all kinds of application to life (for example, my review of Field of Dreams). Jimmy Morris challenges the losing baseball team he's coaching to not give up on their dreams and has the challenge thrown right back at him. This wouldn't make for such drama if the majority of the movie up to that point hadn't been to show how Jimmy's own dream had been systematically dismantled. Such movies anyone can write, but when I found out it was a true story, it put the movie in a higher bracket altogether.

The conflict between Jimmy and his father is played very well by both Quaid and Cox. At one point or another, you can just feel coldness of the walls built up between them. They're reaching out (Hunter's baseball glove, Jimmy's asking advice), but can they ever connect?

While some might balk (sorry) at the presence of Hunter, Jimmy's son, I think the kid adds a lot to the film. Baseball is all about kids, anyway. And it's good to see a son who looks up to and believes in his dad. That phase is over far too soon for most fathers to enjoy it enough. I think the dream is as much Hunter's as it is his father's.

The theme of the Rookie is "never give up on your dreams." That's laudable. But the affirmation of the importance of families, even through broken relationships, as well as a clean script, makes this one that families can buy to watch every now and then. Disney surprised me with this believable, down-to-earth tale. I'm definitely picking this one up on DVD.

Really easy to follow movie with all the Disney fixings. I loved watching the scenes where Jimmy pitches for the scouts. There are some slow parts, but enough meat on the bones to keep you interested. I would have removed the story lines about Texas, oil, and the religious aspects. Those storylines don't seem necessary to the overall flow of the timeline and story.

Following Disney's purest tradition, "The Rookie" tells a story of hope and believing in yourself.

This film is actually a two-in-one combo. The first half is the story of the bad (baseball) team that, through some hard work and inspiration from their coach, come all the way from behind to win the championship. This movie we have seen tons of times ("Hardball", "Mighty Ducks", "Little Giants", etc, etc.). There are very few references to the Jimmy Morris tale during this first half.

The second half is all about Jimmy Morris and his struggle to pursue a long lost dream: become a major league baseball player. He is driven to gain self-confidence, hope and ultimately courage to take a shot at his dream; even when he's old enough to be retiring from instead of entering professional baseball. On the other hand, he has a family to take care of and a decent job he would be turning down to go after a potential lost cause.

All in all I think this movie is a story of courage. It takes lots of it to go after something you forgot you wanted more than anything; that and a very supporting family. The fact that this is a true story makes this point even more significant.

The movie itself may seem a little bit too long for it's purpose, specially the first half which didn't need so much detail, but it takes its message across well enough.

The Rookie is a wonderfully done underdog story, a film that easily wins us over and has us cheering in the protagonist's corner in the first act. Dennis Quaid plays Jimmy Morris, a blue blooded baseball fanatic who grew up with the game running in his blood and a bucket load of talent, but never the time to pursue it growing up. His working class father (Brian Cox) discourages that kind of ambitious and adopts a vaguely bitter worldview. And so he grows up, starts a family and the dream fades. His skill resurfaces when he coaches the town's high school baseball team. They take notice of his wildfire pitching arm, and make him a deal: if they win one championship, he takes a crack at the major leagues talent scout circuit. It's a pleasure watching an old dog like Quaid take a triumphant eleventh hour shot at success, and it makes for a fine film. Morris's fastball is a 90 plus mile an hour wunderkind and he is immediately drafted into the MLB despite his age. His family is overjoyed and he is filled with a new energy and love for life spurred on by his second chance at his passion. It's great stuff. Rachel Griffiths is solid as Jimmy's eternally supportive wife, Beth Grant is sweet as his mother and adorable Angus T. Jones makes good work of his doting son. It's Brian Cox who quietly steals the show as his father, a man soured by his own misplaced trajectory, who takes his damn time to come around and show some pride is his son. Cox is a deeply gifted pro who provides pools of gravity and anchors the film back on solid ground every time it veers towards excessive sentimentality. Especially his final, wrenching scene. A golden entry in the sports genre.

I love it when they actually do a sports story well. So many in the past have been so hokey it was embarrassing to watch. Not this one. It's just a genuinely nice movie, an old-fashioned type of story - and based on a real-life guy to did exactly what Dennis Quaid did in this film. He plays a high school coach who is talked into trying out, late in life athletically-speaking, to become a pitcher in professional baseball. Eventually, he reaches his goal of making it to the Major Leagues, even if it was a very brief stint.

All the characters in here are nice people, the kind you root for, from Quaid to the players on his high school team, to his little boy (Angus T. Jones, now somewhat of a star on television.)

