Game 6 (2005) User Reviews

I'm game for Game 6

[wrlang · 7/10 · 22 July 2006]

Based on a true story, a dark and heavily emotional drama about a playwrite Nicky in 1986 NY who loves the Red Sox so much, he skips the opening night of his play to see game 6 of the 1986 world series between the Mets and the Sox. Nicky has a series of conversations with a myriad of people he knows and meets in the days leading up to game 6. They all help Nicky deal with life's stresses consisting of a particularly nasty Broadway critic who has nothing good to say about anyone and kills the careers of anyone unfortunate enough to fall under his poison pen. His impending divorce over his long affair. A major actor that is forgetting his lines due to a parasitic illness. The beginning of his estrangement of his daughter over the divorce and his neglect of their relationship. The excellent acting envelopes you as the slow and deliberate plot plays out. If quality of acting is important to you, you should see this movie.

Offbeat Cult Baseball Film

[TheAnimalMother · 7/10 · 26 January 2022]

I think it would be fair to call this a cult film to some degree. It really will work best for a certain audience. If you like quirky films and baseball, this is something you'll almost definitely enjoy. Keaton is great and the writing is certainly somewhat unique and interesting. I appreciate this film a good bit. It has a fresh sort of feel to it because it is quite an unusual mix of art, baseball and life all framed in a pretty offbeat way. If it sounds interesting to you, don't miss it!

7/10.

Get ready for a zany journey with the characters

[ramsri007 · 7/10 · 22 October 2015]

Game 6 is harks back images of Birdman another of Michael Keaton's gems. The movie belongs to him and he has done complete justice to his part. The movie touches upon topics of superstition, faith, and hope.The story takes place in New York in 1986. It takes allegories from the famous world series between Mets & Boston Red Sox game, that took place the same year.

Game 6 is based on a story by acclaimed author Don DeLillo (who adapted the screenplay), Nick (Keaton) is a playwright who has a new drama opening the same night as the big playoff between Red Sox & Mets. Nick life squirms with demons that he has created for himself. He has a mistress, a dissatisfied wife a daughter who wishes he could pay more attention and last but not the least a constant doubt of success and win in his career. He is warned by his friends about how badly a review from Schwimmer could effect his career. Nick is in a way, scared of the review that the harsh 'phantom' critic, Schwimmer, (Downey) may give for his life's work. Although Downey has little screen time, he is effective as the most dreaded Broadway critic. The face-off between Downey & Keaton is electric and sort of funny at the time time.

My favorite line in the movie –

Toyota Moseby - Life is good!

And these lines hold true for any critic. Have a heart! Truth is tough to hear but it can definitely be told in a gentler way.

Paisley Porter: I didn't understand until today how much pain and anxiety you've been causing everybody with your reviews. Steven, it's completely unfair.

Steven Schwimmer: It's unfair?

Paisley Porter: Yes.

Steven Schwimmer: The truth is always unfair. Paisley Porter: Well, it doesn't have to be. Steven Schwimmer: Why do you think I live this way? Why do you think I'm, I'm taking electricity from the lamp-post (gesturing outdoors) and hiding out? Why?

Paisley Porter: Because you choose to.

Steven Schwimmer: No. Because people who write the truth are the outcasts of society. I can't live openly. I can't live in a nice door-man building, with my name on the mailbox, because they'd, they'd come after me in packs!

Paisley Porter: Not if you wrote the truth gently.

Steven Schwimmer: But the truth is never gentle!

A playwright/baseball fan panics as he finds out a critic(Robert Downey Jr.) is always out for blood

[dparise-1 · 26 January 2005]

I saw Game 6 at its Sundance premiere last Saturday. Michael Keaton ,Griffin Dunne along with Michael Hoffman and a lot of the crew were all there. It was in a great high school theater with q&a after the film (Michael Keaton was telling story after story). The film itself was fabulous. Michael Keaton is such a believable actor. He is so funny even when not trying to be. The story line was great also. I didn't know much going in and was pleasantly surprised to find it was actually a comedy. When I found out it was shot in 20 days and under 500,000 I was shocked. Welldone!!!!

I rate it 9 out of 10.

I know, I never heard of it either.....

[sagentx2005 · 7/10 · 31 March 2006]

I don't consider myself to be a pretentious film snob; but let's face it, I don't consider myself a lot of things. I was scanning the local (State College, Pa) paper for new movies arriving the theaters this week. Well it seemed to be the typical dredge that the February/March season usually puts out: Basic Instinct 2, Slither, ATL (more like ATL=WTF) but then I saw a movie I never heard of before: Game 6.

