A well-made G-rated movie for adults

Rating: 8/10 (11 July 2002)

There has been a trend the last few years that I like in the film world. With films like "Buena Vista Social Club" and "The Straight Story", there has been a renaissance of G-rated films aimed at adult audiences--something unheard of since Stanley Kubrick's "2001". Now Disney--the 400lb gorilla of G-rated films--throws it's hat into the ring with this film that should resonate with anyone over 30 who feels life has passed them by (count the author of this review).
Jimmy Morris only has one dream as a kid, and that's to pitch in the major leagues. Unfortunately he has 3 major stumbling blocks. First, his father thins baseball is silly. Second, the Navy sends his dad out to west Texas--where football is king & baseball ranks slightly below sumo wrestling in popularity. Third, as a minor leaguer, he injures his shoulder & is no longer able to pitch--or so he thinks.
The film catches up with him as a 40-year-old high school physics teacher & varsity baseball coach. He occasionally yearns for the glory he never had, but is mostly satisfied to be resigned to his fate. It's not all that bad, after all. He's got a beautiful wife and 3 great kids, and he's on the verge of a higher-paying job in Ft Worth. But he has a problem: his team is unmotivated & under-talented. They see him as an example of someone who is afraid to try. So they make a deal with him: if they make the state tournament, Jimmy will try out for the pros again. And then we all find out that Jimmy can throw in the upper 90's, something he couldn't do in his playing days. And guess what? A team is interested.
All this would seem trite & cliche except that it really happened. Jimmy Morris was the star pitcher for the Florida Marlins for the first two years of their existence.
One can quibble with certain things about the film. Why do they need the sound effects for Jimmy's pitches? Why was the film set today instead of ten years ago when it actually happened? Why the Devil Rays instead of the Marlins? Aren't there just too many lush green hills for west Texas? (the film was made in my home town of Round Rock, which is in the hilly green central part of Texas)
However, the positives far outweigh the negatives. The acting--especially Dennis Quaid and Rachel Griffiths--is superb. And the dialogue sounds natural, even without the mildest of swear words (the word "damn" is in a song that plays in the background and that's it). And the story itself is the fantasy of everyone over the age of 30 who wonders "what if?" When I think of Jimmy Morris, I am reminded of Grandma Moses, Raymond Chandler, Danny Aiello--people who waited until middle age or later to find their true calling and succeeded on a grand scale. And this film gives me hope that someday--who knows?--I could be the king of heavy metal starting when I'm forty or fifty. 8 out of 10.