By: debbie lynn elias
Inspired by the Daniel Coyle’s book, “Hardball: A Season In The Projects,” this is the story of a compulsive deadbeat gambler who unwittingly seeks, and ultimately finds, redemption, as the result of coaching an inner city little league baseball team. Proving that once again, truth is stranger than fiction, Keanu Reeves stars as Conor O’Neill, an obviously once middle class America white boy who has thus far wasted his life in sports bars, drinking and placing bets larger than what he can cover, and for a little diversity, scalping tickets at sporting events with his best friend Ticky.
Living just this side of squalor and in over his head with several bookies to the tune of $7,000.00, Conor turns to his investment banker friend Jimmy for a loan to cover his debts with the promise that he’ll repay the money and never bet again. Realizing that a handout is not the kind of help Conor needs, Jimmy instead makes him an offer he can’t refuse – earn $500 a week as payment for helping him coach a Chicago Housing Authority little league team sponsored by Jimmy’s company. Although far short of the sum he needs to even make weekly installments to his bookies, with his back to the wall, Conor agrees to Jimmy’s proposal. After all, it’s only temporary.
Worlds and words collide when Conor meets the Kekambas, a rag tag group of unmotivated African American kids from the Chicago projects with no respect for themselves or anyone else and who use more profanity than the a shipload of drunken sailors. (Whatever happened to washing a kid’s mouth out with soap?) Assuming that he will just sit on the sidelines while Jimmy does the actual coaching, Conor gets an even ruder awakening when he learns that Jimmy will in fact not be present and that he will be the sole coach of the team. His reluctance, inability, disinterest and disdain for kids in general come across loud and clear to the team leading to infighting and insults galore.
Although Conor is oblivious to the economic plight of the boys and the gang land community in which they live, the audience is shown some gritty reality and the fear that consumes these children over a simple event, such as walking home after baseball practice. It’s not until Conor keeps the boys after sundown (as he was waiting for Ticky so they could go place some bets and scalp some tickets) and one gets severely beaten by gang members, that he finally begins to see what we already know.
Director Brian Robbins does a superb job of showing the change in Conor from this point forward and does a particularly good job of showing the ugliness and horror of the Projects without preaching. In one of the most heart wrenching scenes of the film, Conor walks one of the boys home, passing several groups of armed gang members and blazing fires on the lawn. On seeing residents sitting on floors in apartments as opposed to furniture, Conor asks why, learning that they are trying to avoid being struck by bullets. The innocence of the child’s face and matter-of- factness of his reply, speak volumes.
Needless to say, the kids see something special in Conor and he eventually sees something special in each of them, taking them to a Cubs game, defending them at every turn and even going head to head with league officials and an obnoxious condescending opposing coach played by DB Sweeney when the boys’ livelihood of threatened and newly discovered self-esteem is threatened. You know the tables have turned when Conor uses part of his $500 stipend to buy pizza for the team rather than pay his gambling debts.
Underlying the main plot involving the journey of Conor and his team, is the romantic interest between Conor and the boys’ English teacher, Elizabeth Wilkes, played by Diane Lane. Expecting the usual sell-out of bad boy meets good girl and gets her into bed, director Robbins surprises us by keeping the romance low key and distanced with Elizabeth approaching Conor with great trepidation as she watches and waits to see how he will turn out.
Although the film is short on establishing details about the who these kids really are, where they come from or how they got there, we nevertheless meet them all, picking up endearing character traits of each along the way. Particular standouts are portrayals by A. Delon Ellis Jr. as Miles, a pitcher who gets his rhythm from song repetition on his Walkman, and DeWayne Warren as Miles’ little brother G-Baby, the latter of whom will just break your heart.
Also lacking is any real one-on-one baseball instruction or strategy and it makes one wonder if Conor even has any knowledge of the game short of betting on it. Since the film is based on a personal journey though the coaching of a baseball team, you would expect to see some scenes evidencing this. They are noticeably absent.
Despite its several scripted shortcomings, “Hardball” is a heartwarming and uplifting film and a welcome respite in light of the tragedies of the past week, proving once again, that hope does spring eternal.
