My oh my, what the heck do you think the film makers were going for here? There's a lot of subtext going on but the story doesn't bring any of it together in any sort of meaningful way. I get the whole business about the kid Hooper (Johnny Simmons) having doubts about himself, the father (Ethan Hawke) trying to live vicariously through his son's ability, and the shrink's (Paul Giamatti) attempt to draw young Hooper out to confront his personal demons, but man, what a poor attempt at a story.
The most frustrating thing about Hooper was that he seemed to be completely oblivious as a human being. His frequent sessions with Dr. Mobley (Giamatti) seemed to be spent laughing off the doctor's questions or challenging the doc himself as if he were running the therapy session. As for Hooper, Senior, he looked like a real picture of ambition imparting his words of wisdom to a son who couldn't or wouldn't stand up for himself in the face of the old man's insults and put-downs. The drug smuggling rap was just the icing on the cake for me. The guy actually did have a point about staying focused on the pitcher's mound and trying to intimidate opposing batters, but with all that valuable insight, how did he wind up being such a dirt bag?
On top of all that, the movie doesn't really even have too much to do with the game of baseball when you come right down to it. There are a few scenes of Hooper throwing the ball but no actual game situations to test the man's mettle. For a better treatment of a baseball pitcher in a somewhat similar situation, try going all the way back to 1957's "Fear Strikes Out", a true story of Jimmy Piersall's struggle with mental illness and a domineering father for whom his son's triumphs were never good enough. Of more recent vintage, Clint Eastwood's "Trouble With the Curve" also has some merit, but deals more with a dysfunctional relationship between a father and daughter with a baseball backdrop.
The most frustrating thing about Hooper was that he seemed to be completely oblivious as a human being. His frequent sessions with Dr. Mobley (Giamatti) seemed to be spent laughing off the doctor's questions or challenging the doc himself as if he were running the therapy session. As for Hooper, Senior, he looked like a real picture of ambition imparting his words of wisdom to a son who couldn't or wouldn't stand up for himself in the face of the old man's insults and put-downs. The drug smuggling rap was just the icing on the cake for me. The guy actually did have a point about staying focused on the pitcher's mound and trying to intimidate opposing batters, but with all that valuable insight, how did he wind up being such a dirt bag?
On top of all that, the movie doesn't really even have too much to do with the game of baseball when you come right down to it. There are a few scenes of Hooper throwing the ball but no actual game situations to test the man's mettle. For a better treatment of a baseball pitcher in a somewhat similar situation, try going all the way back to 1957's "Fear Strikes Out", a true story of Jimmy Piersall's struggle with mental illness and a domineering father for whom his son's triumphs were never good enough. Of more recent vintage, Clint Eastwood's "Trouble With the Curve" also has some merit, but deals more with a dysfunctional relationship between a father and daughter with a baseball backdrop.