Now like I said, I do not fancy myself as being pretentious, but seeing a movie I was unfamiliar with was a tad....unsettling. Quick Robin-To the Batcave (or IMDb, in this case). I found a background for this seemingly forgotten '05 flick. I was intrigued by its premise and its unusual cast and so as they say...is where our tale begins. Game 6 is not an amazing Oscar-award winning film, but it is a decent piece of cinema to recommend. Like a slightly tarnished gem , when hit in the right light, this movie really shines. Although some moments feel a tad esoteric and ambiguous, for the most part we are give a unique, humorous, and real, slice of life. Don't miss this movie for what it isn't, see it for what is.

Game 6

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 14 May 2007]

Nicky Rogan(Michael Keaton)is an obsessive Red Sox fan who is worried that his play will get skewered by a renowned, but hated critic, Steven Schwimmer(Robert Downey Jr.). The time is Game 6 of the World Series between Boston and the Mets in 1986 the night the ball goes under Buckner's legs and a Red Sox nation cries into the night as their hearts break. Nicky wasn't that worried about his play until he let his badly mentally wounded friend, Elliot(Griffin Dunne)persuade him into thinking that Steven would roast it in his review column. Elliot hasn't recovered from a negative review by Steven..but Steven is such a nervy recluse because many playwrights want him dead because he simply writes the truth for which they do not want to hear. Scathing reviews embedded in the possible mind of a very weary Red Sox fan on the night they have a chance to end the Curse is enough to drive anyone over the edge. Soon Elliot has Nicky so rattled and convinced he needs to shoot Steven to save his career from possible ruin. Another barely touched on matter, Nicky's marriage is coming to an end.

This is a dialogue-driven piece more than anything with the minor plot serving as a means to display the brilliant words. Good acting from Keaton and Dunne while Downey, Jr displays his usual greatness. The material regarding that fateful day is nothing new and only provides a backdrop to possibly mirror his own play's potential failure. The film captures that frenzy within New York surprisingly well, but this is still quite a low-budget character study.

I was totally prepared to love this movie, but

[saberlee44 · 5/10 · 18 August 2006]

I don't like the idea of calling every movie I don't like a "bad movie." I rate films on how they appeal to me, on the chemistry that I have with the movie. For me, this movie was like hearing about a person who had everything in common with you, but when you meet them, NOTHING. Zippo. No chemistry at all.

This film takes place in NYC and centers around the 1986 World Series between the Mets and BoSox, a writer, Nick (MICHAEL KEATON), plagued by a bad review and living in fear of another one by the notoriously harsh (and oddball) reviewer, Steven Schwimmer (ROBERT DOWNEY, JR.). Rather than attend opening night of his play, Nick goes to a bar to watch the series on TV. As other people have provided far more detailed summaries, I won't repeat those efforts.

I lived in New York in 1986, was a die-hard Mets fan, and seeing parts of the series again was maybe the best part of the film for me. In 1986, I was in a local bar, two minutes from the stadium, watching the real game 6 of the series.

So, I'm a writer, I love New York, I saw every play of that series as it actually happened -- but the film did absolutely nothing for me. Little bits and pieces were of passing interest, but they faded. I didn't relate to Michael Keaton's character, or really understand him, at all. Therefore, I didn't care what happened to him.

Maybe I let Ebert & Roeper's "TWO THUMBS WAY UP" sway me into thinking I'd at least like this film, but alas, I don't always come close to agreeing with them. I should learn my lesson! Some will love this film and I suspect others will have a similar reaction to mine. My recommendation is to see this film and decide for yourself. If I were the umpire, I'd call this movie out on strikes. But that's just me.

Game 6

[KIANTI · 2/10 · 2 February 2005]

We were also in the theatre on the Saturday night premiere of Game 6 at the Sundance Film Festival. Unfortunately, I wish we had some pillows - for we found the film a big snooze fest. Michael Keaton & Robert Downey Jr. we love and they're always fascinating to watch. But try as hard as they could the convoluted story of this film overshadow their performances. We we're excited to see Keaton & this movie - but sorry the movie didn't do it for us. We attended with a group of 6 individuals and all of us ranked this movie as the most dull we saw during the festival. Well, I guess the disappointment felt by the Red Sox is felt when you finish watching this movie. You're outta here!!!

