This was a fun, enjoyable, film. It's as much about accepting the maturity of middle-age as it is about the main plot of a retired pro baseball player literally getting back into the game to hopefully achieve a benchmark statistic: 3,000 base hits. Bernie Mac is player Stan Ross, and Mac's onstage standup persona informs much of the portrayal of Ross: Gruff, self-confident, chip on his shoulder, but also with a sensitive side beneath all the "onion" layers. Ross's presence on his old team is polarizing among the players, but he quickly becomes an unofficial assistant coach, offering salient observations about team player performance and the competition alike. This film was produced by Touchstone/Buena Vista, so look for cameos by Disney-owned ESPN personalities as well as other celebrity pundits and TV hosts.
Ross's behavior before his retirement pushes the edge of cartoon-like satire, but the ensuing plot progression is intriguing, including the relationship with Bassett's sports reporter "Mo". This aspect in particular bears mentioning. Here you have two middle-aged African American single adults (especially Bassett, who remains severely underused) who are allowed to be vulnerable, haughty, and nervous with one another. It's a demographic portrayal that is often bereft in mainstream American film releases.
The bullpen camaraderie is engaging, particularly the mutual ongoing hazing and the tensions between Ross and Pennebaker. Intriguingly, the asides between the two men have nothing to do with race, but the price of letting ego drive your career even if you're talented-- Ross being a Baby Boomer who came of age when African American player participation and fan attention was at a zenith, and Pennebaker being a Gen X guy in the era of astoundingly huge contracts, hip-hop-infused on-and-off-field flamboyance, yet dwindling black American players and fans alike. Ross's chase of hit 3000 is a worthy main plot, but the generation gap in modern pro baseball could have provided another intriguing alternative narrative.
Ross's behavior before his retirement pushes the edge of cartoon-like satire, but the ensuing plot progression is intriguing, including the relationship with Bassett's sports reporter "Mo". This aspect in particular bears mentioning. Here you have two middle-aged African American single adults (especially Bassett, who remains severely underused) who are allowed to be vulnerable, haughty, and nervous with one another. It's a demographic portrayal that is often bereft in mainstream American film releases.
The bullpen camaraderie is engaging, particularly the mutual ongoing hazing and the tensions between Ross and Pennebaker. Intriguingly, the asides between the two men have nothing to do with race, but the price of letting ego drive your career even if you're talented-- Ross being a Baby Boomer who came of age when African American player participation and fan attention was at a zenith, and Pennebaker being a Gen X guy in the era of astoundingly huge contracts, hip-hop-infused on-and-off-field flamboyance, yet dwindling black American players and fans alike. Ross's chase of hit 3000 is a worthy main plot, but the generation gap in modern pro baseball could have provided another intriguing alternative narrative.