How "Hardball" Dropped the Ball

Daniel Coyle's 1994 novel "Hardball: A Season in the Projects" was a nonfiction account of a group of Chicago businessmen, Coyle included, who volunteered to coach a little league baseball team in Cabrini-Green, Chicago's most notorious public housing project until its demolition. In telling the story of that eventful season, Coyle alternates between summaries of the team's games and the trials and tribulations of its players and coaches, both on and off the field. Coyle details the effect Cabrini and life within its treacherous high-rises has on the players who reside there, lending context to the coaches' struggles to unite, let alone field, a team that consists of children essentially residing in a war zone.

The Kekambas

I don't often condone critiquing movies based on novels by their faithfulness to the source material, but having read "Hardball" after viewing the movie multiple times, I feel that the filmmakers whiffed on the opportunity to convert an engrossing true story of urban poverty, inner city violence, and the unifying force of baseball into an edgy, engaging, and insightful movie. Instead, they resorted to timeworn cliches and formulaic plotting that resulted in a watered down version of Coyle's
novel.

Now, I understand that film adaptations of books don't need to be dutiful retreads. But, in the case of Hardball, the filmmakers made a series of missteps, and it resulted in a hackneyed tale of personal redemption via sports.

To begin, Keanu Reeves is horribly miscast as the coach, Connor O'Neill. The character in the movie is not a successful professional, but a gambling addict with a drinking problem. Reeves has never  been highly regarded for his emotional range, and here, he attempts to emote with the most gratuitous and distracting hand movements I've ever seen in a movie.

Keanu Reeves, talking with his hands.

The plot: after getting in deep with a couple of nefarious bookies, O'Neill goes to the Wacker Street office of a wealthy friend to beg for the money to pay off his debts. Instead of writing a check, the friend offers O'Neill $500 a week to coach an inner city little league baseball team with him. O'Neill begrudgingly accepts, and thus becomes the head coach of the Kekambas.

The team, of course, is comprised of a ragtag group of kids whose speech is laced with PG-13 profanity, who can't catch or hit, and whose uniforms are vastly inferior to the rest of the teams for no other reason than to remind us of how bad they are. Would you be surprised that the best team in the league has the nicest uniforms, or that they have the league's best hitter, who happens to be at the plate during two crucial at-bats against the Kekembas? Bonus points if you can figure out who comes out on top in these showdowns. An attempt is made to enhance the conflict between these two teams. The opposing head coach is a cartoonish caricature of the overbearing disciplinarian who cares about nothing more than getting his trophy by repeatedly busting players on the Kekambas for petty league rule infractions, but it's so forced that no real tension is produced.

Hardball also suffers from the common underdog sports movie ailment of the team transitioning from utter ineptitude to formidability despite no apparent coaching or strategy that elevates their gameplay. The players simply becomes good because the plot requires the team to appear in the big game at the end. Does Reeves's character know anything about coaching baseball? Aside from a brief scene of him hitting routine grounders and popups to the players, he doesn't provide the team with a lick of baseball insight, advice, or tutelage. Baseball is a complicated game, but you wouldn't know it watching Hardball.

DeWayne Warren as G-Baby

Finally, Hardball's greatest misstep is its focus on the Reeves character. Although he's an established Hollywood star and commanded the largest salary of the cast, more attention needed to be paid to the kids on the team. What are their hopes and dreams? What are their home lives like? We get three perfunctory scenes showing the menace of life in the projects (the movie was filmed at the now demolished ABLA homes on Chicago's west side), but these three brief scenes are all we see of the kids' home lives. We don't get to know any of them on a personal level. The film's most affecting scenes revolve around the death and funeral of the team's youngest player, G-Baby (adorable scene-stealer DeWayne Warren), and they demonstrate how the movie's emotional core should have been centered on the struggles and triumphs of these wonderful kids instead of on the personal redemption of their foolish coach.


I'm well aware that my thoughts may come across as dubious with this disclaimer, but I do not hate Hardball. I own the movie and have watched it several times, and I'll admit that I enjoy a standard underdog sports movie as much as the next person. I enjoy the performances of the child actors, the quirky John Hawkes, the radiant Diane Lane, and G-Baby is one of my all-time favorite movie characters. I love the idea of the pitcher who finds his rhythm through Notorious B.I.G.'s "Big Poppa." Hardball could have been so much more, and whether it's the fault of studio heads, the director, or both, this movie had the chance to transcend its genre instead of being another run-of-the-mill offering.

It's been 15 years since Hardball's release; maybe a remake is in order. If this pipe dream of mine were to come to fruition, I hope whoever decides to tackle it doesn't -- pardon the sports axiom -- drop the ball.

