Hardball (2001)

38% of critics liked it
(99 reviews)
70% of users liked it
(53,502 ratings)

Television actor-turned-director Brian Robbins follows up Varsity Blues (1999) and Ready to Rumble (2000) with another sports comedy. Keanu Reeves stars as Conor O'Neill, an underachiever and inveterate sports gambler who needs a bailout loan from a friend to pay off his mounting debt. As a… More Television actor-turned-director Brian Robbins follows up Varsity Blues (1999) and Ready to Rumble (2000) with another sports comedy. Keanu Reeves stars as Conor O'Neill, an underachiever and inveterate sports gambler who needs a bailout loan from a friend to pay off his mounting debt. As a condition for receiving the necessary funds, Conor is saddled with coaching a corporate-sponsored Little League baseball team for underprivileged youth in Chicago's notorious Cabrini Green housing project. Reluctant at first, Conor slowly begins to enjoy his new authority role, especially when he makes the acquaintance of his players' attractive teacher, Elizabeth Wilkes (Diane Lane). Based on the real-life chronicle Hardball: A Season in the Projects by Outside magazine editor Daniel Coyle, Hardball also stars D.B. Sweeney and Mike McGlone. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 46 min.
Directed By: Brian Robbins
Written By: John Gatins
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Sep 14, 2001 Wide
On DVD: Feb 19, 2002
Studio: Paramount Pictures

Critic Reviews

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
A smarmy proposition passing itself off as family fun in the style of The Bad News Bears.
Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle
Works where it counts, on the emotional level.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
Does surprisingly few lurches as it walks the tightrope between urban realism ... and family entertainment.
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews
Had Paramount played more team ball, they coulda been a contender
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
This umpire calls Hardball out at first base.
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
This is less a hardball than a softball, without any curves or surprises.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Esforçando-se ao máximo para arrancar lágrimas do espectador, o filme apela para todas as convenções estabelecidas por produções semelhantes, falhando em todas as tentativas.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...Hardball is much darker and far more adult than the commercials and trailer want you to believe.
Harry Guerin, RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
Home runs for all the young actors with Reeves stuck at second base.

Read all 9 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Conner R

It's an incredibly dumb urban sports movie that tries to cover racism and male comradery. Keanu Reeves plays a gambling low life who gets stuck coaching kids, so it's nothing you haven't seen before. I can tell that it wasn't supposed to be good, but that… More
It's an incredibly dumb urban sports movie that tries to cover racism and male comradery. Keanu Reeves plays a gambling low life who gets stuck coaching kids, so it's nothing you haven't seen before. I can tell that it wasn't supposed to be good, but that doesn't make it okay.
Dean M

This hard-edged little dream deserves plenty of credit for avoiding the light comedy and fairy-tale conclusions by which underdog sports sagas usually are known, and would deserve an even higher rating were it not for Keanu Reeves's wooden (as usual) performance in the lead role.… More
This hard-edged little dream deserves plenty of credit for avoiding the light comedy and fairy-tale conclusions by which underdog sports sagas usually are known, and would deserve an even higher rating were it not for Keanu Reeves's wooden (as usual) performance in the lead role. Really fantastic and emotional home run story.
Daniel P

It took me a week to come out with a rating on this one, and I still can't decide whether it's a pretty good movie with some really bad parts, or a bad movie with a few really good parts. The screenplay seems decent, but the dialogue is rough; Keanu Reeves is mostly bad,… More
It took me a week to come out with a rating on this one, and I still can't decide whether it's a pretty good movie with some really bad parts, or a bad movie with a few really good parts. The screenplay seems decent, but the dialogue is rough; Keanu Reeves is mostly bad, Diane Lane is mostly good. The sports scenes are more cliched and contrived than in any sports movie in recent memory - who makes up bristol board signs and cheers THAT much for little league baseball?? - but the "ghetto scenes" got away from the cliches that one usually sees in films with that subject matter and are surprisingly raw. All in all, the contrast the film draws between the hopelessness of day-to-day life in this particular community and the magic of baseball is very striking, and almost too stark for the film to hang together. The potential in this film is what keeps you watching, and though its execution is questionable, you don't really lose faith in the story, and I think most people will stick it out rather than turn it off. Most people.
Jason S

This is a really dark movie really. The main guy is in the dumps in a bad way and he hooks up with inner city kids to play baseball. He is pretty much a scummy guy until the end and he doesn't seem to get the lesson the situation is trying to show him. The ending is a real… More
This is a really dark movie really. The main guy is in the dumps in a bad way and he hooks up with inner city kids to play baseball. He is pretty much a scummy guy until the end and he doesn't seem to get the lesson the situation is trying to show him. The ending is a real bummer and you leave this movie feeling worse than when you started it.
danny d

not bad, diane lane was good in this one
Mouhannad S

Hardball is a totally predictable film from start to finish. While the young boys gave excellent efforts in their roles and Keanu was his usual outstanding self, the story line has been over done. This film was entertaining and I enjoyed the efforts by all the actors but it is not the… More
Hardball is a totally predictable film from start to finish. While the young boys gave excellent efforts in their roles and Keanu was his usual outstanding self, the story line has been over done. This film was entertaining and I enjoyed the efforts by all the actors but it is not the type of film Reeves has done so well in the past.
Joseph E

This film had at first threw nothing but balls at me, then started to throw some strikes, before finishing off with some fastballs, and a few curves for one heck off a game. Yes it is not a film in which it aims for thrown dishes, loud fyelling, and anger that wins awards, like… More
This film had at first threw nothing but balls at me, then started to throw some strikes, before finishing off with some fastballs, and a few curves for one heck off a game. Yes it is not a film in which it aims for thrown dishes, loud fyelling, and anger that wins awards, like "Leonard Dicaprio" and his always over-acting in films. "Hardball" throws itself at you to get you to feel for the situation and let's you know what is happening, and what you need to realize about all that is encompassing this story. I was midly impressed by this film. "Three out of Four" Stars. Mildly Reccomended.
Sunil J

Really pretty nice
Chosen 7

Tragically stereotypical and cheesy. It had it's moments but for the most part it sucked hard balls.
Mr. C

it started off with me thinking "this will be a cheesy nobodies to winners tale, but it actually has the ability to make you cry. One of the biggest surprises I have ever had.