Customer Reviews

Mr. 3000 [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Mr. 3000" is a sports comedy with a virtuous message that will satisfy light entertainment cravings. Stan Ross (Bernie Mac) is a former Milwaukee Brewer who retired from baseball as soon as he had achieved a career 3000 hits, guaranteeing him a place in the record books and a slew of endorsement deals. His teammates hated him. The press attacked him. But egotistical, self-obsessed Stan didn't care as long as he had 3000 hits and a shot at the Baseball Hall of Fame. 9 years later, when he is finally being seriously considered for entry into the Hall of Fame, a computational error that caused 3 of his hits to be counted twice is discovered. Stan only made 2997 hits! So he decides to return to baseball, at the age of 47, to get those 3 hits back. He finds that a lot of things have changed since he left the game. But his former love, sports journalist Maureen Simmons (Angela Bassett), is covering his story again. And the team's young, cocky, selfish, star player (Brian White) reminds Stan of himself.

Bernie Mac injects a little bite into this otherwise feel-good comedy. Stan Ross is obnoxious, but Mac makes him a basically lovable jerk. If you don't like Bernie Mac's persona, however, you won't like this. Stan is overbearing, but "Mr. 3000" is ultimately a sweet film about self-sacrifice with the occasional off-color comment to remind us that we are talking about professional athletes here. It's a fun movie if you're looking for something light.

The DVD: Bonus features include 3 featurettes, 3 extended sequences, 3 deleted scenes with optional director's commentary, outtakes (3 minutes), and an audio commentary by director Charles Stone III. "The Making of Mr. 3000" (15 minutes) features interviews with producer Maggie White, director Charles Stone, the principle cast, and the film's baseball advisor and baseball coordinator. Stone discusses his intentions and the sports shows featured in the film. The cast talk about their experiences with baseball and with training for the film. "Spring Training: The Extras' Journey" (10 minutes) follows the process of finding the extras to play baseball roles, some of whom were talented players drafted by pro teams in the past. Includes interviews with some of the extras. "Everybody Loves Stan" (3 1/2 minutes) is a sort of mock media production about the Stan Ross character using footage from the movie and a few soundbites from former pro baseball players. Charles Stone does a nice director's commentary that addresses technical, character, narrative, and thematic aspects of the film, clearly and coherently. Subtitles for the film are available in French and Spanish. Captioning is in English. And dubbing is available in French.

I can imagine very few people who could have played Stan Ross as well as Bernie Mac did. It was a delicate balance, playing a jerk and still coming across as somewhat likeable. Likeable enough to forgive, anyways.

Bernie Mac plays Stan Ross, a professional ball player who quits at hit 3,000. His entire life centers around the fact that he hit 3,000 hits.

Stan Ross' main goal is to make it into the Hall of Fame but under review it turns out that 3 of his hits were counted twice and it kicked him out of the running for the Hall of Fame (mostly because nobody even likes him). So, Stan decides to come back to claim his 3 hits, win back his legacy, and continue his campaign into the Hall of Fame.

Even though he has been gone for nine years, the game has changed. The balls are faster, the athletes younger, and the training is more high tech. And to top it off, Stan is older as well.

In other words, Stan needs to change. Not just physically, but his attitude as well. The ending, though predictable, was well worth getting to and fairly satisfying. Since this is a character movie, it all came down to a choice. And, unlike other movies like this, Stan doesn't hesitate on his choice, he just makes it. I liked that, I liked that a lot. It could have been blown out and that would have ruined the ending for me.

The love interest that Stan chases was actually the only boring part of the movie. After watching a few of them I just started fast forwarding those scenes. Believe me, I didn't miss a thing. I know it needs to be in there to attract certain demographics, but I found it boring and pointless. So if you are a guy, trust me, just fast forward these parts.

Entertaining and funny... perfect for a good weekend video.

Call me a sap if you like, but I think MR. 3000 tells a beautiful story. Predictable? Maybe. Cliched? Possibly. And yet, it's so well-written and directed, so vividly acted, and so attentive to characters rather than to attending to carrying out a sports-movie formula, that I never FELT that the movie was musty or cliched. The whole thing feels fresh. It's also funny and, in the end, rather touching.

