Movie Reviews

Starring Bernie Mac and Angela Bassett. Rated PG.

We love our sports heroes, even the ones we hate. Then we love to hate them. Case in point: Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants, currently in third place among the all-time home-run kings. Within hailing distance of Hank Aaron and just 13 homers shy of the sainted Babe Ruth, Bonds holds the record for single-season production (73). Arguably the greatest hitter that baseball has ever seen, Bonds remains remarkably unpopular. He is said to epitomize the selfish jock, dripping with riches and arrogance. Won't talk to the media; can't produce in October--what a jerk. Someday he'll be sorry!

Or so theorizes Mr. 3000 , a reasonably entertaining sports allegory and romantic comedy. Bernie Mac stars as Stan Ross, a thinly veiled reflection of the reviled Giants slugger. A tireless braggart and self-promoter, Ross has based a business empire and all of his self-image upon his playing achievements. Nine years after retirement, already seething about the slowness of his ascension to the baseball hall of fame (something to do with quitting in the middle of a pennant race), Ross learns that three of his hits were erroneously counted. Can Stan Ross live with being Mr. 2997? Or does his now 47-year-old body have enough game left for a three-hit comeback?

The answers are pretty obvious. So is the character's obligatory arc toward maturity, his growing sense of responsibility for callow teammates, bittersweet encounters with an old flame, and painful shape-up montages cut to "I Feel Good".

As predictable as it all becomes, the Charles Stone--directed film is smart about baseball and people. The team doesn't really want Ross back; it just uses him for publicity. Ross evolves as a human being, but not as much as his old girlfriend (a reporter played by the fabulous Angela Bassett) would prefer. Ross starts his comeback poorly and improves marginally. His team is not in a pennant race this time; they're just a bunch of me-first hot dogs, inheritors of Ross's tradition.

It's pretty dour stuff, and, indeed, the movie is more successful at being poignant than hilarious. In his first headlining movie role, Bernie Mac delivers a nicely shaded performance. As a comedian, Mac's volatile, bug-eyed persona has always straddled a fine line between mock and actual bullying.

This translates well into sports-god entitlement. But Mac can also tone down the bluster, projecting qualities of warmth and regret that do not quite lead to self-knowledge. It's not the zaniest that Mac has been, but he achieves a much greater feat: making us feel just a little bit sorry for Barry Bonds.