Quaid is believable in playing Jim Morris because, unlike actors in the past in sports films, he knows how to throw a baseball. He looks like a pitcher, a guy who could fire it 90-plus miles per hour. And, most of this film is true, as testified by the real-life pitcher in one the documentaries on the DVD.

So, if you're looking for a nice, inspirational true life sports film, you can't wrong with this one.

As predictable as a Hallmark card, but not without merit, The Rookie makes for a solid outing. Dennis Quaid, the most reasonable jock actor working today, is absolutely perfect as the science teacher turned baseball player Jimmy Morris. The film is never dumbed down for the children, as would be expected from a G rated film. As a sports film, The Rookie is one of the best I have seen since Any Given Sunday.

The Rookie is directed by John Lee Hancock and written by Mike Rich. It stars Dennis Quaid, Rachel Griffiths, Jay Hernandez, Brian Cox, Angus T. Jones, Rick Gonzalez and Angelo Spizzirri. Music is by Carter Burwell and cinematography by John Schwartzman.

Out of Walt Disney Productions, The Rookie is based on the true story of 35 year old teacher and school baseball coach Jim Morris (Quaid). Who having thought his chance of making it to the major leagues in Baseball had long since gone, his minor league career curtailed by a shoulder injury, got that second chance and became the oldest rookie around.

What an absolute treat! A sports movie that inspires and uplifts whilst never resorting to cloying tactics or Hollywood sprucing story additions. First off the bat is that the film is unhurried in pace, time is afforded Morris and his family as well as the key issues that lead to his moment of fulfilment. Secondly is the bare honesty of the story, and that of the portrayals by a wonderful Quaid (at 47 here playing a 35 year old) and a likewise Griffiths. We are not going to be arriving at some monumental cliff-hanger finale (as per most other sports movies), history tells us that Morris made a minimal impact in his two years in the majors, this takes us to an earthy and achievable goal being attained.

Just prior to Morris making his bow at Arlington Stadium, we have seen the love of a husband and father who is separated from his family. He's out on the road playing ball, the emotional tug pulling him everywhere. There's money worries back home as well, really Jim would be better served back there, surely? All of this sounds like a recipe for sappy crappy time, but it's not, it's all beautifully handled by director and actors alike. The baseball scenes are smooth, the score and photography pristine in their execution (it's a Blu-ray must have), there is just no waste here. There's a rich human story to be told and wasting time on incidentals would be wrong, and Hancock knows this and never puts a foot wrong.

Heart warming and impeccably mounted, The Rookie is one of the greatest baseball films out there. But, and here's the thing, it's as much about life and its challenges as it is about fast balls and hot-dogs. 9/10

Wholesome determination makes for a film for the entire family to watch. A former minor league pitcher Jimmy Morris(Dennis Quaid)turns to teaching and coaching in Big Lake, Texas and bargains with his formerly hapless high school players that if they go to the state championships he will try out for the big leagues again. In 1999, Morris becomes the "Oldest Rookie" when he lands a job with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as a 98 mph throwing lefty from the bullpen. Morris' dream is short, but sweet. And his story seems to have spawned from a Hollywood script. Although this is based on fact the movie could have been much better if filmed with a more "mature" approach. My favorite scene is where Morris is at the tryouts camp and he wipes his nose holding a soiled diaper. Also in the cast are Rachel Griffiths, Rick Gonzales, Russell Richardson and Blue Deckert.

it started out great. Somewhere in the middle it got real boring.

there were scenes that made me feel I would be able to become a pro ball player. Even at thirty two and five foot two. it was an inspiration with lots of time in between.

This is one of those movies that I can say is well-crafted, yet I can also say I was pretty bored through most of it. "The Rookie" is a Disney production, yet it doesn't have that Disney feel. And it doesn't feel G-rated either. In fact, this movie does a fine job at avoiding overused cliches in the genre of sports dramas and stands on its own two feet. The premise of a high school science teacher suddenly becoming a major league ballplayer seems a little far-fetched, but it's a true story! So I can't complain it was unconvincing. The performances are terrific. Dennis Quaid is good in virtually every movie he does, and he again delivers a subtle, convincing performance. Brian Cox is great as his workaholic father, who tries to convince him that there's more to life than baseball. Rachel Griffiths is perfectly cast as Quaid's wife, who also tries to discourage him from baseball. Though Griffiths is Australian, I don't think any American actress could've played her role better, and she perfectly dons a Texas accent.

