Mr 3000 (2004)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Charles Stone III

Writers (WGA):

Eric Champnella (story) &
Keith Mitchell (story) ...

Release Date:

17 September 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

He's putting the "I" back in team.

Plot:

Aging baseball star who goes by the nickname, Mr. 3000, finds out many years after retirement that he didn't quite reach 3,000 hits. Now at age 47 he's back to try and reach that goal.

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Retirement | Wager | Milwaukee Wisconsin | Sports Bar

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Bernie Mac	...	Stan Ross
Angela Bassett	...	Maureen "Mo" Simmons
Michael Rispoli	...	Boca
Brian J. White	...	Rex 'T-Rex' Pennebaker
Ian Anthony Dale	...	Fukuda
Evan Jones	...	Fryman
Amaury Nolasco	...	Minadeo
Dondre Whitfield	...	Skillet
Paul Sorvino	...	Gus Panas
Earl Billings	...	Lenny Koron
Chris Noth	...	Schiembri
Neil Brown Jr.	...	Clubhouse Assistant
Scott Martin Brooks	...	Eddie Richling (as Scott Brooks)
Rich Komenich	...	Big Horse Borelli
David Devey	...	Cecil Gervis

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Hungary:14 | Netherlands:AL | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

Bernie Mac trained with the Chicago Cubs.

Goofs:

Continuity: The same fans, holding the same signs, appear at every Brewers home game in both 1995 and 2004.

Quotes:

Big Horse Borelli: You know, a lot of people said that Stan only looked out for himself, that he wasn't a team player. But I'm here to tell you, if you get 3000 hits, you don't have to be a team player. If you have a lifetime .314 average, you don't have to be a good guy. If you lead the league in batting for three years, you can be the biggest jerk in the world!

Movie Connections:

Features Baseball Bugs (1946)

Soundtrack:

Shining Star

Not Bad, Not Great, so...Good?

"Mr. 3000" has those moments, those moments where you agree that this should have been made into a multi-million dollar feature with big stars and extras and a caterer and all that. There's some pretty funny jokes. It's not a bad film. But it just doesn't really excel anywhere that a sports comedy worth its investment should.

Bernie Mac plays Stan Ross, the titular Mister, and he kind of has the feel for the role all down. But there's two scenes where Mac's inner nice-guy comes out and deflate the bloated jerk he's supposed to be playing. Therefore, the film has this two-headed character, one who is Bernie Mac improvising a nice little scene, and one who is Stan Ross, Mr. 3000 himself.

People have complained the film is too Disney, too formulaic, but the essence of sports is surprise within the bounds of formula. Disney's rules of narrative almost work here; the embittered jerk stripped of his former greatness finds redemption in a second try for his title. It's up to the filmmakers to make it work, to make the redemption by baseball story find nuance and still move the audience. When the drama works (exclusively on the baseball field) and the comedy too (exclusively near the baseball field), this film works too. When it doesn't (pretty much all the arbitrary directions the plot turns to show that he is a jerk), the movie falls flat. So enjoy, but beware the slow scenes with little meaning.