Fun Little Gem

[mattressman_pdl · 6/10 · 18 May 2008]

Taken into account their extremely low budget and tight filming schedule, Game 6 is quite an achievement. It is a zany, delightful little slice of life film set around the prolific World Series '89 in which the much maligned Red Sox struggle to end their curse.

Michael Keaton is a welcome return as Nicky Rogan, a successful writer whose play is debuting the same night as Game 6. But, throughout the day, Nicky struggles with his mistress, his rebellious teen daughter, his apparently put-upon wife, his old friend, his ailing father, and an eccentric critic famous for sinking plays and ending writer's careers. Nicky's faith is in the Sox, however, but what happens if and when the Sox fail...

seek out this little film, it's worth a viewing. All of the acting is top-notch and, with a film of limited means, the acting is what ultimately saves the day.

Trying to pass off theater folk noodling by linking it to sportsfan tragedy

[MBunge · 4/10 · 30 April 2012]

If the Boston Red Sox hadn't finally won the World Series in 2004, I'm pretty sure this movie would never have been made. People would have been afraid they'd get killed for dredging up the spectacular sports tragedy of the 1986 World Series and the ground ball down the first base line that crushed the soul of generations of Red Sox fans, and that's not much of an exaggeration. Boston baseball had been a tale of woe for almost 3 generations, but that game 6 really hardened the Curse of the Bambino in modern minds. Before it, Red Sox fans had their hard luck stories just like many others. After it, the dashed hopes of Boston baseball futility became an epic saga unlike anything else.

While I wouldn't wish that kind of continued suffering on anyone, I also wouldn't mind if I and the rest of the viewing public could have been spared the huge waste of time that is Game 6. If their were truth in advertising laws applied to motion pictures, that's what the title of this film would have to be. "Huge Waste of Time". The only remotely entertaining parts of the whole production are watching the characters watch the final at bats of that legendary game 6. The rest of it is like bits of a New York City comic's stand up routine or the insipid ramblings of a public radio monologist. The only people in this story who have any life to them are terrifically clichéd. The others are like impervious sharks trying to swim their way through the treacle of this script.

Nicky Rogan (Michael Keaton) is a successful playwright in New York with a new drama opening the same night at that fateful contest between the Red Sox and the hometown Mets. His daughter (Ari Graynor) also informs him that his wife wants a divorce, a devastated and disheveled fellow playwright (Griffin Dunne) torments him with word that a piercingly savage critic (Robert Downey Jr.) is certain to destroy the play in his review, his leading man is suffering from a memory-eating parasite and Nicky also happens to be a huge Sox fan and is filled with foreboding about the game. Well, that last one is what the audience it told. The reality is that Nicky doesn't act like someone who gives a fig for baseball or the Red Sox until they get to the part where he's in a bar watching the game with a disgustingly positive cabbie and her grandson (Lillias White and Amir Ali Said).

Now, while their roles are shallow and simplistic, the cast does more than adequate work. The individual scenes on their own are tolerable. The way they're all connected, the structure of the narrative, is flat and lifeless and phony. There's a lot of little things to criticize, but let me focus on the biggest and most obvious.

In the aforementioned scene with Nicky, the cabbie and her grandson, it's all about the cabbie and her grandson exhorting Nicky to give up his practiced cynicism and self-comforting doubt. They encourage him to believe in life, believe in his team and believe good things happen. And then the Red Sox lose. Now, by all rights, shouldn't the scene conclude with a gargantuan speech by Nicky where he tears both the cabbie and her son a new one for getting his hopes up? Something like that, right? Whether it's played for drama or laughs, that's the only logical conclusion there could possibly be.

Well, not if you're writer Don DeLillo or director Michael Hoffman. They conclude the scene with Nicky have a hallucination that the Red Sox won, a fantasy he's not dissuaded of until after he gets into a fight with a couple of Mets fans in the bathroom. And that's exactly how it goes. Nicky has the fantasy of Buckner catching the ball and the next scene is in the bathroom where the Mets fans tell him he's dreaming. What happened to the cabbie and her grandson? How did Nicky not immediately turn to them to celebrate his delusion? How did they not tell the crazy man that his team had indeed lost? I don't know. The cabbie and her grandson vanish and are never seen or heard from again.

