Un sogno una vittoria

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 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.

This was one of the best bio-pics I have seen in years. Dennis Quaid is perfect as Jim Morris, a man who finally gets a shot at his lifelong dream-pitching in the big leagues. He is a high school science teacher/baseball coach whose players make a bet with him:if they win district, he tries out for the majors. You can probably guess what happens next. I found this story made even more powerful by the fact that it was based on a true story.

*** out of ****

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