Both Thumbs Up for Grisham's Baseball Movie

John Grisham knows how to weave a great story. Mickey (2004) is no exception. Starring Harry Connick, Jr. and Shawn Salinas, this warm drama centers around little league baseball but is really about parenting, integrity, and restitution.

Tripp Spence (Connick, Jr.) is an attorney whose about to be caught by the "bad guys," aka the I.R.S. A recent widower, Spence made the unwise choice to cut some corners on his taxes to help dig out of a mountain of debt incurred by his late wife's medical treatments. As a single father of a very talented young pitcher, played by Shawn Salinas, the two assume new looks and identities and move west in an attempt to evade the law.

In a new city with a new identity, Spence, now known as Glenn Ryan, immediately manipulates the system to assure his pitching ace son, "Mickey," a spot on the best team in the district, the mighty Moose. Mickey dominates the league, wowing everyone with his amazing heat. Problem is, Glenn and Mickey have a little secret. 12-year old Mickey is really 13-yr.-old Derrick. The tension builds during the post-season as "Mickey" leads the local all-star team to greater heights with a date in Williamsport (Little League World Series) as a increasingly realistic dream. Meanwhile, Agent Seeger of the I.R.S. is increasingly hot on the trail of the zealous baseball Dad.

Wanting to avoid a true spoiler, I'll leave the rest for your enjoyment. The acting is good, especially the character actors. Mike Starr is fantastic as the coach and Mark Joy does a great job of portraying Agent Seeger as human.

One very satisfying aspect of this film is that it avoids falling into the cut and dried, black and white, good guys/bad guys, us vs. them mentality. You find yourself liking and sympathizing with the main characters even though the father has committed a crime and together, father and son, are cheating. In most Hollywood movies, agent Seeger would be a sinister, evil, vindictive bad guy. But Grisham paints him as human and simply doing his job.

One thing I noticed very early in the film is that these young men really know how to play baseball. Grisham and director Hugh Wilson both decided to go with ballplayers whom they would teach to act rather than vice versa. Their plan worked. But to be fair, Salinas was already an actor and the catcher, played by Alexander Roos, only happens to be the son of longtime Hollywood producer Fred Roos (Godfather Trilogy).

A low-budget movie, the producers (Grisham and Wilson) did most of the filming in close to their homes in Virginia. They get away with it save one exception. A few scenes in which Shawn is supposed to be playing in Las Vegas are glaringly green. What I mean by that is that there are too many trees. Vegas is desert and a lush green landscape is hard to overlook for anyone with an ounce of critical thinking. They bring in a few palm trees (still in their pots!) but you won't be fooled. The amazing thing is that in his commentary on the film, Wilson says he doesn't think anyone would notice. Wishful thinking at best.

Hollywood said no to this film, so Grisham and Wilson financed the film themselves as a labor of love. Look for bit roles by Grisham and Wilson. If you get the DVD, make sure you watch the interviews by these two as well. And if you really have some time, watch it again with the commentary by Wilson turned on.

Finally, this movie is a great baseball movie. As I mentioned before, it's primarily about parenting and ethics, but baseball lovers won't be disappointed. There is plenty of baseball. If you love little league, then this flick is for you.

I highly recommend Mickey. Find it and rent it or buy it.