HardBall
Take a swing at HardBall, you might hit a winner with this one.
Inspired by actual events, HardBall takes the viewer into the lives of some extraordinary kids, who all have the hope of making something worthwhile and right in their life, and the one man to help them with this, is going to learn something pretty important along the way about himself from these smart and willful kids.
HardBall tells the story of Conor O' Neill ( Keanu Reeves) a lost soul who only seems to find himself sinking faster into booze and more dangerously into his own foolish lifestyle as a gambler. With his slimy gambling buddy Ticky ( John Hawkes), Conor is in some serious finacial trouble. He owes lots of green to some unsympathetic and hungry loan sharks.
In order to gain sufficient income to pay off these heavy debts, Conor seeks help from Mike ( Jimmy Fleming) an old pal who's now a well-to-do stockbroker. Mike decides it's better to have Conor work and sweat for the money and offers him a job coaching baseball, to a rowdy mouth group of inner city kids who call themselves Kekambas.
With grinding teeth and bitten lip, Conor takes the job with the hidden agenda of quitting the team once he can cash in on his next big bet.
When word gets out that Conor is teaching, Elisabeth Wilkes ( Diane Lane) an English teacher looks to Conor to help her students with their education. She sets a goal for them and a deal; if one book is read and understood, the kids can play baseball.
Another dilemma standing in the way of Conor and the team is Matt (D.B.Sweeney), a coach from the other league who doesn't want to see Conor's team succeed, and he will do his best in making that happen.
Each kid has something unique and special to offer the movie such as Jefferson Albert Tibbs ( Julian Griffith), who suffers from asthma and being overweight, but tries so hard to keep it from bringing him down, G-Baby ( DeWayne Warren) a determined tike with so much spunk and love of the game and Miles Pennfield (A. Delon Ellis, Jr.), the pitcher who without his headphones and rap music can't tune out the background noises of the rivaling team's obnoxiousness.
What made this movie so special were the peformances from the kids. They captured my heart and made this a true sentimental and heartfelt movie to be enjoyed and respected.
HardBall has a message, and sure there is language, violence, and a horribly painful scene, which nobody would want to happen to their child, especially nowadays with all the violence staring us in the face, but the point is this is how their lives are being lived, so it makes sense to show the real picture and not just candy coat it. At the same time, it shows that just because you live in a tough neighborhood doesn't mean you don't have feelings, compassion, or dreams you want to make become a reality.
Rap music infused throughout the movie helps feed the story-line's connection to the kids and how they relate to the feeling of music on an emotionally positive level. Especially noted with the song "Big Poppa" sung by The Notorious B.I.G.
I liked Keanu Reeves and feel he has been underated as an actor, I think he did a fine job here. Diane Lane's role was sweet and touching. Overall, all the peformances were very likable in this movie.
I enjoy a good spirited sports movie and HardBall batted a good game. I really do love when the underdog comes out barking loud and strong!
Written by: Lynda Dale MacLean
Reviewers Rating: 7
Reader's Rating: 9.80
Reader's Votes: 36
Added: 23-Sep-2003
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