Hustle

This has to be one of the worst movies ever put on film. 1) Tom Sizemore doesn't even look anything the Pete Rose. He looked as bad as a good SNL skit. 2) Let me get this straight, according to the movie, Pete Rose a 5 foot 8 200 pound soaked and wet, was able to push around the bookies, the mob, Major League Baseball, and a bodybuilder.

Now I know Pete Rose has come out and admitted he bet on baseball...duh...no one is disputing that, but the way it is shown in this film, it made you think ESPN had some sort of grudge against Pete Rose. Michael Moore gave President Bush more leeway.

Unfortunately you cannot give anything lower than a 1 or else I would give is a -4256 (That is Pete's all time hit total)

As other users have said Sizemore was nothing more than a "Jay Leno impersonation" of Rose - only the haircut even remotely resembled the real Pete Rose. Moreover, Dash Mihok (who portrayed Paul Janszen) looked more like the real Rose. But casting error aside, the movie was genuine to its subject matter.

"Hustle" was an apt name playing off Rose's nickname "Charlie Hustle" in order to reference his gambling habits. Anyone who says the movie lacked because it didn't revere Rose for his baseball accomplishments is missing the point. The movie was about latter-life Pete Rose the gambler, not a biopic in general on the "greatest thing to ever happen to Cincinatti." Also, some criticize the film for not exploring avenues of Rose's colleagues; however, while Eric Davis was a background character and other famous Reds were mentioned, said colleagues' consent is required to have their likenesses and views to be used.

Furthermore, not even Rose himself confessed to his illegitimate activities until the beginning of this year.Before making any criticism, viewers should research.

As for the story itself, the one problem I noted was that the screenplay couldn't clearly delineate who was the protagonist. While Rose was clearly meant to be the 'villain,' focus and sympathy shifted between him and Janszen so much so that near the end, the movie may have been more appropriately entitled "Paul Janszen." Of course, ESPN would NOT have been able to sell that.

The naked facts of Pete Rose's life would seem to be the stuff that

even an imaginative writer might have trouble coming up with:

major league baseball's all-time hits leader, a hometown boy who

became a hometown AND national sports hero, a player who

became an American icon for determination, grit and the

embodiment of willpower.

Then, for the traditional tragedy lover in all of us, comes the fall....a

tumble from living legend, to a man in public and possibly

personal denial, finally ending for Rose banned from baseball a

convicted tax cheat and weepy self-confessed gambler.

Unfortunately, "Hustle" seems to have missed every chance to

extract even a scintilla of pathos from Rose's life, instead

concentrating on a thin portrayal of the sordid events stemming

from his gambling addiction. Whether inside Pete Rose there's a

really a significant inner person worthy of close examination is a

good question, but it's a question that "Hustle" never even gets a

sniff of.

A miscast Sizemore and a way past prime Bogdonavich together

fail to create a single genuine moment.

Hustle (2004)

*** (out of 4)

Peter Bogdanovich's story of Pete Rose (Tom Sizemore) and his fall from grace due to gambling. This has gotten all sorts of bad reviews but I rather enjoyed the film. It's certainly far from great but as a baseball fan I found it rather interesting. Bogdanovich's direction really keeps this above your typical TV movie but I guess most of the heat went towards Sizemore and his performance. Rose is such a legend that it would be impossible to really have any actor capture him on film. I think Sizemore gives a very good "performance", although it never really seems like Rose. Since I find it impossible to capture Rose, I think Sizemore did a good job creating a character. The ending is pretty depressing even though we now know the truth of what happened. The Hall of Fame has rapists, murderers, dead beat fathers, racists, alcoholics, druggies, cheaters so why not one gambler?

What a shame. This is a great story about a great baseball player and this movie couldn't have been worse. Let's start with the acting. It was a pile of junk. If Tom Sizemore ever turns in a worse performance he should quit acting and take up ballet. This film was horribly written, terribly directed. It was all over the place. This is supposed to be the story about Pete Rose who gambled on baseball which kept him out of the hall of fame even though he holds the record for the most career hits but this was all about drug scandals. I wish I could provide viewers of this film with some sort of reparations. Its stupid, boring and pathetic. Do yourself a favor, never see this movie.

0 stars, no thumbs up