Hardball is a well-intentioned, tender-hearted film that gets lost in clichés, stereotypes, and bad writing. Keanu Reeves plays Coner O'Neal, a heavy-drinking compulsive gambler who is clearly down on his luck. When he asks a stockbroker-friend to loan him some money, his friend instead offers him a job-coaching Little League ball players for $500 a week. The catch is that this particular Little League team is made up of residents from Cabrini-Green, Chicago's most notorious public housing project.So, we end up with the white mentor meets black street kid cliché (Finding Forrester). The basic plot line of the film is the standard sports film cliché. For me, almost all sports films are variations of Rocky. For example, Hoosiers is "rural Rockies play basketball". The Mighty Ducks could be subtitled "little Rockies play hockey". Even Cool Runnings is "Jamaican Rockies go bob-sledding". The closest parallel is probably Bad News Bears, but Mighty Ducks is a close second.As is the case in many of these films, the basic formula is loser coach coaches loser athletes and they all become winners in the end. A common subplot occurs when the down-and-out coach loses faith in himself, but is propped up by the love of a good woman ("Yo' Adrian"). As I have stated before formula can be okay, if you create richly drawn characters and interesting contexts with unusual plot twists that keep us in suspense. Alas, Hardball had none of this.This is essentially a formula film with poorly developed characters, few innovations, and flat interpersonal relationships throughout the film. If you are interested in the film because you like sports films, see any of the other films listed above on video instead. Major League II even looks good by comparison. If your primary interest is in the lives of low-income minorities in the inner city check out the documentary Hoop Dreams, Menace II Society, Boyz in the Hood, or Clockers. If the interracial mentoring is what appeals, Finding Forrester is a much better choice. If you were interested in this film because you are a Keanu Reeves fan, see your therapist or wait for Matrix II.To be fair, there was one moment at the end of the film that was poignant, well-acted, and moving. This is a clear case of too little too late though. The film ended by swinging for the fences, but in the final analysis Hardball went down swinging.

An aimless young man (Keanu Reeves) who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.Keanu Reeves's performance in "Hardball" earned him a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actor (also for "Sweet November"), but he lost the award to Tom Green for "Freddy Got Fingered". Interestingly, I see "Freddy" as a misunderstood masterpiece... and hardly think Reeves is bad in "Hardball" (whereas "Sweet November" is just a bad movie).One could complain that this film has the "white savior" problem, with a white man saving the lives (figuratively) of an all-black team. I did not have that issue. There are some familiar plot devices, but all in all it is an enjoyable movie... one that maybe should be re-examined.

Hardball (2001): Dir: Brian Robbins / Cast: Keanu Reeves, Diane Lane, D.B. Sweeney, John Hawkes, Michael B. Jordan: 80, 000, 000th sports baseball movie about the hardened lives kids endure. It stars Keanu Reeves as a drunken gambler thrust into coaching an urban kids baseball team by a friend who will pay him $500 a week to do so. He figures that the money will pay off debts but he never factored in the behavior. This all leads to a happy ending for all save for the audience. Director Brian Robbins is responsible for Varsity Blues, as well as such crap as Good Burger and Ready to Rumble. He lets the material get away on him like a bunch of kids at an amusement park. It has no originality and characters say lines like, "I'm blown away by your ability to show up." I am blown away by his ability to say that with a straight face. Reeves makes little impression playing a role that has been done fifty times over. Diane Lane is basically a romantic prop for when Reeves has a free moment. Are we to be surprised when these two hook up? D.B. Sweeney plays Reeves's crime pal, although being in this film is perhaps his biggest crime. This is the kind of film that you line up and bat baseballs at just to see if one can smash a dent in it. It is one of the worst sports films ever made. Arguably about inner city kids seeking opportunity but the formula has been done so many times that it hits too many foul balls. Score: 1 / 10

This film moved me the first time I watched it years ago and after watching again the same aspects got me, specifically the scene with Jefferson making the trip home alone. You can critique the message, realism and accuracy with this film all you want but it takes a cold hearted person to not get emotional watching that boy scared, struggling for breath! The timing was perfect, acting from the kids was gritty and thankfully avoided coming across as 'too scripted' with great support from Keanu, I say support as for me the kids stole the show.This film scores higher than similar titles such as 'Coach Carter' as the young actors do a great job of sucking the viewer in while you believe the down on his luck, addictive portrayal from Keanu.If you're taking the time to read this review typed up at 2.16am then you might want to check out 'Radio' and 'Remember the Titans' for similar films.