MR. 3000 is basically about a selfish man's comeuppance. After getting his 3000th hit, Stan Ross (Bernie Mac) decides to rest on his laurels and retire from baseball---even as his team, the Milwaukee Brewers, is in the midst of playoff contention. Nine years later, Ross finds out that he didn't have his 3000 hits after all; a counting error caused a few hits to count more than once, and he really had only 2997 when he retired. His pride having taken a beating, he decides to return to baseball to get his final three hits...and, in the process, grows up a little from the selfish man he was in the past.

It's a plot that doesn't sound all that fresh on paper. But there's no anticipating the depth that the screenwriters, director Charles Stone III, and Bernie Mac bring to the character of Stan Ross. Ross could have been made into a caricature of arrogance, a painfully funny stick figure of a character off of whom easy satirical points could have been scored. But the Ross of MR. 3000 is disarmingly likable in spite of his (hilarious) flaws, because you realize that, despite his me-first nature, he really does love the game of baseball, and understands how it works. It is with this understanding that he becomes a mentor of sorts to the new Brewers team he joins: a group of self-satisfied, self-absorbed players who seem to care little about the game itself (and their indifference is reflected in their cellar-dwelling status in their league). In one scene, Ross sees a faintly disturbing reflection of his old self in T-Rex (Brian J. White), and, as T-Rex is about to get into his car, Ross stops him and advises him on the virtues of becoming a forceful team leader, one who can encourage the highest level of play from the team. Ross has clearly seen enough to know what makes for a winning team, and that is what makes Ross an admirable character regardless of his inflated ego.

But, of course, at that point of the movie, you might be thinking that he's being a little hypocritical, telling a teammate to act like a team leader when he himself hasn't shown a great deal of similar unselfish attributes. It is precisely that kind of character complexity and nuance that makes MR. 3000 stand out from the usual standard sports-movie ilk, with its comic caricatures and by-the-numbers plots. The film doesn't take a mechanical approach to Stan Ross' change of heart. When Hit No. 3000 looms on the horizon for him, Ross decides to call for an extra team practice...only to blow it off himself in order to appear on Jay Leno. He still can't resist the lure of his own ego, even as he selflessly inspires his team to try to at least go down fighting.

Stan Ross is a character that has been sensitively written by its three credited writers (Eric Champnella, Keith Mitchell, and Howard Michael Gould), but of course it's up to the actor to bring a character to life, and Bernie Mac comes through with a performance that is better than anyone had a right to expect from a man whose first leading role this is. Whereas another actor might have gone for psychological depth in portraying Ross' selfishness, Mac makes it light and funny. But Mac does achieve some real moments of emotional gravitas, moments in which one can sense, looking at Mac's expressive face at certain moments, that Ross' anxiety and fear about losing his hard-fought legacy loom in his head. It's a charming, beautifully-shaded, marvelous performance, and for all the hype Jamie Foxx garnered for his Ray Charles interpretation in RAY, Bernie Mac's may actually be superior in its emotional impact. Seriously.

Director Charles Stone III keeps everything light, fresh and above all honest; this movie, which could easily have given into Hollywood-style bathos, never becomes overly sentimental with its change-of-heart story. Instead, it is emotionally convincing every step of the way. Stone---as well as the script, of course---also shows an awareness of the realities of the game of baseball today: how pro athletes can sometimes be less than serious about the game they're playing, how baseball owners can sometimes be concerned only about drawing in crowds, how sensitive media members can be when a player treats them less than respectfully, etc. You can see how a focused player like Stan Ross could be considered a refreshing and even uplifting presence in the midst of such cynicism. Thankfully, the movie itself never becomes merely cynical: even as it takes some sharp jabs at baseball as it is run today, there is always that faint recognition of truth that makes for an enriching movie.

By the end of MR. 3000, the movie inevitably comes down to a last-ditch effort in the bottom of the 9th inning in a tie game. And eventually Stan Ross gets redemption---but not the kind of redemption he necessarily expects. It's perhaps not as surprising an ending as the filmmakers clearly want it to be; still, it is a beautifully fitting ending, one that puts a capper on a surprisingly better-than-average sports movie. Call me sentimental, but I found MR. 3000 touching. Recommended.

