Perfect Game (2000) (V)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Dan Guntzelman

Writer:

Dan Guntzelman (writer)

Release Date:

18 April 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Tagline:

They beat the odds one base hit at a time.

Plot:

An eleven-year-old boy finds a way of overcoming life's obstacles with the help of a grumpy coach who aids him in having the best summer of his life. |

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Edward Asner	...	Coach Billy
Patrick Duffy	...	Coach Bobby Geiser
Cameron Finley	...	Kanin 'Canine' Crosby
Tracy Nelson	...	Diane Crosby
Drake Bell	...	Bobby Jr.
Orlando Brown	...	Marcel Williams
Paul Robert Langdon	...	Enrique
Shelley Malil	...	Coach Ravi
Christopher Naoki Lee	...	Satoshi Miyati
Bryan Matsuura	...	Osamu Miyati
Hayley Palmer	...	Kelly
Chelsea Parnell	...	Logan Crosby
Sara Paxton	...	Sydney
Martin Spanjers	...	Brian
Jacqueline Steiger	...	Marsha

MPAA:

Rating surrendered; previously rated PG for mild language.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:Open (rating surrendered: 2000) | USA:PG (original rating: 2000)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Up to Bat Productions

Couldn't be more predictable if it tried.

Would it have killed the makers of this movie to even attempt to do something worthwhile? This is a kids' baseball movie that has been done too many times already.

The setup: The "evil" coach Bobby Geiser (Patrick Duffy) has won eight consecutive local Little League Championships and all the other coaches are jealous of him. In order to try and even the playing field, Geiser agrees to allow a lot of kids who aren't very good at baseball to be on his team. Our hero, 10 year old Kanin, is going to be on Coach Geiser's team this year. So what's the problem? To be honest, I'm really not sure. The kids' parents flip out when they find out that the coach has been holding extra practices for his good players in order to make sure they stay sharp.

This is where the movie nosedives even further. The parents decide to get rid of the coach and all of the good players on their team. Then they tell their kids that they should just cancel the rest of their season and not even play anymore. It's twisted logic which I can't understand. Why make your kids stop playing a sport they love simply because the coach was holding extra practices? Just goes to show you how parents are ruining youth sports programs these days...even in the movies!

Anyway, I won't spoil how things turn out but I need to get one more gripe off of my chest. In several scenes, the baseball used during the games is not real. It is an extremely poor computer special effect. Has the film industry sunk so low that they can't have a baseball movie using a real baseball? Why use CGI when you don't even have to? This movie has no soul. 1/10