Video Review

Hardball (2002)

EW's GRADE
B-

Details Release Date: Sep 14, 2001; Rated: PG-13; Video Release Date: Feb 19, 2002; Genres: Comedy, Drama, Sports; With: Diane Lane and Keanu Reeves; Distributor: Paramount Pictures

 \'BALL\' GAME Reeves\' \'\'Hardball\'\' is expected to stay at No. 1 Hardball, Keanu Reeves
Image credit: Hardball: Chuck Hodes
'BALL' GAME Reeves' ''Hardball'' is expected to stay at No. 1

There was no reason to expect much from a movie starring Keanu Reeves as a luckless gambler paying off his debts by reluctantly coaching a baseball team full of foulmouthed ghetto kids. After all, its basic formula was already getting tired before the ''Bad News Bears'' went to Japan. But with some inner-city grit and some flashes of genuine heart (and thankfully without an obligatory big-game finale), Hardball rises above, say, ''The Mighty Ducks.'' Reeves will never be as good as Walter Matthau was, but working with these urban moppets, he hits his stride.

Originally posted Feb 12, 2002 Published in issue #639 Feb 15, 2002 Order article reprints
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