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      The Rookie

      2002, Drama, 2h 7m

      154 Reviews 50,000+ Ratings

      What to know

      Critics Consensus

      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. Read critic reviews

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      Movie Info

      A true story about a coach who discovers that it's never too late for dreams to come true. Jim Morris (Dennis Quaid) never made it out of the minor leagues before a shoulder injury ended his pitching career twelve years ago. Now a married-with-children high-school chemistry teacher and baseball coach in Texas, Jim's team makes a deal with him: if they win the district championship, Jim will try out with a major-league organization.

      • Rating: G

      • Genre: Drama

      • Original Language: English

      • Director: John Lee Hancock

      • Producer: Mark Ciardi, Gordon Gray, Mark Johnson

      • Writer: Mike Rich

      • Release Date (Theaters):  wide

      • Release Date (Streaming):

      • Runtime:

      • Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures

      • Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital

      • Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

      Cast & Crew

      Dennis Quaid
      Jay Hernandez
      Beth Grant
      Rick Gonzalez
      Chad Lindberg
      Angelo Spizzirri
      Blue Deckert
      Trevor Morgan
      Chris Sheffield
      Philip Steuer
      John Schwartzman
      Barry Robison
      Eric L. Beason
      Bruce Finlayson
      Carter Burwell
      John Bissell
      Philip Steuer
      H. Gordon Boos
      Kevin Constant
      Barbara Munch
      James Crowley
      Shoshana Partos
      Ron Berkeley

      News & Interviews for The Rookie

      Critic Reviews for The Rookie

      Audience Reviews for The Rookie

      • Jul 10, 2013
        Filled with very solid performances by the entire cast, "The Rookie" presents the true story of a man who grew up as a kid, moving around with his family and being driven away from his dreams in baseball. When his family finally finds a final resting place, he must live his life there, isolated from baseball and focussing on dirty work and family. Once the opportunity to teach and coach a house-league baseball team arises, he does not hesitate. This sparks people to talk about how good of a pitcher this coach is, and his career escalates from there. Like I said, the acting is great, the story is presented very well, the script is solid, and the direction is nice and tender. "The Rookie" may not be the best baseball film of all time, but it is a very solid effort/entry into the genre.
        Super Reviewer
      • Jun 12, 2011
        The Rookie is one of the few sports films that really doesn't do anything for me. The film is overly cliched and is more irritating and boring than anything else. I saw this film made it on the list of worst sports movies ever made. I can understand why. The film is very poorly written, the acting is terrible, the plot is predictable and Dennis Qaids kid in the film is irritating as hell. But its normal for a Disney film. That's to be expected. I thought the film was really a chore to finish, the only reason that I have this is because it came as a two pack packaged with a film that I wanted. I thought this film would be good, it wasn't. Sometimes a story with lots of cliches can be interesting and fun, when the script is well written, and the cast is good. But thats not the case with The Rookie. The Rookie tries too hard at being a feel good film, and instead it misses the mark, big time. Theres little interest in the film to be had 40 minutes in and the film feels sloppy, and poorly made. The Rookie could have been a great film, but it uses the usual feel good movie formula in such a bad way that the film is laughable. If you're looking for one of the worst feel good sports films, then The Rookie is that film. Boring, predictable and so poorly made all you want to do after watching this film is forget about it.
        Super Reviewer
      • Aug 08, 2010
        Life is perfect, isn't it? There are no hitches, and it just moves along perfectly. That's how life is, right? Well, maybe in a Disney movie, but that's not what makes a good film. When you think about it, it's the ups and downs in characters' lives that makes movies interesting. Who cares if this guy's life is perfect? It's boring. Yeah, it's based on a true story, so they couldn't do much about it, but they really should have taken some creative license with this one, because watching this guy have success at everything he does with absolutely no failure is not interesting. It's boring. Plain and simple. Not to mention that it seemed that half the movie was Quaid's kid smiling at his daddy. Though Quaid does what he can with the poorly-written role he's given, the film still sucks.
        Super Reviewer
      • Jan 01, 2010
        Truly compelling and honest emotional films are really hard to come by these days mostly due to the fact that good old fashioned family values and inspirational stories take a backseat to dark and gritty crime dramas and murder mysteries. But John Lee Hancock's "The Rookie" proves that films like that are not dead. "The Rookie" is the inspiring and heartwarming true story of Jimmy Morris, a high school science teacher and coach of a small town team that's had a bad season. So coach Morris makes a bet with his team that if they win the championship he would try out for a major league team. Well his team wins and now Morris has to uphold his end of the bargain and tryout for a team, but little does he or anyone else know is that Jimmy Morris is about to become the oldest and most unlikely rookie. It's a film that literally will make you stand up and cheer, it will touch every fiber of your soul and every inch of your heart. "The Rookie" may seem like a run of the mill, seen it before sports film but trust me it's not. No this film is something more and it's something that must be experienced to truly believe the amazing power that it exudes and the extreme depth of emotion and character that is in it makes more of a great example of Disney magic and film making at it's finest. Dennis Quaid gives the performance of a lifetime as the high school coach turned MLB all star, Quaid's performance is skillful, powerful, emotional and honest. He gives his all and then some to the part and to the film and it shows. All in all the cast does amazing in this film and play out there parts well in this brilliant and up lifting film. "The Rookie" is a fun, enjoyable, smart and well mounted film that has it's heart in it's right place and it's game on the right track. It's a must see film that shows that no matter how old you are you still can make your dreams come true.
        Super Reviewer

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