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Keanu
Reeves is Conor O'Neill, a down-at-heel Irish-American (did the name give it away?)
who touts baseball tickets to scrape a living. Into the bookies for a life-threatening
amount of moolah, he begs a pal for cash, only to be coerced into coaching an
inner city black kids' baseball team for $500 a week.
At
first he's reluctant, but, wouldn't you know it, our fashionably
bedraggled hero soon begins to forge a bond with this rag-tag bunch
of jive-talking projects sprogs and cosy up to Diane Lane's comely
teacher (Reeves: "I think reading's real good for kids").
Coming on like
"Dangerous Minds" meets "The Mighty Ducks", "Hardball"
works primarily because of Reeves. Portraying a character with surprising shades,
he's charming, funny and extremely likable. Finally, it seems, he's learning to
act. Lane gives good support in an underwritten role and the kids, while portraying
a typical bunch of stereotypes (fat asthmatic kid, rebellious punk, etc) are hilarious
- particularly DeWayne Warren as diminutive team mascot G-Baby.
The racial politics
will make Spike Lee throw a shoe (everyone who needs help is black, everyone who
gives it is white) and the final 25 minutes drastically veer away from the feelgood
glow of the first 80. But undercutting any cynicism is the fact that John Gatins'
screenplay is based, however loosely, on real-life events (Daniel Coyle's acclaimed
non-fiction book "Hardball: A Season in the Projects").
Heavy-handed it
may be, but here's a mainstream, popcorn movie unafraid of attempting to highlight
the problems of urban America, and with enough wit and charisma to make it ideal
Friday night fare.
"Hardball"
opens at UK cinemas on Friday 21st June 2002.
Reviewed by , 大象传媒 Films
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