What the hell, man? How is that sequence supposed to make any emotional or thematic sense? It's the most important scene in the movie. The three characters in it are playing out a clearly defined dynamic. Then when the climactic moment comes…it's like the cabbie and her grandson never existed and none of the things they said ever happened. That's how these storytellers handle the most crucial and significant moment in their story, so I think you can imagine what the rest of it is like.

The real game 6 was one of the most searingly painful experiences ever in sports. The cinematic Game 6 is without any reality, painful or otherwise. Even if you're a big devotee of the New York theater scene, there's nothing here worth your time or trouble.

Lots of Fun !

[jhilley · 8/10 · 21 February 2006]

Really enjoyed this "New York" film ... Keaton and Downey were great ... good music... craziness all around ... Bebe Neuworth was completely over the top. Super New York City shots recreating the grit and graffiti of '86 that have pretty much disappeared. One of the best features is the background monologue by a fictitious radio announcer that is heard throughout... great language... DeLillo! Also the moments of the game interspersed with the ongoing narrative were well done. I'm not a big baseball fan and wasn't much aware of the 1986 series (even though I live in New York) but I found the game sequences fun and exciting. Saw this at a pre-screening (opening March 10 in NYC)with a Q&A afterward and was amazed at the LOW cost to make the film. The producer (who also produced After Hours )indicated that most people worked for practically nothing... It isn't a 'perfect' film but I would highly recommend it as a totally entertaining two hours.

rambling but interesting

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 31 July 2022]

It's 1986. The Boston Red Sox are on the verge of winning their first championship since 1918, a year before trading away Babe Ruth resulting in the long-running curse. Lifelong Red Sox fan and playwright Nicky Rogan (Michael Keaton) is having marital problems. It's opening night for his play and everyone fears the hated critic Steven Schwimmer (Robert Downey Jr.). Instead, Nicky ends up in a bar watching the game.

It's an interesting meandering day for Nicky. I don't like a couple of things with the bar section. I don't see the cabbie joining him. She would listen to the game on the radio. The other issue is that Nicky gets too cocky too soon. A Red Sox fan at that time would never do that. Finally, he wouldn't consider doing the final thing unless after he reads the bad review. Instead of an unrealistic coincidence, he should track down Schwimmer after reading the review. Leave the daughter out of it. All in all, this has some interesting characters and I stayed with Nicky through the whole movie.

It's a Ballgame

[baho-1 · 31 January 2005]

Any good baseball fan will tell you exactly where he was during the sixth game of the 1986 World Series when Mookie Wilson's ground ball rolled through Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner's legs. The infamous error gave the Mets a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the game and ultimately the Series. Director Michael Hoffman and producer Amy Chamberlain made a movie around the event, which loses little of its luster after the Red Sox improbable World Series win this past October.

Michael Keaton stars as a successful playwright and lifelong Red Sox fan whose opening night of his latest Broadway play coincides with the fateful Game 6. These events serve as a catalyst for the exploration of love, marriage, sex, parenthood, friendship, hope, despair, values and much more. Of note, Keaton was one of the most entertaining stars I have ever seen at a Sundance Q&A.

Although it drags in parts, the movie has a lot of heart. Keaton, along with Griffin Dunne and Robert Downey Jr., provide fine performances that bring the script to life. This will be a must-see for everyone in Beantown, as well as all those perennially cursed Sox fans nationwide who found meaning in their collective suffering for so many years. My wife couldn't see what all the fuss was about; but I understood it perfectly.

I wasn't at any of the 1986 World Series games. But I vividly remember listening to Game 6 on the radio, and having to stop and collect myself after the Buckner error. (I've always liked underdogs, so the Sox are a perfect match for my affections.) I did, however, attend the nearly as legendary Game 5 of the American League Champion Series that year. The Red Sox were down 3-1 in the series, but battled back to beat the Angels at Anaheim with a dramatic ninth-inning two-out home run by Dave Henderson, who had been brought in as a defensive replacement. The Sox went on to win the AL Championship and meet the Mets in the Series.

Gene Mauch, the Angel's manager, was widely regarded as one of the best in baseball. But he'd never been to a World Series. He was one out away in 1986, but fate called the score. He retired in 1987 and went to his grave having managed 26 years and 3942 games without ever reaching the October Classic. The pitcher who gave up Henderson's homer was Donnie Moore, a 20-save reliever that year. Moore was never the same after that fateful at-bat. He retired shortly afterward, drifted into alcoholism and committed suicide in 1989.