I have few bad things to say about "The Rookie" other than it was long and dull. I didn't enjoy the overuse of country music on the soundtrack, though I know that it was used simply to give the movie a Texas feel. You can't expect the soundtrack to include Metallica! And though the movie does a pretty good job at avoiding cliches, there are still a few that exist. Like what I was talking about earlier, about Quaid's wife and father discouraging him from baseball. There's one scene where his Dad gives him a speech/monologue--standing inside the house, many feet away from his son--about how there's more to life than baseball. Done with his speech, he closes the door and goes back into the house. No "Goodbye son" or anything like that. Then he comes home and his wife gives him the same speech, only she goes outside to the porch to apologize to him minutes later and they give each other the "you were right, I was wrong" run-around. Another problem is the film takes too much time stressing the fact that Jimmy Morris is a brilliant pitcher. I think if the director cut out most of his pitching scenes, the movie would be about 85 minutes. Now, I love that scene in which he pulls off to the side of the road to practice pitching by throwing the ball towards a meter, which measures the speeds of passing cars. The meter reads 76 MPH. Then when he goes to pick up the ball, we watch as it changes to 96 MPH. Once we watch that scene, we already know that he's a brilliant pitcher, we don't need it pounded into our skulls. I don't even know how good of a batter he is, because they never show him at bat!

There's a good deal of things I give this movie credit for, but all in all it just doesn't deliver. Sure, it doesn't have the formula cliches of last year's "Hardball," but it also doesn't have the charm and fun of "Hardball." I wasn't uplifted, nor entertained, so this movie pretty much left me cold.

My score: 5 (out of 10)

My favorite films are those which are based on an interesting true story, and are well made. "The Rookie" fits that bill, and I rate it very highly. At first glance it appears to be about getting to play baseball. In fact, it is about making your dreams come true, and the power of friendship. Baseball just happens to be the subject matter. The first one-hour movie is about a 10-member high school team in West Texas that barely manages to win one game each year. It is about their coach inspiring them to become the district champs and go to the state tournament in 1999.

The second one-hour movie comes about from a "deal" the kids made with the coach. "If we win district, then you have to go to a tryout with a professional baseball team." They do, so he does. And to his and everyone else's surprise, his 85-mph fastball as a 20-year-old has become a 98-mph one as a 35-year-old. The films hints that it might have been divine intervention, a prayer to St Rita, the patron of the impossible. Might have been!!

Dennis Quaid is a bit older than 35, but he does a good job and is believable as science teacher, coach, and finally a surprised big-league pitcher in Arlington, Tx stadium, where he strikes out his very first big-league batter. The real Jim played two seasons, not particularly distinguished, but that point is way secondary. The journey, and the way he made it, with support from family and his baseball kids is what this film is all about.

The DVD is very nice, with a great picture and decent use of the 5.1 Dolby surround sound. Extras include footage of the real Jim, some original footage of his playing days, and his narration and re-enactment of his first trip to a big-league mound. Great stuff! Plus a few, moderately interesting deleted scenes explained by the director.

A rather likable and old fashioned tale. It is a film in two halves where you first see Dennis Quaid as a High school baseball coach who is persuaded to try out as a professional pitcher late in life.

The second half of the film is his search to be the oldest Rookie in the major league. Armed with a demon pitch, he can thrown the ball at over 90 miles per hour, he is taken seriously from the off.

The film defies expectations, there are no villains, not much of the old timer jokes, very little in the way of chicanery.

A rare film where everybody is nice to each other and a genuine lack of cynicism, especially as it is based on a true story.

The movie actually has a fairly good story, but gets bogged down in several key places. It's almost as if the director threw the movie together without taking the time to make some essential cuts in the film. Dennis Quaid does a fairly decent job in his role... but something is clearly missing from several key scenes.

This 2.5 hour movie could have been reduced to about a 2 hour movie. And probably would have been a much better film had it not had the feel as if it was thrown together.

As someone who loves films and baseball, this film was a mixed bag for me. As a human interest story it is excellent, but as a baseball story it is somewhat of a disappointment. It is a very upbeat tale of Jim Morris (Dennis Quaid), a high school science teacher who rediscovers his fastball at the age of 35 and tries out for the major leagues. The story mixes together his personal quest and that of the high school baseball team he coaches, both of which overcome incredible odds to achieve near impossible feats.

