The Rookie (2002)

The Rookie is a Randy Quaid vehicle that does for the love of baseball what Rudy and Invincible do for football. As our true story begins, a gifted young baseball player named Jim Morris is forced to move yet again by his military father, this time to a west Texas town that bears no hint of interest in baseball. The friendly general store owner tells him of a vestige, however, in a sandlot field near the now-closed oil well that birthed the town long ago. (Interestingly, the movie opens and closes with the story of two nuns who "blessed" the land with "rose petals," leading to its future prosperity. This is a gauzy if spiritual way of referring to a central theme in Quaid's life that we only see through his restoration to such a path: "Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which one will grow. It may even be that they all will.") Morris gets no support from his father and grows up resentful of and estranged from him -- though he still lives in the same small town and serves as coach to the fledgling baseball team. In the first half of the film, he teaches the team how to be champions just as they challenge him to pursue his dream of trying out and playing for a major-league team. In the second half of the film, we learn what an exceptional pitching gift this man possesses and we root for him at every crossroad, challenge, and victory. What is even more moving than this two-in-one premise is this movie's depiction of how the same men who befriended Morris on the first day of his arrival in town are still standing by and cheering for him in his finest hour. Moreover, The Rookie then addresses Morris's relationship with his father, bringing closure and healing to each in their own ways. The Rookie is a family movie you can root for out loud -- emotionally, this one flies out of the ball park. If you love baseball, Texas, or small-town America, you will love The Rookie. 4.5 stars.