Hardball

When I first saw this movie, I watched it with my daughter who was 10 years old at the time. The language was kind of edgy but not too serious. I'm sure she hears worst from her friends at school (even though we try to ignore those facts). This flick had it all. From the coach struggling with his own morality, vices and (of course) romance, to the kids plagued by the daily atrocities of their neighborhood. Through these tribulations, however, we learn that "showing up" (coined from the movie) was the best way to face and overcome our problems. This applies to all of us across the board.

I read a few reviews that discouraged kids from seeing this movie and I wholeheartedly disagree. Why can we let our kids watch The Bad News Bears and The Mighty Ducks but discard a movie that gives us a taste of the reality of our inner city youth whom want to play "Hardball"? Yes they spoke more freely with there swearing than a kid from the burbs. But isn't that the point? They're not from the burbs. Yes there was a shooting scene but you didn't actually see the shot hit. But it's ok for our kids to see the Matrix where people are getting shot left and right. sheez. I hope that one day America can stop hiding the inner city from their kids and let them know how their less fortunate counterparts living (and dying). Maybe they will take less for granted and appreciate their situation more after seeing this flick. Maybe they will want to help solve some of the problems when they get older except ignoring them like their parents are doing because their parents sheltered them from the same things in the 70's & 80's. I'm not trying to sell this movie by saying it's going to change any social order or make your kid a better person. What I'm saying is... Let them watch it, talk about it and "YOU" will make your kid a better person through your dialogue and time. This movie is just to supplement your efforts.

I liked this movie.Yes,its about a baseball little league,yes it has the usual "lets be a team and win" attitude,but its very well acted by these kids and the dialog sounds real,also its not concentrated only on the kids.

Its more like what the kids get to mean to this guy,who is sort of a loser,and doesn't actually care much about baseball or anything else.

I thought it was well acted,surprisingly good for Keanu Reeves who is not one of my favorite actors,but he seems inspired in this movie. I thought it was very well directed and the whole ghetto setting seems disturbingly realistic.It passes its social message in a simple,direct way without preaching.

I recommend it to anyone who is interested in a low key likable movie.

Tonight I attended a sneak preview of the movie Hardball with a 10 year old boy in tow. Hardball shows the very gritty, dangerous life of some inner city kids who are not only trying to survive, but to find some-thing worth caring about- in this case, baseball.

Though not playing to a sold out house, the audience was very loud and enthusiastic, even breaking into cheers at points. I thought the storyline was predictable (bum coach becomes a better man and gets the girl, kids learn teamwork and sportsmanship) and similar to other movies about kids sports teams. What is unique to this movie is it's view of the kids off the field- their lives in housing projects, the dangers, drugs and problems they face just living every day. It's a daring and very affecting storyline, and the cheering of the audience proved to me that it worked very, very well.

Very solid jobs by cast, including Keanu Reeves, who does a fabulous job as the shiftless/compulsive gambler/reluctant coach who becomes much more to his team after realizing these kids actually have a rougher life than his own. This role seemed as well-suited for Reeves as The Matrix...and he didn't even look good doing it. [He does clean up and flash the famous smile near the end!]

The kids steal the show here- and the audience I sat with fell for them as hard as their coach did! Lots of sniffling and clapping in the house. My son loved the movie, too, the moral themes are well wrapped up in the story and not sappy.

Some rough language, disturbing scenes of housing project life and the gambling/bookie world, some sexual references, one death. However, I would grab the kids and go if over first grade. Good opportunity to talk to the kids about winning/losing, drugs, violence and education. Best see it with your boys film since the Mighty Titans scored a touchdown. You may want to go again...

It never ceases to amaze me how people can have such widely differing *strong* reactions to a film. A number of negative reviews here, but let me add one more positive.

I loved this film, from beginning to end. I loved every aspect of it: the story, the acting, the plot. I expected just another "Coach takes over losing team and makes them winners" story. Those are fine stories now and then, and I was not expecting anything more than mild entertainment. But this film moved me. Now, I'm a middle-aged white boy, and while I've never been rich I've never gone hungry either, and I've never had to worry about getting shot on the way home, so maybe I don't really know what that "sh*t" is all about and maybe this film wasn't "realistic" in portraying all that; but it communicated to me, and that's what any film is all about. And sometimes in order to communicate, you have to go half way between where you are and where the other person is, and maybe that's what this film did. But whatever, I got it.

this movie was good. the little kids were funny, keanu reeves was pretty cool. i also saw on the news the night before i went to go see this movie that there was some big black guy whining about the language used by the kids. he said that it was a "poor and grim representation of america's preseption of inner city children." um..im wondering if this man even HAS kids of his own, and if he does, he should hang out with them more often. the language of the kids was strong, but if u mean to tell me that the majority of kids living in the projects, or ANYWHERE ELSE for that matter, don't use that kind of language, get your head examined. anyway, this was a good movie and i enjoyed it.