Nearly 20 years later, I can recite these details with clarity and emotion. For those of us that grew up on baseball, it was never just a game. These events hold special meaning in our lives. When you understand that, you know that Game 6 is more than a movie. It is a homage to seasons that end in despair, but never fail to start again with hope. Such is life.

Quirky and fun

[psquare · 7/10 · 12 August 2006]

So many nice touches to this film - the unpronounceable taxi driver names, the two Mets fans encountered in the restaurant bathroom, the asbestos incident, the claustrophobic camera tracking in the ATM scene, it's obvious that this film was made for the love of the script and the art of cinema, and not for the monetary return. What I think is amazing is that the big-name actors took salaries that are barely more than extras' pay on your normal big- budget films. And it all worked - Game 6 is very well done and enjoyable.

It's interesting that the Mets seem to be finding their way into film plots. The Miracle Mets of 1969 were a vital part of the movie "Frequency" a few years ago, and now "Game 6" commemorates the now-iconic comeback that will always be a hallmark of the Mets' second World Championship. Cool, especially if you are a Mets fan (check!).

But Red Sox fans- what's this fascination with Bill Buckner's error? If you get a chance, look at the video of that play again, and try to figure out how Buckner could field the ball, change direction, and get to the bag ahead of Mookie Wilson. Mookie was on full throttle and rounded first just after the ball skipped past Buckner. The error wouldn't have mattered, Mookie was going to beat it out, and the pitcher Stanley wasn't covering first in time either. Yeah, since Buckner didn't field it, it's an error, but even IF he had, it would have been scored a single.

Incredibly Well Done

[Howardr675 · 9/10 · 5 March 2006]

I saw this movie with about 300 people as a screening for a film class. About 1/2 the audience did not like it and the other 1/2 did. Many saw it as a baseball movie. I saw it as a movie about fear of failure and the expectation of failure in life by many. I felt that the script relating the expectations of the Boston Red Sox fans who feel the curse and expect to lose was incredibly written to parallel how this can relate to the way a person visualizes his life and dreams (real or imagined). The script was brilliant, the acting was extraordinary. I don't know that this will work commercially but I was moved by this movie more than any movie I have seen in a long time. Too me, this was not a baseball movie, this was a brilliant look into the the mind of more people than we would like to believe.

"There's no crying in baseball! : Keaton shines in his love of the game turn

[george.schmidt · 8/10 · 22 March 2006]

GAME 6 (2006) *** Michael Keaton, Robert Downey, Jr., Bebe Neuwirth, Griffin Dunne, Catherine O'Hara, Harris Yulin, Tom Aldredge, Ari Graynor, Roger Rees, Shalom Harlow, Lillias White. (Dir: Michael Hoffman)

"There's no crying in baseball! : Keaton shines in his love of the game turn

Michael Keaton is one of my favorite (and largely underrated) actors. He hasn't been making a lot of films in the past few years but whenever he pops up you immediately are focused on his kinetic energy, the arched eyebrows not unlike Nicholson's (side note: I always thought it was divine intervention when they were cast in BATMAN since they had so many mirror image physical ties!) and glib, self-deprecating wit that acts as a shield from his inner demons his characters often try to keep at bay. His latest is no exception.

Based on a story by acclaimed author Don DeLillo (who adapted the screenplay), Keaton stars as a New York bred playwright who's latest work is to dawn on the fated October 1986 evening of the World Series where his beloved Boston Red Sox' lifetime curse gets re-enforced by the infamous ball-between first baseman Bill Buckner's legs.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Nicky Rogan (Keaton) is facing many cross-roads: his new play is about to premiere on Broadway but Rogan's dilemma is whether to avoid the possible public crucifixion by the notorious critic Steven Schwimmer (Downey in a wonderfully daffy turn) whose perchance for theatricality (he attends his works in masquerade since he has been virtually vilified by all who know him) sharpening his fangs to sink into his baby or watch the drama unfolding of his aforementioned team in the defining moment of baseball. Along the way he is avoiding his family, namely his wife Lillian (the equally gifted O'Hara) who is requesting a divorce and their teenage daughter Laurel (a great Graynor) whose dabbling into the punk era underscores her dad's rebellious nature in namely a heated affair with Joanna Bourne (a nubile Neuwirth) who is also giving Nicky an ultimatum.

