Great kids but forget about the rom-com

Rating: 6/10 (11 January 2014)

Conor O'Neill (Keanu Reeves) is a degenerate gambler and a drunk. After some bad loses, he's in trouble with his bookies and he borrows money from Jimmy on one condition. Conor needs to coach kids baseball in the projects. He finds out that he needs to field a full team, but teacher Elizabeth Wilkes (Diane Lane) is holding back a couple of the kids.
Keanu is all jittery. It's very distracting, and not very attractive. The rom-com part of the movie is a bust. The character is a giant mess. The saving grace are the kids. They are the movie. It's the Bad News Bears with better kids characters and weaker adult characters. I just wish they forget about the rom-com, and cool down the gambling drama. I wish they put more of the kids' story in the film. Although I'm very glad to not have to watch the usual final championship game.