The Rookie (2002)
Average Rating: 7.1/10
Reviews Counted: 152
Fresh: 127 | Rotten: 25
A heart-warming sports flick, The Rookie greatly benefits from understated direction and the emotional honesty Dennis Quaid brings to the role of Jim Morris.
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Critic Reviews: 38
Fresh: 35 | Rotten: 3
A heart-warming sports flick, The Rookie greatly benefits from understated direction and the emotional honesty Dennis Quaid brings to the role of Jim Morris.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 60,274
Movie Info
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
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Dennis Quaid
Jim Morris -
Rachel Griffiths
Lorri Morris -
Jay Hernandez
Joaquin "Wack" Campos -
Beth Grant
Olline Morris -
Angus T. Jones
Hunter -
Brian Cox
Jim Morris Sr. -
Rick Gonzalez
Rudy Bonilla -
Chad Lindberg
Joe David West -
Angelo Spizzirri
Joel De La Garza -
Royce D. Applegate
Henry -
Russell Richardson
Brooks -
Raynor Scheine
Frank -
David Blackwell
Cal -
Blue Deckert
Dave Patterson -
Dan Kamin
Mac -
Trevor Morgan
Young Jim
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (152) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (127) | Rotten (25) | DVD (31)
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.
Top CriticUntil The Rookie came along, I'd forgotten how good and smart a family film can be.
Deftly constructed to stoke the baseball-phenom fantasies of coulda-shoulda-woulda middle-aged guys and fields-of-dreaming young diamond studs.
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.
If they gave an Oscar for Best Performance in a Mediocre Movie, Dennis Quaid should already be clearing his mantelpiece.
You can see why the filmmakers optioned the story from a Sports Illustrated article: It just works.
The Rookie is shot through with star-spangled sentiment, but its light touch and "true story" origins combine to make it feelgood fun even for schmaltz-phobic Brits.
Slow moving, even pedestrian at times, yet this Dennis Quaid vehicle cranks out a lot of genuinely heartwarming moments along the way.
Earnest, uplifting baseball melodrama
Sweet and engaging despite some flaws.
In one of his greatest performances, Dennis Quaid puts nasty velocity and wicked movement on his delivery. A patient, emotionally honest sports film about resurrecting a dream and investing all you never knew you had.
It spreads the inspirational butter thicker than the diamond action and buries the school team beneath Morris' quest for a new career, but develops a lyrical sense of what it's like to resurrect self-worth and chase one's dreams.
Earnest to the point of blandness.
The Rookie is one of those rare, wonderful 'formula' films that ... favors understatement over exaggeration, subtlety over sentimentality.
I would almost rather have seen an A&E biography than a concocted Hollywood parable of unrealized dreams.
A fine example of heartwarming real-life drama, with performances that ring true and some terrific moments that befit a classic American Dream story.
My all-time favorite baseball movie.
It shows us that things may not be like they used to, but we can still enjoy the celebration of things past.
Baseball season is here, folks, and The Rookie is a good opening day experience.
Sem apelar para o melodrama, o filme (baseado em uma história real) emociona e inspira o espectador.
Credit to the actors for still making it such a heartwarming affair, but like its leading character, The Rookie had the potential to be so much more.
Audience Reviews for The Rookie
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for The Rookie yet.
What's Hot On RT
Pictures from a zombie nation
Woody Allen in San Francisco
See the Desolation of Smaug trailer!
Where does This Is the End rank?
Latest News on The Rookie
February 15, 2006:
First-Time Director to Tackle Jim ThorpeAccording to Variety, veteran cinematographer John Schwartzman is about to make his directorial...
December 6, 2005:
"Saw" Producer Passes AwayGregg Hoffman, producer of "Saw" and co-founder of Twisted Pictures, died of natural...
July 19, 2005:
The Rock Goes Family Friendly With "Daddy's Girl"Larry Carroll of Movies on MTV had a sit-down with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on the set of...
Fresh Links
Featured
Movie: ID: 9518 Title: The Rookie Release Date: 2002-03-29 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 1 Status: 1
The Looks of Johnny Depp
To celebrate the star's birthday, BuzzSugar looks at the many faces of Johnny Depp.
10 Egregious Product Placements
Rolling Stone wonders if The Internship goes too far... then provides 10 examples of movies that did.
Horror Movie Mistakes
Moviefone offers up 8 of the most obvious glaring errors in popular fright flicks.
10 Bad Movies That Look Great
Sometimes even terrible movies can be beautiful; here are 10 of them, from HitFix.
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Featured on RT
- Video Interviews with Cast & Crew of Monsters University 0
- Digital Multiplex: 21 & Over, Quartet, and More 1
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Jack the Giant Slayer and Quartet 23
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Man of Steel Sets June Record 101
- Weekly Ketchup: Man of Steel Sequel In the Works 192
- Five Favorite Films with Joss Whedon 127
- Bonus Footage of the Cast & Crew of Man of Steel 1
Top Headlines