To make matters worse he runs into an old colleague, Elliot Litvak (an unkempt and funny Dunne) who is downward spiraling fast after a devastating debacle in the form of his last attempt at a play that was skewered by the hated Schwimmer to the point Litvak can quote chapter and verse of the bilious critique that has him fixated to the extent of dementia. Nicky grows increasingly wearier as the day becomes night and after a short visit with his father ("The Sopranos" ' Aldredge) figures to ditch the premiere after all (especially when his leading man - the always welcome vet Yulin - whose addled brain can't get its grasp on a key line reading) and ducks into a local bar to add insult to injury and watch with melodramatic hubris his beloved Sox get theirs.

Filmmaker Hoffman does a yeoman-like job in getting fine quality performances from his gifted ensemble and in his star, Keaton gets a few juicy yet low-key turns as well balancing the tension that is leading to a possible fall-out. Smartly shot on location in Manhattan the city acts as a character as it normally does providing just enough backdrop to its proceedings at hand.

DeLillo has a fine gift for his literations and the parallel of Nicky's play - a quasi-autobiography about his relationship with his working class dad - with Nicky's family life shows a man, flawed, yet genuinely wanting to make things work. The same can be said of this little gem of a film.

Michael Keaton At His Finest!

[namashi_1 · 10/10 · 20 August 2015]

'Game 6' is a yet another reminder of how GREAT Michael Keaton is as an actor. Delivering his best performance after Birdman & Clean and Sober, Keaton pitches in an unforgettable turn, thus proving to be at his finest!

'Game 6' Synopsis: Combining real and fictional events, Game 6 centers around the historic 1986 World Series and a day in the life of a playwright who skips opening night to watch the momentous game.

'Game 6', as a film, also is attention-grabbing. It has an interesting storyline, that has been translated into a fine film. It nicely blends its script, with the 1986 World Series as its wallpaper. Don DeLillo's Screenplay is a mix of drama & madness, but it makes good use of both the sides. I was intrigued by its characters, particularly the protagonist, portrayed by Keaton. Michael Hoffman's Direction is very good. Cinematography is accurate. Editing is razor-sharp, culminating the film within 84-minutes.

Performance-Wise: Its Keaton all the way. Its a performance, purely dominated by sheer talent & commitment. Robert Downey Jr. is effective in his bit. Catherine O'Hara is impressive, as always. The Late/Great Roger Rees lends support.

On the whole, 'Game 6' is a well-made film, with a strong performance by Keaton. Heavily Recommended!

very realistic

[frank_grimes-1 · 9/10 · 3 March 2007]

I like to think I know exactly how the character of Nicky Rogan felt. I am a young Redsox fan so thank goodness I don't have all those sour memories locked away, but I know several people who do have them hidden somewhere. Honestly, until i saw it for myself, I had very little faith in the Redsox ever winning a world series again. Anyway this film was a real joy to watch. Michael Keaton did a great job playing Nicky Rogan. As the Redsox go, so goes Nicky's entire world and that's usually how it is if you're a Redsox fan. There's an amazingly tense sequence in a New york bar toward the end of the film, so watch for that. I can't close this review without mentioning the brilliant Catherine O'Hara, who does a great job in her scene as Nicky's wife

Winning is easy losing is complicated, It's a lifetime's work

[sol1218 · 8/10 · 16 April 2006]

(There are Spoilers) with everything seemingly coming down on his head Broadway playwright Nicky Regan, Michael Keaton,has found out that he has an added crisis to his already hectic and troubled life. New York Times play reviewer and critic Steven Schwimmer, Robert Downey Jr. Schwimmer's word can make or beak a Broadway play and he's the person that's going to review his that evening!

Nicky is also saddled with a failing marriage with his now separated wife Lillian, Catherine O'Hara,due to his affair with,Lillians, gynecologist Joanna Brorne, Bebe Neuwirth. All that is driving his teenage daughter Laurel, Ari Graynor, to become so upset that she's seriously thinking of getting professional help.

It just turns out that opening night for Nicky's play at the Music Box coincides with the sixth game of the 1986 World Series, October 25, with Nicky's beloved Boston Red Sox leading three games to two. With the sixth game possibly being the series clincher for Boston. If they win it would be the first World Series title for the luckless Bosox since 1918.

Witty and at the same time heart wrenching movie about a person who completely lost his grip on reality and in the end has a mind-snapping experience that almost causes him to commit murder. Even though those in the theater district would gladly give him a ticker tape parade, and the key to the city, if he succeeded.

