Mr. 3000

Mr. 3000
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Charles Stone III
Produced by	Gary Barber Roger Birnbaum Frank Marshall
Written by	Keith Mitchell
Starring	Bernie Mac Angela Bassett
Music by	John Powell Vernon Reid
Cinematography	Shane Hurlbut
Editing by	Bill Pankow
Studio	Spyglass Entertainment The Kennedy/Marshall Company
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures Dimension Films
Release date(s)	September 17, 2004
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$30 million
Box office	$21,839,377

Mr. 3000 is a 2004 American sports comedy film starring Bernie Mac and Angela Bassett. The film's plot surrounds a retired Major League Baseball player who makes a comeback at age 47 in order to attain 3,000 hits.

Plot

Stan Ross (Bernie Mac) was a Milwaukee Brewers baseball star. After recording his 3,000th hit the selfish, narcissistic Ross immediately retired, leaving the team without one of its star players in the middle of the 1995 playoff race. During the next nine years Ross used his nickname as a business tool, owning several profitable properties under the name "Mr. 3000" that made him a rich man.

The Brewers retire Ross' number several years after his retirement. Although many fans came to the ceremony, other players, including teammates and fellow stars Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Cecil Cooper, stayed away. Only his best friend and a middle relief pitcher from his early days in the majors attend, and the ex-pitcher mocks Ross' attitude.

Ross learns that, due to a clerical error, he retired with 2,997 hits instead of 3,000. The error also partially contributes to Ross not being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame^[1] and makes his "Mr. 3000" marketing gimmick inaccurate. Ross seeks to return to the game at the age of 47 to get three more hits, secure his place in the record books, and keep his local post-career marketing gimmick intact.

The Brewers' upper management, citing the large attendance at Ross' number retirement ceremony and the fact that the Brewers are out of playoff contention, agrees to bring Ross back during the September roster expansion. The team's younger players only know of Ross as a self-centered player and team superstar Rex "T-Rex" Pennebaker (Brian J. White), who is pompous and arrogant like Ross, sees him as unneeded and too old to play. Manager Gus Panas (Paul Sorvino) refuses to speak to Ross because of his abrupt retirement, and the sportswriters continually criticize him.

Despite his predictions to the contrary Ross struggles to regain his baseball form, but slowly earns two more hits. Ross becomes a mentor to the younger players and urges Pennebaker to learn from his own mistakes as a star, inspiring the Brewers to a late-season comeback and a respectable finish. In his last at-bat of the season, Ross has a vision of his earlier years where he was considered always dependable for the team, which inspires him to bunt instead so the team can finish third in its division. Although Ross never reaches the "3,000" milestone, his newfound generosity and attitude gets him inducted into the Hall of Fame. As the movie ends, Ross renames all of his businesses that bear the name "Mr. 3,000" to "Mr. 2,999", which are now more successful.

Production

Portions of this movie were filmed at Marquette University High School, as well as Miller Park, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and at Zephyr Field in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Cast

• Bernie Mac – Stan Ross
• Angela Bassett – Maureen Simmons
• Michael Rispoli – Anthony 'Boca' Carter
• Brian J. White – Rex 'T-Rex' Pennebaker
• Ian Anthony Dale – Fukuda
• Evan Jones – Fryman
• Amaury Nolasco – Minadeo
• Dondre Whitfield – Skillet
• Paul Sorvino – Gus Panas
• Earl Billings – Lenny Koron
• Chris Noth – Schiembri

Reception

The film received mixed reviews, earning a score of 55% on Rotten Tomatoes which observed "Bernie Mac demonstrates he can play the game even if the movie's a few innings short of a complete game.".^[2] The film took over $8 million at the box office on its opening weekend. In all it took $21,811,187 in the US and Canada, and a further $28,190 when it was released in Spain, for a global total of $21,839,377.^[3]

Continuity

In the film, Ross is mentioned as having played a game against the Houston Astros during his first stint with the Brewers. But at the time the fictional game was played, the Brewers were in the American League and there was no regular season interleague play, so the Brewers and Astros would not have played each other.

References

1. ^ Voters have elected all eligible (Pete Rose is ineligible) players with 3,000 or more hits to the Hall of Fame, except for controversial player Rafael Palmeiro.
2. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mr_3000/
3. ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=mr3000.htm

External links

• Mr. 3000 at the Internet Movie Database
• Mr. 3000 at AllRovi
• Mr. 3000 at Box Office Mojo