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Mr. 3000
Touchstone Pictures


7.0

based on 27 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 5 votes
Read user comments
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for sexual content and language

Starring Bernie Mac, Angela Bassett, Michael Rispoli, Brian J. White, Ian Anthony Dale, Evan Jones, Paul Sorvino, and Chris Noth

Bernie Mac stars as an over-the-hill ballplayer who learns there's more to the game than individual stats and a Hall-of-Fame plaque. (Touchstone Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Eric Champnella (also story) Keith Mitchell (also story) Howard Gould
DIRECTED BY:	Charles Stone III
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: February 1, 2005 Video: February 1, 2005 Theatrical: September 17, 2004
RUNNING TIME:	104 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Bernie Mac gives surprising wisdom and heart - along with the laughs - to what could have been just another generic baseball comedy.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

A superb mainstream entertainment in the purest sense of the term: It's a picture made to please a wide audience without ever pandering to it.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Understands baseball and the men who play it, and, for a film about the sport, that's half the battle.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Brad Wheeler

Predictable but highly entertaining.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Bernie Mac gives a funny and kind of touching performance as a man who attains greatness once and then has to do it again.

The New York Times Anita Gates

If there was any question about how well Bernie Mac's charm, demonstrated in stand-up comedy and on his Fox sitcom, would play on the big screen, the news is good: no problem.

The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden

This tale of a lovable jerk who learns the meaning of sacrifice should capitalize on its star's sitcom popularity to hit one out of the park.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Good-looking and smooth, with a great soundtrack.

Village Voice Joshua Land

The real news is that Mac has finally found a movie that taps into the dark side displayed in his best stand-up work. A hilarious elementary-school scene plays off the comedian's ambivalence toward kids.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Mac's TV show seems to have trained him to settle for feel-good tack-ons that cut against the prickly nature of Mr. 3000. The actor has such a serious and wise bearing that it's hard to believe Stan as a shallow jackass, which is why several of his scenes with Boca seem phony.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Not a great movie, but it's affectionate. It reveals the cuddly side of Mac.

Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder

Commits the cardinal sin of not being quite as funny as its star.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

A surprisingly edgy comedy.

Slate David Edelstein

Mr. 3000 is refreshing because it ends on a slightly sour, dissonant note: Stan wins, but not in the way he imagines. It's a nice change from the sports films that end with fists pumping and crowds going nuts.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

There are no big surprises, but Mac and director Charles Stone III (Drumline) hit all the right dramatic notes.

Entertainment Weekly Scott Brown

It's a canned clip reel of Heartwarming Sports Comedy, intermittently redeemed by its easygoing boomer vibe. And at its center is the redoubtable Bernie Mac, nicely aged, as he says, ''like USDA beef.''

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Sputtering along on Mac's sleepy improvisations, Mr. 3000 volleys between the dumb, frat-house wackiness of "Major League" and the "Wonder Bat" schmaltz of "The Natural" and "Field Of Dreams," chasing the gags with a lame baseball-as-life message about playing for the right reasons.

Variety Brian Lowry

Never generates enough laughs to escape the infield. It doesn't help that this is a sports movie that lacks any suspense or dramatic tension about what transpires on the field, and Mac plays such a self-absorbed jerk through most of the film that rooting interest is minimal.

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

Mr. 3000, which starts out promisingly, squanders Mac's natural gift of salty gruffness by shoehorning him into a dull, heartwarming cinematic lesson on humility and the joys of teamwork.

TV Guide Angel Cohn

The charismatic Mac has stepped into leading man roles with surprising ease, but Bassett -- a fine actress in all respects -- is clearly struggling with the film's broad comedy.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

As fresh as a highlight reel of day-after replays, Mr. 3000 is a case of major-league talent stuck in a minor-league story.

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

The always fierce Bassett is a little too fierce here, reacting with unwarranted emotion to each romantic twist and turn.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Mr. 3000 isn't nearly as fun as an afternoon of America's Pastime.

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

Just another baseball movie hitting for average -- very average.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Mac manages to find some moments of comedy within a movie that often feels like it's going into extra innings

Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman

This is your standard genre fare: Smart-a-- player gets schooled, finds love, and is redeemed in time for the final big game.

Washington Post Sara Gebhardt

The script is much like a nine-inning sitcom that uses an obvious formula to tell a familiar story while garnering cheap laughs.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jalex D. gave it a10:
Another example of a film that would probably be mediocre were it not for Bernie Mac's over-the-top-but-wait-there's-actually-wisdom-in-there personality.

Mark B. gave it an8:
The Touchstone Pictures studio logo at the beginning is a good sign. In the 1980s and early 90s, Disney's "adult arm" (along with brother studio Hollywood Pictures) built a rep with solid, satisfying comfort food that didn't insult its audience: Ruthless People, Outrageous Fortune, Pretty Woman, What About Bob? and many others. (Not so fast there, Troop Beverly Hills and Mr. Destiny!) This richly entertaining crowd pleaser is a worthy addition to the lineup and I can't understand why it didn't do nearly as well at the box office. Bernie Mac plays a famously self-centered ballplayer who comes out of retirement when his career record of 3000 hits is negated by a clerical error; he needs 3 more to make it legitimate (and possibly make the Hall of Fame, as well). Along the way, and not too shockingly, he learns several valuable Life Lessons--and, happily, rekindles a romance with a sports reporter played by the great Angela Bassett. Both these actors are so smart, comfortable and on top of their game that one of the movie's many surprises is that in addition to being a good sports flick, it's also one of the best romantic comedies in years. (Not that Sweet Home Alabama, Laws of Attraction or Little Black Book offered much in the way of competition.) In fact, those who haven't watched Mac's sitcom or seen him as Bosley in Charlie's Angels 2: Full Throttle (or, in the latter case, perhaps those who have) will be delighted to learn that he's not also an excellent comedian but also a great actor. Watch the variety of conflicting emotions that pass across his face and body seconds after a crucial, issue-deciding play and you'll wonder why he didn't get a much-deserved Golden Globe nod for Best Actor in a Comedy or musical. Add in consistently inventive, clever direction by the talented Charles Stone III (Paid in Full, Drumline) and you've got a movie whose parts far exceed the routine sum. (Most mainstream films go their entire running time without anything nearly as resonant as the 'beer bottle drop' near the beginning, which is worthy of a short film all its own.) If the filmmakers try a bit too hard to slam home the movie's message--that what you are is more important than what you do--well, it's a message that deserves to be heard. Appealing Capra-esque sentiment (that's never allowed to slide into sentimentality), fun supporting characters, the original touch of casting a major character actor in an important role but not having him speak until a crucial moment, and a killer final punchline work together to knock Mr. 3000 out of the park.

Tom G. gave it a 10:
Bernie rocks.

Richard G. gave it a 7:
Now we know that Bernie mac is a good actor, now give him a good movie to act in and good actors to act around for goodness sake! We got one thing out of this and that is that knowledge.

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Mr. 3000 Touchstone Pictures

Mr. 3000
Touchstone Pictures