The movie "Game 6" slowly works it way toward the showdown at Shea Stadium between the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox that's a do or die game for the Mets. At first just a sidelight with Nicky jumping from cab to cab trying to get everything ready for his big opening night act, or play, he becomes obsessed with the ballgame. It's as if the outcome of the game would make him forget his personal troubles. Which among other headache his leading man in the play Peter Redmond,Harris Yulin, is suffering from memory loss due to a parasite embedded in his brain! That Redmond he picked up in far-off Borneo during location filming of a movie he stared in.

Egged on to murder Schwimmer by fellow playwright Elliot Litvak, Griffin Dunne, who's professional and personal life he destroyed, Nicky tries to keep himself from going off the deep end and do in the nasty and abusive Broadway critic. Taking a cab to a sports bar Nicky plans to watch the Met/Red Sox World Series game. The dramatic conclusion of the 6th game just left Nicky in such a state of shock that for a while his brain didn't respond to what his eyes were seeing thinking that it was his Red Sox who won, and won the 1986 World Series not the New York Mets! The New York Mets now on a roll overcame a three run deficit in the next evening in the seventh and final game of the World Series and ended up beating the now stunned and shell-shocked Bosox 8 to 5.

With nothing left to live for Nicky gets a gun and goes gunning for Schwimmer at his secret and unknown hideout by the New York docks. When he finally finds him, together with his daughter Laurel, Nicky realizes that him and Schwimmer have a lot more in common with each other then with almost any one else; their fanatical Boston Red Sox fans and both grew up in Boston just blocks away from each other and the Red Sox home court Fenwway Park! Whats more to Nicky's complete surprise Schwimmer did like his play very much and is to give it in his newspaper column one of his rare, as a Boston Red Sox World Series Championship, good reviews.

Strange to say the least "Game 6" has so many interesting characters in it, including the dozen or so off-the-wall and zany taxi drivers, that you never get tired watching it. Even when it's over with Nicky now happily back driving a cab, like he did before he became a big time playwright, you just want it to keep going on and feel a bit cheated when the closing credits start rolling down, or is it up, the screen.

Congratulations

[alki-5 · 22 February 2005]

I saw the film at the festival too.

And I have to strongly disagree.

I was moved and compelled to watch Combining real and fictional events, Game 6 centers around the historic 1986 World Series and a day in the life of a playwright who skips opening night to watch the momentous game.

Keaton and Downey were brilliant.

Always great watching these two fantastic artists.

I give it my two thumbs up.

The reason you probably found it boring is because you were asleep.

Gem of a film

[tnrcooper · 9/10 · 29 July 2007]

It is wonderful when a film that may not be the most publicized or promoted proves to be so stellar. Such is the case with this film. The topics of superstition, faith, and hope are not addressed adequately in movies, and by integrating the famous failure of the Boston Red Sox in 1986, this movie is a natural candidate to examine faith and hope. The movie is the story of Nicky Rogan (Michael Keaton in a wonderful quirky performance) whose life is typically complicated. He has a mistress (Bebe Neuwirth in fine form) and his wife (Catherine O'Hara, typically proficient) is dissatisfied with her husband's disinterest in their marriage and he is scared of the poison pen of a scabrous new critic (Robert Downey Jr. typically accomplished as Stephen Schwimmer) who has so haunted a playwright friend that the man (Griffin Dunne, exceptional as Elliott Litvak) has become something of a hermit who looks, for all intents and purposes, like a hobo. Excellent performances really distinguish this film. Keaton is fantastic and chooses his roles (or maybe they're chosen the infrequency of opportunities he has?) so carefully that he is not seen enough. However, his tics and very expressive face add depth and layers to the movie. Dunne is fantastic in portraying an unnerved playwright, and Robert Downey Jr. is typically creative and inspired.

Director Michael Hoffmann elicits fine performances from his performers. He has directed quite competently and somewhat below the radar, directing movies as varied as "Restoration", "Soapdish", and "One Fine Day." He captures Rogan's personal doubts and captures some intangible feelings and ideas very well. Great credit should also go to writer Dom DeLillo who has written a screenplay which considers some very interesting topics.

It is difficult to capture the doubts and insecurities of a playwright in many aspects of his life-personally, professionally, and in the rather murky world of superstitions that often accompany support of sports teams but the combined talents of many have united to make this a very good film.