Not a movie that will take your breath away or make your guts hurt from laughter, but it did the job for me. Bernie Mac plays it small here, but he still does the best he can with a one-dimensional character. All Stan Ross(Mac) cares about is his record, making it into the baseball Hall of Fame, and himself, himself, himself. Mac was an easy choice to play a loud, cocky character like this.
There are a few chuckles here and there in the movie, but nothing to make you burst out laughing. Some things were tired, the swearing in front of kids, the obligatory love interest with the obligatory songs of Marvin Gaye and such every love scene. The baseball action is tailored towards the movie, rather than viewing it as a live game, but it worked really well showing Ross' mishaps on Sportscenter rather than straight in the movie. Things always seem to be funnier on Sportscenter recaps with Stuart Scott commentating.
Yeah, some of it may be cliched, but it threw me off how Ross went from feeling the "team" spirit to flaunting himself and his greatness again, before making a "sacrifice" at the end. The end was surprising to me, some may see it coming, but it wasn't necessarily the usual kind of ending to movies like this. I love how he got his first 3,000th hit, and if you think about it, they actually made good use of his sparse hits after the comeback. The 2,998th one was classic, and one of the high-points in this movie.
The movie is actually better than those pitiful trailers made it out to be, in case you're worried. I couln't get over how awkward Mac looks in a baseball uni, but by the end of the flick, he more than embodies the character(and the uni)! Not a must-see, but definitely a timeworthy-see. In the end, it entertained me, kept me interested, and sat well with me after it was all over, it gets a four.

I find Bernie Mac engaging and humorous rather than funny in a joke telling sense. Mr. 3000 benefits from this as more of a dramatic movie with funny moments than as a comedy. That the marketing campaign kept emphasizing it was a comedy is probably one of the reasons it did not do so well at the box office. Bernie Mac and the other stars give good performances and, for a sports movie, this has some things to offer. Unlike "Major League", it is not a cartoon.

However, when you say the movie is "Very Funny" right under the title you create an expectation that this movie never intended to deliver. This movie is about a character who gets an unexpected and unwanted second chance to set things right. However, what gets set right isn't exactly what he intended to do when he began the journey. You see, that isn't a premise for comedy although humorous things do happen along the way, it is not a setup for one joke after another.

Stan Ross (Bernie Mac) is an extremely talented hitter who is so in love with his own talents and image that he simply has no clue how this affects his relations with his teammates and the fans. When he hits his three thousandth hit he ends up ripping it out of the hands of the kid who ended up with the ball. The press gets on him after the game and Ross responds by retiring from the game even though his team is in the midst of a championship run. He figures that with his three thousand hits he can't be denied his place in the Hall of Fame.

Nine years later he still isn't in the hall and during his shenanigans to try and swing the public to pressure the voters to put him in the league finds out that three of his hits were double counted. So, Ross figures the only thing to do is to jump in late in the present season to get his three hits. It turns out to not be as easy as he had hoped.

During these weeks we get to see the management's attitude towards the "sanctity" of the game and Ross's own appreciation for what he had so callously walked away from. The end of the movie is not exactly predictable, but very nice.

The problem is that all the swearing in the film (even though there is a very funny series of bits with a Japanese pitcher trying to get Yankee swearing right) and the somewhat frank (but modest) sexuality with Angela Bassett (who is very good in this film) make it a bit hard to justify as a family film. Unless your family cusses and talks about sex openly, I guess.

Better film than you might expect from its box office receipts, but a pitifully misguided ad campaign did set the wrong expectations for the public. And, if they wanted it to be a family film, less cussing and putting in romance for sex would have been better choices.

