Hardball

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Ola G Gambler and ticket scalper, Conor O'Neill (Keanu Reeves), secretly bets $6,000 on his dead father's account and is now in debt with two bookies. After turning to a stockbroker friend to borrow the money to repay them, he reluctantly agrees to take his friend's place and coach a youth baseball team of troubled fifth grade kids from Chicago's ABLA housing projects in exchange for $500 each week, for ten weeks. Some of the players include: Andre Ray Peetes, the captain; Kofi Evans, the best player on the team; Jefferson Albert Tibbs, an overweight, asthmatic player; Jamal, the oldest on the team; Miles Penfield II, the pitcher, who listens to The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Big Poppa" to pitch well; and Jarius "G-Baby" Evans, Kofi's much younger brother who is too young to play so he becomes Conor's assistant. Conor's efforts are hindered from the onset by the fact that he does not have nine kids to make up the team. This is because their teacher, Elizabeth "Sister" Wilkes (Diane Lane), is making several boys finish a book report. Conor's life is threatened by his bookies for not paying his debts. He is visited by the mother of two boys and her nephew that are allowed to play in exchange for him tutoring them. Conor works to get the team to support each other and stop trash-talking each other's bad plays; but the team nevertheless loses its first game 16–1, which fosters hostility between the players. Conor brings them together by buying them pizza (trading sports tickets for the pizza) and leads the team to win their second game. The team starts to come together as Conor tries to kindle a romance with Wilkes... Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus reads, "Although Hardball contains some touching moments, they are not enough to transcend the sports formula." (Via Wikipedia) The only reason I saw "Hardball" was due to the fact that Diane Lane is in it. An old favourite of mine. This is such a generic film with a storyline we have seen so many times in different versions. Keanu Reeves is not good in this, he is in his most wooden mode and Diane Lane is wasted in her supporting role as she get nothing to work with. There are some sequences that does contains some touching moments as said, but that is not enough to give this film more than 1 and a half. No need to see this one. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 10/10/25 Full Review thiago s Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/28/25 Full Review Brien W Cult classic in the black community, it’s a rite of passage to watch it! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/29/25 Full Review Carlos I Hardball is a classic example of the formulaic underdog sports movie, hitting every beat you'd expect. If you're in the mood for that predictable yet comforting cinematic experience, it will certainly entertain you enough. Think of it as Bad News Bears but without the laughs, delivering more heartwarming earnestness than comedic relief. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/15/25 Full Review Devin B One of the best baseball movies you will ever see. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/04/25 Full Review Drew F Extremely well acted. Your typical underdog story, but still glad I watched. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/24/25 Full Review Read all reviews

Hardball

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