Hard Ball (2001)

Director:

Brian Robbins

Writers (WGA):

Daniel Coyle (book)
John Gatins (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 September 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Tagline:

The most important thing in life is showing up

Plot:

An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend. |

Plot Keywords:

Little League | Coach | Gambling | Irish American | Children

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Keanu Reeves	...	Conor O'Neill
Diane Lane	...	Elizabeth Wilkes
John Hawkes	...	Ticky Tobin
Bryan Hearne	...	Andre Ray Peetes (as Bryan C. Hearne)
Julian Griffith	...	Jefferson Albert Tibbs
Michael B. Jordan	...	Jamal (as Michael Jordan)
A. Delon Ellis Jr.	...	Miles Pennfield II
Kristopher Lofton	...	Clarence
Michael Perkins	...	Kofi Evans
Brian M. Reed	...	Raymond 'Ray Ray' Bennet
DeWayne Warren	...	Jarius 'G-Baby' Evans
Carol Hall	...	Pearla Evans (as Carol E. Hall)
Jacqueline Williams	...	Lenora Tibbs
Freeman Coffey	...	Darryl Mackey
D.B. Sweeney	...	Matt Hyland

Also Known As:

Hardball (Germany) (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, language and some violence. (re-rating)

Runtime:

106 min | Spain:109 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | USA:R (original rating) | Australia:M | Canada:PG | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:PT | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (edited for re-rating) (certificate #38188)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Fireworks Pictures

Trivia:

Before the film was released in 2001, posters and ads reflected the rating as R before it was re-edited to dub over the kids using the "f" word. Despite quite a bit of profanity remaining, the film was then released with a PG-13 rating.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the overhead shot before the championship game, both base lines are painted on the field. The next view shows a man painting the third base line.

Quotes:

Conor O'Neill: Good morning. Um, Gerius was a player on the Kekemas baseball team I coach. Honestly he, uh, he was too young to play. But he wanted to be a part of the team so badly, I couldn't say no. He had a great smile too though I'm not telling you anything you don't know...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Reese Witherspoon/Alicia Keys (#27.1)" (2001)

Not original, but it works

I want to start by saying that this movie was actually a pleasant surprise. Knowing that this was a movie based on a true story, made with Keanu Reeves and a lot of kid-actors in it, I honestly feared the worst. But after watching it I must say that it really wasn't all that bad.

Sure, the story is as predictable as you can get them in Hollywood. With a desperate white guy who is forced into coaching a children's sporting team from a rough black neighborhood, you already know perfectly what to expect and of course he will only keep doing his job because of a beautiful lady at first (the kids school teacher), but in the end he will learn the true value of these kids' will to win and to make something of their lives, so they can get out of the neighborhood. No the movie never gets far away from the stereotypes. But somehow it didn't bother me all that much for once.

This is probably one of the best performances I've ever seen from Reeves (except for his roles in "The Matrix" and "The Gift") and despite the fact that this movie isn't a comedy, the dramatic story is relieved with some nice humorous touches. I don't know anything about baseball and normally I don't care about movies with baseball as the subject either, but for once I kept watching.

As a conclusion I would like to say that if you are looking for an original movie, you better start looking somewhere else, but if you want to see a drama that exceeds the average Disney boundaries, you might want to give it a try. As I already said, I was pleasantly surprised by it and that's why I give this movie a 7/10.