The Rookie (2002)
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84% of critics liked it
(152 reviews) -
68% of users liked it
(60,225 ratings)
The true story of a middle-aged baseball rookie comes to the screen from Finding Forrester (2000) screenwriter Mike Rich and the studio behind the previous year's equally inspirational sports drama Remember the Titans (2001). Twelve years ago, the pro baseball aspirations of Texas pitcher Jim… More The true story of a middle-aged baseball rookie comes to the screen from Finding Forrester (2000) screenwriter Mike Rich and the studio behind the previous year's equally inspirational sports drama Remember the Titans (2001). Twelve years ago, the pro baseball aspirations of Texas pitcher Jim Morris (Dennis Quaid) were derailed by a severe shoulder injury. Jim became a high school science teacher and baseball coach, married his sweetheart, Lorri (Rachel Griffiths), and settled down to raise a family. After corrective surgery repairs, despite the longstanding damage to his shoulder, Jim discovers that he can pitch a ball even faster than he could before. When his team delivers a lackluster on-field performance in a losing game, coach and players agree to a wager: If they'll make it to the district championships, he'll try out for a major league ball club. When his team makes it to the championship and wins for the first time in the school's history, Jim is forced to live up to his end of the bargain. Nearly laughed off the field, he confounds the pro scouts by tossing successive fastballs that clock at nearly 100 miles per hour. It seems that Jim is about to live his dream of joining a major league team in middle age, when most players are planning their retirement. The Rookie (2002) co-stars Brian Cox, Beth Grant, and Jay Hernandez. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Directed By
- John Lee Hancock
- Written By
- Mike Rich
- Genres
- Drama
- In Theaters
- Mar 29, 2002 Wide
- Studio
- Buena Vista Distribution Compa
Critic Reviews
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Bruce Diones, New Yorker
It's Quaid and his fellow actors, Rachel Griffiths and Brian Cox, who lift the film out of its intermittent doldrums, and together they deliver that rare thing: a nuanced sports movie.
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Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
Until The Rookie came along, I'd forgotten how good and smart a family film can be.
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Joe Leydon, Variety
Deftly constructed to stoke the baseball-phenom fantasies of coulda-shoulda-woulda middle-aged guys and fields-of-dreaming young diamond studs.
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Hank Sartin, Chicago Reader
All the uplift could easily get cloying, but director John Lee Hancock knows how to keep things in control, and the whole is surprisingly satisfying.
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Trevor Johnston, Time Out
If they gave an Oscar for Best Performance in a Mediocre Movie, Dennis Quaid should already be clearing his mantelpiece.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Dennis Quaid
as Jim Morris
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Rachel Griffiths
as Lorri Morris
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Jay Hernandez
as Joaquin "Wack" Campos
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Beth Grant
as Olline Morris
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Angus T. Jones
as Hunter
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Brian Cox
as Jim Morris Sr.
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Rick Gonzalez
as Rudy Bonilla
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Chad Lindberg
as Joe David West
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Angelo Spizzirri
as Joel De La Garza
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Royce D. Applegate
as Henry
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Russell Richardson
as Brooks
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Raynor Scheine
as Frank
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David Blackwell
as Cal
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Blue Deckert
as Dave Patterson
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Dan Kamin
as Mac
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Trevor Morgan
as Young Jim



