 | |
List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Starz / Anchor Bay
Salesrank: 13320
Released: March 22, 2005 |
| Our Price: $7.33 |
| Used Price: $2.51 |
|
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
When widowed attorney Tripp Spence (Harry Connick Jr. of INDEPENDENCE DAY) finds himself wanted by the IRS, he and his young pitching sensation son Derrick (Shawn Salinas in his movie debut) change their appearance, assume new identities and flee to Las Vegas. Here, Derrick becomes ‘Mickey’ and Tripp enrolls him in a second final year of Little League. But as the nation, the government and a nervous Tripp watch, ‘Mickey’ leads his team from the city championship all the way to the controversial final game of the Little League World Series. Can a 13-year-old fugitive with an 80 mph fastball now find a way to stay anonymous – and honest – as the most famous 12-year-old athlete in the world? Michelle Johnson (FAR AND AWAY) and Mike Starr (DUMB AND DUMBER) co-star in this exciting and powerful drama directed by Hugh Wilson (POLICE ACADEMY, THE FIRST WIVES CLUB) from an original screenplay by #1 best-selling author and proud Little League coach John Grisham
Description of Mickey - A Family Story by John Grisham:
John Grisham wrote the screenplay for and produced the enjoyable Mickey, a family drama that explores--typical of the bestselling author--seemingly unresolvable conflicts between the personal and the ethical. Harry Connick Jr. plays California attorney Tripp Spence, a widower whose recent bankruptcy has come under scrutiny from the IRS. Admitting wrongdoing to his son, Derrick (Shawn Salinas), Tripp vows to avoid jail, and the two head for Las Vegas under assumed identities. Rather than stay out of sight, however, Tripp talks the manager (Mike Starr) of a first-rate Little League team into drafting Derrick, a 13-year-old, talented pitcher who claims to be younger. Soon Derrick is attracting national attention, precisely what Tripp doesn't want, yet he refuses to squelch his son's brilliant ride to the top. Hugh Wilson (Guarding Tess) directed this brisk, smart feature, which includes a generous amount of on-the-field baseball action and an intriguing subplot about Cuban ball players. --Tom Keogh
Stills from Mickey
Harry Connick Jr. as Tripp Spence |
Shawn Salinas as Derrick, a.k.a. Mickey |
Writer/producer John Grisham cameos as a Little League Commissioner |
Mickey - A Family Story by John Grisham Reviews:
Mickey 
2009-08-24 - Mickey is a great John Grisham story put to film and is great for anyone into Little League. Eleven - Twelve year old boys will love this film.
TOUCH 'EM ALL. A HOMERUN FOR JOHN GRISHAM!! 
2009-08-10 - John Grisham is a huge baseball enthusiast and even has built a Little League complex on his property and runs the league every summer so this is not a subject far from his heart. And it shows in the film. The players are really top notch players, not actors trying to look like ballplayers. They actually recruited players from coast to coast and taught them acting skills. It has the feel of real competition when you're watching the game scenes and Grisham understands the dialogue between coaches and players and it seems very realistic to someone who has also been there. The story is about Tripp Spence and son Derrick. Tripp is recently widowed and his life revolves around coaching Derrick's Little League team. Derrick is 12 and has just finished his last year of Little League (or has he?). This is the point at which many boys quit or are eliminated from baseball as they have to make the move from the reduced size fields of Little League to full size fields. Derrick would love to have the last season over and stay at the magic age of 12 forever. Unfortunately, he will get the chance. Tripp has been cheating the IRS on his taxes due to the medical bills (sounds familiar in the health care debate) surrounding his wife's death. When the IRS comes calling, rather than face the music, he decides to create a new identity for himself and Derrick and leave the state. Derrick is now 12 again. There's plenty of action and suspense to keep you engaged and the story takes several unexpected twists at the end. Very family friendly. The couple negative reviews on Amazon seem to think the film encourages cheating and deception. I would disagree and say just the opposite. Enjoy!!
Grisham through and through
2009-03-01 - For anyone who really enjoys reading John Grisham's novels, this light hearted movie will be enjoyable. While of necessity, it lacks the depth of a Grisham novel, the authentic Grisham 'flavor' is still there, as the screen play was written by him. He also co-produced the movie.
Another plus is that this one was NOT produced by Hollywood, which means it lacks the sleazy undertone that they always add when they convert a Grisham story into a movie. It lacks the Hollywood added F bombs that typically occur every 20 seconds or so to so many Grisham based movies.
This one's a keeper, and is a fun movie for the whole fam damily! ;)
Terrific movie for baseball kids & Dads
2008-07-12 - This is one of our favorite movies! We watch it 3-4 times each baseball season, so I bought one for each of my son's coaches this year as a gift.
Only negative is the scene mentioned where the coaches forget to lock the movie channels in the hotel. Nothing is shown or bad words, some moaning is heard in the background.
The basic story is one of a father-son relationship, of making mistakes and having to pay the consequences.
Highly recommended for all baseball fans!
Great Baseball Action, Decent Movie
2007-06-18 - The Good:
* Great baseball action. Much more realistic than almost every other kids baseball movie I've seen. The actors obviously know how to really play.
* Good, clean, family movie. Absolutely no foul language. No sex except one regrettable piece of audio (see below).
* Decent plot and acting for a kids' movie. Let's be honest - this isn't great cinema and isn't at the same level of dramatic effect as traditional Grisham work. But accept it for what it is and enjoy it.
The Bad:
* One unnecessary scene where the coaches forget to cut off access to adult channels in the hotel room and the scene cuts to the kids watching porn - the TV isn't shown but you hear moans and groans in the background. Just watch for the scene where the coaches are walking down the hotel hallway and mute the next 30 seconds.
* Everyone experiences the consequences of their cheating (they're stripped of the LLWS crown, the Cubans are sent away in disgrace, and Trip goes to jail), but the consequences fly by in about two minutes of film time. Pay attention or you'll miss it.
* The final scene shows Mickey reunited with his dad after Trip's year in jail, but it looks like the boys have aged about 4 years during that span. A jarring change.
* The IRS inexplicably chases down one-time tax fraud Trip but lets the career false-identity-creator go free just because he tells the feds what Trip's new name is.
* The little league coach is incompetent and portrayed as obviously overmatched and visibly overcome with nerves in every big game. The kids, though, are as cool as the other side of the pillow. Typical kids movie device, much as I hate it.