A Dramatic Character Movie

[tabuno · 8/10 · 22 January 2019]

3 August 2006. Even with a few flaws, this movie exudes character and feeling. The characterization and the subtle but powerful emotional undertone of this quirky but delightful drama is brilliantly charming. There is submerged magic even though Robert Downey Jr. continues to produce his usually odd performances that almost become both warmed over yet solidly consistent enjoyable. The dialogue is at times difficult to follow and a few scenes seem unconnected, disjointed but the overall like the lead character's play delivers a somewhat unexpected (expected) ending. Michael Keaton doesn't put on a different face in this movie as with Robert Downey Jr., yet their synergy in separate scenes makes the movie powerfully character-driven. The weatherman's narrative is oddly discomforting, too cute while "post-sex" scene is one of colorful flair usually never seen. Eight out of Ten Stars.

Interesting & entertaining

[caroledelm · 8/10 · 8 January 2007]

The excellent combination of the featured players made for an odd & entertaining film. Very "Indy". I plan to watch it again. Keaton is always great to watch - natural acting style, and those facial expressions & body language! I laughed out loud at the kiss he gave Bebe Neuwirth. She's another fine actor, and can do anything (have you seen her dance & sing on Broadway?). Griffin Dunne & Robert Downey, Jr. were delightfully eccentric. RDJ is one actor I'd watch in ANYTHING), as with Keaton. They always provide something outstanding to enjoy. The men in our family are Yankees & football Giants fans, and truly devoted, but I now believe that people can get overly obsessed with a sports team, after having viewed this film.

It's a big mess

[jay4stein79-1 · 8/10 · 11 June 2006]

I'm particularly fond of Don Delillo's novels and especially enamored with his dialogue. He has a way of writing conversations that defy logic and coherency and yet are totally enthralling in their own enigmatic way. He can turn a descriptive phrase too, but his dialogue has been a source of pleasure for me for a long time. It's pretentious, I think, but not in any way that grates. It's just wonderful.

On a page, such pyrotechnics are superb. On the stage they fare less well (I'm not a fan of Delillo's dramatic works) and I was terrified how his writing style would translate to cinema. It doesn't, really, and I think I should probably not like this movie as much as I did. I should have hated it--the overt symbolism (the camera's dwelling on a sign that says Dead End for far too long at the beginning), the obvious structure (those interrupted cab rides), and the presence of Delillo's obsessions (baseball, disintegrating relationships, an airborne toxic event) all indicate an intelligent and literary man behind the scenes but they also point to someone who has, unfortunately, an all too great grasp of literary language rather than verbal language.

And yet...And yet I was totally enthralled with the dialogue. It certainly helps to have three actors as talented as Michael Keaton, Griffin Dunne, and Robert Downey, Jr. What's more-- those actors have often played characters who must save themselves with words rather than heroics. They're just the people to play characters in a Don Delillo story. As a result, the arch-ness of the dialogue is lessened. Yes, it's entirely unrealistic, but having seen these actors before, you know that's how they act--they talk and talk and talk. It's perfect casting (especially Griffin Dunne, who returns, sort of, to territory he encountered in After Hours).

There are also some pitch-perfect moments regarding baseball and baseball fan-dom. I enjoyed Fever Pitch, but Game 6 nails, as near as I can tell, the Red Sox obsession to a T. (Full disclosure: I'm a Yankees fan, so the pathology of a Red Sox fan is understood second hand.) Or maybe it nails the obsession with baseball in general--an obsession that I recognize in myself and my friends. I could understand the feeling that baseball was personal. It is, if you love it. I could understand Robert Downey's character when he talked about only watching highlights of the games because it killed him too much to sit through the up and downs of a game. It's excruciating to watch your team lose, moment by moment. It hurts less when it's been condensed into a one-minute segment. This film gets a lot of those aspects of being a baseball fan correct, and that was something to see.

As for everything else? Well, the exploration of other facets of Nicky's character are far from perfect. His relationships with his family are far less convincing than his relationship with the Red Sox (though his relationship with his daughter comes close). I found the movie worked much better in its second-half, when it really dwells on the relationship of baseball and Nicky's life. Baseball is life, as he says--well, it's his life. Juxtaposing the Sox's failures and his own worked well.

All in all, I thought the movie a minor major achievement. Delillo is a masterful literary artist, whose wonderful stories have great potential for the screen. He needs to rein in a few of his habits that are not exactly flattering before he'll write a cinematic masterpiece, though.