The Rookie

2002

Action / Drama / Family / Sport

31
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 84% · 153 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 70% · 50K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.9/10 10 38423 38.4K

sports parent child relationship baseball life's dream growing up

Plot summary

Jim Morris never made it out of the minor leagues before a shoulder injury ended his pitching career twelve years ago. Now a married-with-children high-school chemistry teacher and baseball coach in Texas, Jim's team makes a deal with him: if they win the district championship, Jim will try out with a major-league organization. The bet proves incentive enough for the team, and they go from worst to first, making it to state for the first time in the history of the school. Jim, forced to live up to his end of the deal, is nearly laughed off the try-out field--until he gets onto the mound, where he confounds the scouts (and himself) by clocking successive 98 mph fastballs, good enough for a minor-league contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Jim's still got a lot of pitches to throw before he makes it to The Show, but with his big-league dreams revived, there's no telling where he could go.

Director

John Lee Hancock Photo
John Lee Hancock

Top cast

John Williams Photo
John Williams as Orlando Umpire #1
Dennis Quaid Photo
Dennis Quaid as Jimmy Morris
Brian Cox Photo
Brian Cox as Jim Morris Sr.
Rick Gonzalez Photo
Rick Gonzalez as Rudy Bonilla
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
1.07 GB
1280*534
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles
23.976 fps
2 hr 7 min
Seeds 10
2.05 GB
1920*800
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles
23.976 fps
2 hr 7 min
Seeds 28

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by NateWatchesCoolMovies 7 / 10

Not usually a fan of sports flicks, but this one rocks it

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.
Reviewed by iohefy-2 8 / 10

A VERY NICE LITTLE MOVIE

It was nice to go see a movie with no sex, no cuss words and just a good story. A movie of this calibre is rare nowadays, with most having a poor story but lots of sex and violence. It is nice to be able to take the WHOLE FAMILY to see an entertaining movie with very good acting by the whole cast. GO SEE IT.

Reviewed by mOVIemAN56 8 / 10

A Believable and True Underdog Story

The Rookie is based on the true story of a 40+ year old school teacher in Big Lake, Texas reaching the majors. Jimmy Morris (Dennis Quaid) is a small-town high school science teacher and baseball coach. His team is losing terribly until the team discovers that their coach played in minor leagues and can throw a pitch 98 mph.

After throwing batting practice and a wager is made, Jim agrees that if his team wins regional's, he'll try out for the Major Leagues. The movie tells the story from Jimmy being boy to playing in his first game in the majors. It is a great underdog story and a very friendly family movie. Dennis Quaid makes the movie worth while, giving an emotional performance and is supported by an excellent supporting cast which includes: Brian Cox, Rachel Griffiths, and Angus T. Jones.

The story takes a little while to develop and some scenes are a bit slow but it all works in well by the end. The baseball scenes are fun, well-filmed, and portrayed excellently. The movie really isn't about baseball but about one man's quest to reach his dream. It's inspiring, it's emotional, and it's funny. I liked it, I hope you do.

The Rookie. Starring: Dennis Quaid, Brian Cox, Rachel Griffiths, and Angus T. Jones.

4 out of 5 Stars.

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