You can safely call me a fan of BERNIE MAC and CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER, and any movie that comes out with either of them in the star line up I am usually there on the opening night to enjoy some good comedy. However, it seems that the calibre of films CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER has starred in has been very poor indeed (e,g, The Honeymooners and Johnson's Family Vacation), whereas BERNIE has been more selective in his choice of movie roles (e.g. CHARLIE'S ANGELS). What I liked about this movie was the fact that it comfortably appeals to a both a white and black audience. The white audience will be predominately the baseball fans and the black audience Bernie Mac/ black def comedy fans. Yes the plot is predictable but the characters are rich enough to keep you entertained (appearances by Jay Leno; Roseanne's TV husband, MR BIG from SEX & THE CITY etc AND no stereotypical black characters) and so is the script (no corny one liners that you so often come across in "black" movies).

The only negative comment I have is towards Angela Bassett. She had no business playing a role like the one she did. She is such a fine actress and should have a word with her agent to find her more suitable roles for her acting range.

The DVD is also cheaper from the Target. I purchased mine for $19.99, and if you buy DVDs from Target on the day of its release or within a week thereof you can buy the DVD for $16.99.

Personally, I'm really not sure why Mr. 3000 doesn't get better ratings from viewers. When you talk about a straight-up comedy, the first question you have to answer is: was it funny? If it's funny, it's a good comedy, and Mr. 3000 is funny. I'm not saying the movie couldn't have been better. Some elements of the plot are weak and needlessly bothersome, the main character's growth as a person was a little weebly-wobbly, and - worst of all - an effective ending is somewhat marred by the fact that what happens could basically never actually happen in a game of major league baseball. On paper, the movie probably wouldn't deserve more than three stars; the main character's ego makes for a character you might have a hard time pulling for - but, thanks to the casting director, Bernie Mac landed that plum role, and he pretty much saves the script single-handedly. You can't help but like Bernie Mac; he's so naturally funny and entertaining that people would probably buy tickets just to sit and watch him sit in front of a dryer waiting for his clothes to dry.

The premise of this film is rather simple. Stan Ross (Bernie Mac) was a rather arrogant, obnoxious baseball player who left baseball as soon as he got his 3000th hit - leaving his Brewers teammates right in the middle of a clutch drive to the playoffs. Reporters and sports talking heads have no use for him at all (for good reason), but the fans still seem to like him. He does well for himself after baseball, opening up all sorts of "3000" stores, building his whole life around his Mr. 3000 persona. Nine years after retiring, he still hasn't made it into the Hall of Fame, though (and when he boasts that 3000 hits should basically guarantee you a place in Cooperstown, he's telling the truth); he's close, though, having come up only four votes short the year before. Then disaster strikes in the form of a fact check of his records; it turns out that one of his three-hit games was actually counted twice. In an instant, Mr. 3000 has suddenly become Mr. 2997. Thus, at age 47, Ross dons the uniform again and sets out to get the three hits that will reestablish himself as Mr. 3000 and hopefully win him that long overdue invitation to Cooperstown.

At first, it's all about Ross' ego. Never a team player, Ross insults his new teammates before he even suits up, and then he proceeds to go 0-for-everything at the plate. As time goes on, though, Ross begins to change - although his ego is never far away and keeps returning from time to time. He finally gets a hit, and the Brewers start to actually win some games. Naturally, both Ross' personal and professional paths converge on the final game of the season. Sure, the ending is a little predictable, but there's nothing wrong with an ending that makes you feel good.

It's amazing how you can hardly go wrong with a baseball movie. Sure, the sport can be a little boring to watch at times, yet the excitement of each game's pivotal moments can be electrifying, and there were a couple of such electrifying moments in this movie. More importantly, though, Mr. 3000 made me laugh out loud on several occasions, and that is the main reason I consider the film a very successful comedy.