As a baseball story, Jim Morris is really nothing more than an interesting footnote in baseball history. There are far more compelling baseball stories to be told, like Tommy John who came back from reconstructive surgery to pitch another 14 seasons (that were some of his best), or Jim Abbott who was born without a right hand and pitched in the major leagues for ten years, pitching a no hitter against Cleveland in 1993. Morris only played for Tampa Bay for parts of two seasons, pitching a total of 15 innings with a 4.80 ERA and almost as many walks as strikeouts. Still, it is pretty inspirational that he made it to the majors at all given his age.

This film plays well on Main Street, where regular folks are reminded of the faded fantasies of their youth. It strikes a chord because to root for Morris is to root for their long abandoned dreams. Director John Lee Hancock does a fine job of bringing out the best in the human story, although the sports components are marginal.

There are just too many instances of unrealistic baseball in this film. For instance, Morris is repeatedly shown throwing as hard as he can with absolutely no warm-up. Any little leaguer can tell you that you will blow out your arm if you do that. This is especially unrealistic given the fact that Morris had surgery on that shoulder when he was younger. Unless he was plain stupid, he would warm up before he attempted to throw flat out.

As an athlete, Quaid is not terribly convincing, with pitching mechanics that are far short of professional caliber. Kevin Costner was much more credible in `For Love of the Game', though that film lacked the story of this one.

From an acting perspective Dennis Quaid is marvelous in the lead. This is one of the best performances of his career. He is convincing as the high school coach pushing his kids to reach for their dreams and maximize their potential. His chemistry with the young cast is terrific. However, in the pursuit of his own dream, he is even better. This is a complex and nuanced performance showing Morris as filled with desire and self doubt. Quaid's portrayal of his determination in the face of his own insecurity is phenomenally insightful and compelling. Rachel Griffiths and Brian Cox give splendid performances and Morris' wife and father.

This is a wonderful feel-good film that is great for the whole family. I've been a little hard on it because I'm a long time baseball fanatic, but the human interest story is so well done and Quaid's performance so compelling that I have to give it at least an 8/10. This is a film that everyone can enjoy, regardless of whether you love sports.

I usually don't care for kiddie films but I got the opportunity to attend a free sneak preview of this film. If you liked "Remember the Titans" you'll love this flick. I was very impressed but was bored with the camera shots. They kept using the same shots of pitching since "Rookie of the Year." Some were actually worse.

Quaid did a wonderful job and the movie was rather touching. This just isn't my kind of movie. It was a lot better than I was expecting though. Well worth it if you have small kids.

I saw this recently in the theaters. The main draw for me was the theme of baseball, but their was much more to the movie. The Rookie tells the story of a high school teacher, Jim Morris, who pursues his dream after the baseball team he coaches issues him with a challenge to try out for a major league team if they win their division title. Dennis Quaid did a wonderful job as Jim Morris. He really breathed life into the role. The story was very good in showing the theme of making choices and how those choices affect our lives and the individuals around us. A particularly memorable scene is when his wife first learns of his attempts to get back into baseball. You would expect his wife to initially be supportive of him because it is something he really wants to do, but there is an expression of mixed emotions as she honestly expresses her real feelings on his attempt at trying to get into the majors in his late thirties. She isn't particularly supportive and prefers he not do it in the beginning. The film will leave you with a "feel good" attitude after you watch it, and you do not necessarily have to enjoy baseball to enjoy the film. Whether you see it in theaters or wait until home video please make sure you make an effort to see this film.

This film has a lame soundtrack, a silly plot, and the sort of preprogrammed ending that feels contrived. Still, it is the kind of movie that you walk away from feeling as if it somehow summed up everything important in the world, as if baseball really were everything that mattered. Can we forgive the film's simplistic story in light of the multitude of subtleties that are left unspoken? I believe we can. This isn't the sort of tearjerker that will traumatize you for the rest of the evening. This movie is just like a game of baseball on a balmy afternoon.

It had great acting, a great story, but wasn't really directed great. It was kind of boring, but at some points, very entertaining. It wasn't bland, but it was slow moving. Baseball fans may eat this up, though. Worth watching. B, 7/10

I wanted to like "The Rookie." I like sports romances. I like director John Lee Hancock's other work. The soundtrack included the likes of John Hiatt, one of my faves (thoughthere wasn't much in original songs and the songs weren't very illustrative).

I like Dennis Quaid (nice to see that smile again) and Rachel Griffiths (who is given almost nothing to do except prove that she's not always crazy "Brenda" from "Six Feet Under").

But I was bored silly and simply lost concentration by the time the end finally came.

Overlong and unoriginal.

(originally written 5/19/2002)