The Rookie (Widescreen Edition)

This movie was excellent. Great story, great cast. I am a huge sports nut and I could watch this any number of times and not get tired of it. Great job by Quaid and the rest of the cast. The DVD got here fast, undamaged, and as advertised.

There is something special about "true" sports stoires to me, and I enjoy the stories where a player reaches a dream. such as Invincible. <br /> <br />The Rookie fits the mold, as it follows Jim Morris, a pitcher who never made it all the way to play ball, but fell short. But he got one more chance and was able to make it to the big league. (In fact I remember rooting for him on the comeback trail when the story developed.) <br /> <br />Dennis Quaid is great as Morris, and you cannothelp but root for him. The movie is very well done, not being overly melodramatic or too "rah-rah" as the story develops to the point where Morris plays on a field of dreams. <br /> <br />This movie does not seem to get mentioned as often as other baseball movies that instantly come to mind, such as Bull Durham or A Field Of Dreams, but it is a very good one and deserves a place in any collection of baseball movies.

There have been hundreds of movies made about baseball: some forgetable duds, many decent films, and a few all time classics that define how baseball is a reflection of America. The film `The Rookie' is in this latter category. It is the true life (although heavily dramatized, I'm sure) story of Jim Morris, a high school teacher and baseball coach in Texas who attended a tryout for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at the urging of his players and eventually made it to the majors for the first time in his mid-30s, an unprecedented event. The thing that makes this movie great is that it is about more than just baseball, it is about dreams. Many people dream about doing great things, but it takes courage and determination to actually get up and do it and overcome the fear of failure. Jimmy Morris always dreamed about playing baseball and spent some time in the minors as a young man, getting hurt and never making it to the major leagues. His desire to play baseball never left him though, and even after he got married, started a family, and settled down to a regular job, he never forgot his dream. Unlike most people, he got a second chance to try to do what he loved and he made the most of his opportunity. Throw in a beautiful, spunky wife (played by Rachel Griffiths) and a complex, unhappy relationship with his father, and you have a great story. There are so many great scenes in this movie that are so well done and so memorable. Jim making it to the big leagues is great, of course (I imagine that virtually anyone would be in a daze the first time they sit in a big league dugout). The best scene of the movie is the one where Jim tosses a ball past a traffic radar to see how fast he is throwing and the reading gives a speed in the high seventies (mph), and as Jim walks away to pick up the ball, the reading changes to a velocity in the high 90s. All time classic! People will be watching this 100 years from now. Is this movie cheesy and over-melodramatic at times? You bet. A great family movie? Absolutely! It would be great if every American, once in their life, could feel like Jim Morris when he comes out of the bullpen for the first time. Most of us may never get that chance, but it is great watching Jim do it!

The rookie is one of those inspirational movies that are hard to forget once you watch it. It is one of the best family movies to sit down and see because of the inspiration and people could relate it to their lives. The movie is about a man in his late 30's and his team wants him to pursue a chance to pitch in the majors. At first he is not sure what to do but in the end he gives it a shot. While some people might think this movie is unrealistic a pitcher on the Phillies two years ago was 34 when he made his debuted. The movie does have a lot of emotional moments as you end up rooting for them to succeed. After going through the minor leagues and so many struggles he discovers his dream and gets his chance to pitch in the majors. It truly is an inspiration to anyone and says if you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything that you want. 5 Star movie in my opinion.

I love this type of movie because as an older person who once dreamed of pitching major league baseball it tells me that maybe, just maybe, it might still be possible ( with some sort of miracle involved ) that dream is still possible. <br /> <br />Worth watching for any baseball fan, young or old.