Mr. 3000 may not bring in the laughs that you would expect from one of the original kings of comedy known as Bernie Mac, but the film has a very light hearted story that still makes it enjoyable for viewing. Mac is (Stan Ross), one of the greatest hitters in the league is out for that 3,000 hit. So does it make him a lovable hero in the eyes of the Milwaukee Brewer crowd? Not exactly. Ross was an ego manic that said how he felt no matter if the news reporters, fans, or little kids were present. The man was so full of himself that after he got that 3,000 hit, he quit the team right when they needed him the most, which was around playoff time. The staff, coaches, and players from the past and present hated his guts even more. Almost a decade later and on the edge of turning 50, Milwaukee Brewer president decided to retire his jersey and make him a nomination for the hall of fame as that would further lift up his ego. However, a report showed that 3 of his hits didn't count and he was no longer the 3,000 man. Stan does the only thing he knows how to do to keep his career in the record books, that was to come back to the game that he once mastered. Of course, the team or the coaches were not pleased to see him back especially after referring to them as little leaguers. Things got even worse, when Stan went 5 games striking out and the only player on the team not to get a hit. As he's trying to get back in shape and deal with the stress of being made fun of everywhere he went, he decides to rekindle a relationship with an old flame (Angela Bassett) who is back in town and reporting on the team.
This was the only highlight of his lonely life. The team continued to lose and noone would even listen to Stan's advice and are seeing a shot at ending the season at 3rd place slipping away. After the team's recent loss the press interviewed the best player on the team who's got the same arrogance, skills, and selfishness that Stan once had. Stan interrupted the guy's interview and gave him some friendly advice to try and prevent him for being what he has been his entire life. For once, we see Stan in a different light as he became a team player has he was laughing and cutting up jokes with the team, uplifting the players spirit when things were going wrong and giving them pointers on the other team. The team started listening and when Stan made his 2,298th hit, the team started winning games and were on the verge on getting 3rd place but the goal would be put to the test as they placed one of the best teams in the league, the Houston Astros. Of course, Stan was back to getting publicity from the Best Damn Sports Show and Jay Leno which was nice to see him getting the respect back of being one of the all time greats, but his ego started to kick back in. Making guest appearances on these shows when he promised his old flame and teammates to meet him at practice for something very important (possibly a perposal) was the sign that the old Stan was coming back. In the final game of the season with Stan one hit away from proclaiming the title "Mr. 3000", Stan recalls his statement made from his peers that reminded him of his old ways and decides that he didn't really care about that hit and the hall of fame induction. I don't want to give away the ending and some of the events that led up to it, but I will close the review by saying this. Stan does retire after the game, but he ends his career in a UN-selfish way. People no longer remembered Stan the jerk. Sure, the cocky attitude was still there, but the light hearted side of him was what was shining the most. Stan may not be Mr. 3000, but he ended a successful career on top. This movie reminded me alot Angels In The Outfield and the first Mighty Ducks on which a person who's successful past created an ego that noone wanted to be around with but a few things and people helped inspire them and make them better people in the end. I think the movie is worth checking out.

Stan Ross was a baseball superstar who turned his back on the game years ago when he finally hit 3,000 hits. Years later, he's now a successful, self-made entrepreneur whose many businesses revolve around his title: Mr. 3000. But a clerical error has proven that Stan is just short three hits of his spectacular hit record. Now, with time on his side and the potential to be inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Stan must return back to the game and get back his title. But things have changed with age, and as Stan finds out, it's not too easy to get back into the game when he hasn't played for years, and he's nearing 50. Bernie Mac is wonderful here. "Mr. 3000" is cool fantasy movie, with a great sense of humor. Entertaining.

Mr. 3000 is one of--if not--my all-time fav movies. I have seen almost all of Bernie's movies and have most of them in my DVD collection. But, Mr. 3000 is just simply the best!!! Honestly, I can watch the movie over and over and over again...In addition to Bernie being the world's greatest comedian, he is also an amazing actor. My favorite part in the entire movie is when Mo (Angela Bassett, who is also one of my fav actresses) visits Stan at his home...Marvin Gaye's "Lets Get It On" starts playing and Mo and Stan start dancing. The man is so talented!!! I'm not sure if many people know but Bernie could dance AND sing. And, what I like most about him--in the movie and off screen--is that he is "real"...and ol' school. "They" don't make them like Bernie anymore. He was one of the "coolest" cats I've ever seen (celebrity or otherwise)!!! In the movie, I like the fact that Mr. 3000 changed his selfish ways and learned from the mistakes that he made when he was younger. Obviously, I loved the way that the movie ended...Angela and Bernie were so beautiful together!!! It has been seven months since Bernie passed away. I still miss the MAC-MAN oh so much!!!