My Christmas Top Five

1. It's a Wonderful Life

"Here's to my big brother George, the richest man in town." So says Harry Bailey as the town of Bedford Falls comes to the rescue of his brother, George, who faces a financial crisis just before Christmas. Harry's toast reflects the message left for George by the angel Clarence: "No man is a failure who has friends." 

I loathed It's a Wonderful Life as child, probably for no other reason than it was in black and white and therefore must be boring. I've since grown up, and for me, no other movie captures the meaning of Christmas as well as this classic from Frank Capra. Much like George Bailey, many of us have experienced the frustration of life getting in the way of plans for the future, and many have been through times when life, if even for moment, appeared hopeless. But, as George discovers, there's nothing more rewarding than the love of your family and friends. And if you treat your friends like family, you'll never be at a loss for one.

2. A Christmas Story

Perhaps I'm partial to it because of its Northwest Indiana setting, or because I'm in the minority of people who can genuinely laugh when the old man reads the newspaper article about the clodhopper from Griffith swallowing a yo-yo, but A Christmas Story's status as a holiday classic is by now well established. A box office flop that gained in popularity after being released on video, it's easy to see why A Christmas Story is beloved by so many and plays as a 24 hour marathon on TBS every December 25th. The childhood anticipation for Christmas is clearly felt through the experiences of Ralphie Parker as he pines for a Red Rider BB gun, pays a visit to the world's worst mall Santa, and deals with the town bully, Scut Farkas. 

Everything about A Christmas Story feels authentic and true to growing up in an ordinary Midwestern town. The father is stern but loving, the mother is a fountain of warmth and comfort, and everyone in the family finds joy in the little things, whether it be Little Orphan Annie on the radio or a prized leg lamp that will forever be a part of movie lore. The movie is worth watching if only for the leg lamp and Chinese restaurant scenes. Regardless of your age, A Christmas Story is sure to remind you of why you love   

Christmas and that your family is what makes it special.

3. The Muppet Christmas Carol

This imaginative take on the Charles Dickens classic is a family favorite for a reason. The inclusion of the Muppets in the proceedings takes some of the dark edge off the story and lends genuine laughs to a story whose movie adaptations are usually devoid of humor. It's a welcome counterpoint to the dark and sobering adventure of Ebenezer Scrooge on an eventful Christmas Eve as he revisits some of the most heartbreaking moments of his past. 

That's not to say the movie doesn't pack an emotional punch; the scene of Belle singing "When Love is Gone" is devastating, punctuated by Scrooge weeping in his bed after being returned home from the memory. But this is a light, funny, and accessible version of a timeless classic, and the character of Scrooge has never been played better than it was by Michael Caine.

4. Scrooge

I watched this version of A Christmas Carol so many times when I was a child that my parents still refuse to watch it. Once my mom's favorite Christmas movie, my year-round obsession with it had the effect on my mom of vomiting after eating a favorite meal. The thought of giving it another chance just makes her nauseous. Watching this lesser known take on Charles Dickens' story now, I can't explain what drove my overwhelming affinity for it, but it does still hold a special place in my heart. 

Despite Scrooge being a musical, Albert Finney, who played the title role, is a terrible singer. Most of the musical numbers are cringeworthy, none more so than the song "Thank You Very Much." The song is performed by the townsfolk with great jubilation as Scrooge, accompanied by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, witnesses his coffin being delivered through the streets of London on its way to the cemetery. So celebratory is the occasion that several citizens take to dancing on Scrooge's coffin. It's made all the more morbid by Scrooge singing along, oblivious to the fact that it's his body in the coffin.

For all of its flaws, Scrooge is a dark and ambitious take on the source novel. There are two haunting scenes that I've not seen included in any other movie version of the story. The first is of Scrooge and Marley flying through the night sky, surrounded by hundreds of tortured spirits. The second is Scrooge's visit to Hell that ends with him being chained up in an icy rendition of his office. 

5. Love Actually

A part of me feels guilty for including this popular British rom-com on my list. It's by no means a secular Christmas movie, as it's replete with profanity and sex with a dash of infidelity. But aside from one particularly sad storyline, Love Actually is an unabashed celebration of the pursuit of love. Set in London in the weeks leading up to Christmas, the movie follows a motley assortment of Brits seeking significant others or vying to overcome difficulties in their love life. There's the young man who hopelessly and silently pines for his best friend's wife, the adorable little boy who takes up drumming to impress his crush after his mom passes away, the new prime minister who falls in love with his catering manager on his first day in office, and the aging rock star who realizes the most important person in his life is his chubby, underappreciated manager.

Love Actually's cast features some of Britain's finest actors, including Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy (stealing every scene he's in), Emma Thompson, and the late Alan Rickman. The movie runs a bit long and has a couple storylines that easily could have been scrapped, but this is a heartwarming, hilarious go-to at Christmastime.