Mr. 3000

Mr. 3000 is a decent comedy that works a lot better then it should thanks to Bernie Mac and Angela Bassett. Stan Ross (Bernie Mac), an aging former baseball player, selfishly quit the game after getting his 3,000th hit, knowing that it would get him into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ten years later, three of his hits have been disqualified, so he needs to get back in shape, get back into the game and try to live up to his nickname of "Mr. 3000". The plot sounds stupid because its only about getting three hits but Bernie Macs character is 47 years old and he is out of shape so it may be a challenge for him. Bernie Mac does a great job and he is the only reason for watching this movie. Angela Bassett is also very good and she is a very underrated actress and I'm surprised she wasted her time with this film. For me baseball isn't very interesting but the baseball scenes in this movie are kind of interesting. People who follow baseball may like but they might also find the plot too silly. This has been described as a family movie and I don't see how since they curse a lot in this. I mean threes nothing hardcore in this but nothing PG either. Charles Stone III does a decent job of directing and this movie is a lot better then other baseball themed movies out there such as Rookie of the Year. There are some laughs in this film but the preview covers most of them. Rating 6/10 a decent comedy with some laughs but nothing special that makes it a must see.

If you like baseball, here is a good film for you. Bernie Mac is perfect in the title role as a Brewers baseball player with an ego the size of Milwaukee who retires just after he thinks he gets his 3000th hit, which he assumes will make him a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame. Many years and no induction later, he learns that three of the hits did not count, and he returns to the game to get those three hits. Mac does a good job and actually fleshes out the character, as his return helps him learn more about being a team player. I really liked this film when I saw it.

*** out of ****

"Mr. 3000" has those moments, those moments where you agree that this should have been made into a multi-million dollar feature with big stars and extras and a caterer and all that. There's some pretty funny jokes. It's not a bad film. But it just doesn't really excel anywhere that a sports comedy worth its investment should.

Bernie Mac plays Stan Ross, the titular Mister, and he kind of has the feel for the role all down. But there's two scenes where Mac's inner nice-guy comes out and deflate the bloated jerk he's supposed to be playing. Therefore, the film has this two-headed character, one who is Bernie Mac improvising a nice little scene, and one who is Stan Ross, Mr. 3000 himself.

People have complained the film is too Disney, too formulaic, but the essence of sports is surprise within the bounds of formula. Disney's rules of narrative almost work here; the embittered jerk stripped of his former greatness finds redemption in a second try for his title. It's up to the filmmakers to make it work, to make the redemption by baseball story find nuance and still move the audience. When the drama works (exclusively on the baseball field) and the comedy too (exclusively near the baseball field), this film works too. When it doesn't (pretty much all the arbitrary directions the plot turns to show that he is a jerk), the movie falls flat. So enjoy, but beware the slow scenes with little meaning.

Bernie Mac plays a spoiled baseball player who does not like the media, does not respect the fans, and has no use for his teammates in the movie Mr. 3000. Is he playing, perhaps, a cartoon of a present day super star, perhaps one who plays left field in San Francisco? Regardless, Mr. 3000 is one of the hundreds of baseball movies that have come down the pike, and like most baseball movies, the super stars are jerks and everyone else on the team are just there to fill the background. This is not to say the movie is not entertaining, it does have several amusing moments and the baseball action is perhaps the most realistic in a movie, it is just that the movie does not break much new ground. Bernic Mac plays Stan Ross, an egotistical super star who retires the same night he gets his 3000th hit, the traditional statistic that gets a player into the Hall of Fame. However, because of the bridges he burned with the media, Ross cannot get into the Hall of Fame, and to make matters worst, it is found out that Ross didn't get 3000 hits, rather 2997 hits. So Ross needs to come out of retirement, not an easy task for a player out of the league for 9 years. Fat and out of shape, Ross beings his comeback. While not popular with the media, he is popular with the fans, as seen in perhaps the funniest scene of the movie where an old middle relief pitcher who still hates Ross is the only player who would volunteer to introduce him at his number retirement ceremony, and this popularity with the fans motivates the Brewers' owner (Chris Noth) to let the old player be apart of the team. The humor comes from Mac's natural charm an his ability to ham it up when playing the self-absorbing ball player. Sure there are certain sports formulas throughout the movie, but it is still entertaining enough to warrant a view, if for nothing else but to see Bernie Mac do what he does, or to see the very nice looking Angela Bassett as an ESPN reporter. Baseball fans will notice a few things that could upset them (how many times do the Brewers and Astros play?), but a nice touch was how good the on-field action looks and all of those sports talking heads play a part in this movie. Even a nit-picking sports fan enjoyed Mr. 3000.

This is an excellent movie because it delivers on the promise of its marketing: you get the story of a 47 year-old former hitting star of the Milwaukee Brewers (Bernie Mac as Stan Ross), who retired nine years earlier with exactly 3,000 hits, believing that to be his ticket to the hall of fame, and milking the "Mr. 3000" persona for all it's worth commercially. It is very common in real life for former athletes to become car dealers and high-end stockbrokers, selling expensive things to rich people who want a little nostalgia as an extra, and if you check the end of "Miracle" you'll find many former members of the 1980 gold medal squad working in finance or banking.

The last-place Brewers are desperate for attendance (at least their owner, played by Chris Noth, is), and they lure Stan back to the ballpark to retire his number. While compiling a list of each of his 3,000 hits, it is learned that three of the hits were counted twice and he only has 2,997 hits, thus cancelling his ticket to Cooperstown. Stan will have none of this, and returns to the Brewers, whose owner figures he'll be a welcome distraction from the standings. Ross faces an uphill battle from the team he publicly derided prior to his return, even finding himself on the receiving end of a seemingly endless tirade of trash talk from a mascot dressed as a BRATWURST. The movie even paid an homage to the "sausage races" that occur in Milwaukee during the seventh inning stretch (a race between four mascots in various sausage uniforms).

The usual suspects (ESPN, etc.) make cameos, and Stan's on-again, off-again love interest (an ESPN reporter played by Angela Bassett) enjoys his company but finds him unsuitable for commitment to anything but his mirror. Stan has a full life and several close friends who accept his narcissism as part of the package that drew the fans to the ballpark all those years. The fans seem willing to forgive Stan everything because he came through for the team all those years, and even empathize with his plight to recapture his primary glory in life, taken from him through a mathematical error not even his. Paul Sorvino manages his best Earl Weaver impersonation as manager Gus Panas, but I was never a fan of that shtick when Earl did it.

The film has no real bad guy (other than Stan's ego), but they add an "It's A Wonderful Life" element to the film in the form of T. Rex Pennebaker (sp?), the brash young slugger you build championship teams around. T. Rex is a lot like Stan used to be, thus giving Stan pause, for like Stan used to, T. Rex walks the walk as he talks the talk. To his credit, T. Rex gives his all even for a last-place team, even if it's only to boost his stats.

Stan, who left the Brewers in a pennant race nine years ago, now tries to be a team player as he pursues the elusive three hits. He tries to show he has matured and loves the game, and assumes a mentoring role for a talented yet very undisciplined, young team, but the "old Stan" does not go away quietly, and in a way that's good, because for as egotistical as Stan is made out to be, it is obvious that he loves people, the spotlight, and genuinely wants to be liked. He just assumes that everyone is out for themselves the way he is out for himself.

If you tried to write the ending to this film, it wouldn't be surprising if you were not too far off from how they wrote this one. The movie doesn't even try to be unpredictable, and this is another strength, because there's really only one or two ways a movie like this can end.