All too rarely are the words 'Keanu Reeves' and 'good movie' present in the same sentence, so it's hardly a shock to note that his latest offering, the trite feel-good baseball drama, Hardball, isn't well, very good actually. Here, Keanu plays Conor O'Neil, a low rent gambling addict, constantly in trouble with moneylenders and bookies. After another one of his bets goes askew, Conor is forced to ask an old friend for another loan. Although his mate refuses, Conor is given the job to coach a Little League team from the housing projects for $500 a week. Agreeing to the deal, he initially just goes along to fulfill his part of the bargain, but is soon taken by their determination and talent. Yet another one of those poor-unfortunate-kids-who-succeed-against-all-the-odds efforts, Hardball is a deliberately sentimental and melodramatic affair, reminiscent of scores of other films (The Mighty Ducks being chief among them). The story is predictable, the acting - with the exception of a couple of the kids - bland and the direction can only mercifully described as hideously manipulative. 106 minutes never felt so long.
