Un ticket pour le paradis

The direction on this TBS TV movie is good, the performances are fine, the photography is handsome and interesting, but the script is a bit of a muddled mess. Nominally about life lessons and the importance of following your dreams, the movie turns into a rather mushy and ill-defined wish-fulfillment fantasy all around.

Joe's family is suffering through a bout of poverty when he comes across a rare baseball card of Honus Wagner worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the card does not solve his family's financial problems. Instead it sends him back to the 1909 World Series where he meets Wagner, and makes him several years older. Then later, after it appears to have all been a dream, it works further, concrete magic. This is a problem with ill-defined fantasy: if it can do anything, then it fails to keep the story's allegorical sense straight.

The script is a bit better at hinting at the complexities of life as a professional ballplayer in the era that saw Wagner and Ty Cobb square off against each other in the World Series, but the main story is a bit random. Perhaps the novel it was drawn from simply had too many subplots for the screenwriter to handle elegantly.

There are all sorts of problems with this movie, which I will leave for others to point out.

At its best, this movie tells a wonderful story, that of a little boy who loves baseball but isn't very good at it. He is granted an astounding opportunity, that he doesn't even ask for: he gets to play baseball with one of the early greats, Honus Wagner, against one of the early Satans - and greats - Ty Cobb. It is every little boy's fantasy, and he gets to live it.

The rest of the movie is sentimental, like a Hallmark Hall of Fame special. That's all very nice, of course.

But the little boy's fantasy, which will be understood by any man who has not grown so old as to have forgotten what it was like to be a little boy, is golden.

I have no idea if this movie has anything to say to women. Perhaps not. I've never been a woman, so I can't say.

But if you were ever a little boy and loved baseball, no matter how bad you were at it, this movie has a lot to say to you.

The premise of the film was promising and the performances were engaging, but the script was a confusing mess. A baseball card makes the main character travel back in time - okay, we'll go with it - but why does the character also become older? There is no reason for this except for the fact that he has to impersonate Honus Wagner on the field late in the film, which is totally unbelievable whatever his age.

Then at the end the card lets an old woman return to be with Wagner, her one true love. Is she travelling back in time or merely joining him in some spiritual ghost world? By that time it's hard to care.

I thought this was an excellent movie for families to enjoy together.It is one of hope and excitement of imagination and of life.The direction and the cinematography was really beautifully captured and the era of the early 1900's were shown so realistically. The story follows young Joe Shosak,who is a poor and frustrated 9 year old baseball player and son who just can't seem to find any luck on the field and off.His big break comes in shape of a vintage baseball card of Honus Wagner , mysteriously he is sucked back in time and is in the body of a 25 year old version of himself and winds up face to face with Wagner and his Pirates at the World Series, Pittsburgh 1908.He then befriends and begins to follow Honus and his boys,he meets a devilish Ty Cobb and is faced with many exciting and comedic situations. The acting was genuine by all the cast.Matthew Modine is a great Wagner,playing him with a wink and smile,his love interest is played charmingly by Kristen Davis,and I especially enjoyed the endearing performance of Ryan Hollyman as the nervous pitcher. I would strongly recommend this movie to all who enjoy baseball and good old fashion family movies.

This is the best new baseball movie I've seen in ages,Big (Tom Hanks) crossed with Field of Dreams and 8 Men Out....The reproduction of the way life was turn of the century Pittsburgh was excellent and looked as real as if you were there...The actors who were cast as the ball players & especially the portrayal of Honus Wagner by Matthew Modine and Ty Cobb by William Lee Scott were incredible....The movie has a feel good ending,a kid overcoming adversity on the ball field,problems at home with his family,discovering he's grown up & gone back in time,a little love story for the ladies,this movie just absolutely has it all!!!!!A Great movie for the entire family.....