Mr. Baseball (1992)

What makes it different from others?

What a beautiful movie!

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

"Jack Elliot" (Tom Selleck) is an aging baseball player for the New York Yankees whose career is clearly coming to an end. So when the Yankees acquire a rookie with exceptional talent he is traded to another team—in Japan. Needless to say he is quite unhappy with this new turn of events and firmly believes that another American baseball team will pick him up soon. Unfortunately, the opposing pitchers in Japan have discovered a "hole in his swing" and as a result his batting percentage plummets—as does his chance to sign with a major league team. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that while this was an enjoyable baseball film it also had some graphic language which didn't necessarily belong in the movie. Even so Tom Selleck put on an excellent performance as did Ken Takakura (as the manager "Uchiyama") along with Toshi Shioya (as Jack's interpreter "Yoji Nishimura"). In any case, all things considered I rate this movie as slightly above average.

A couple of baseball flicks on tonight. This was the first and, while it is no great picture, it was worth watching.Tom Selleck plays the predictable Ugly American that thinks he knows it all. He can't accept that, if he really knew it all, he wouldn't have been sent to Japan.Dennis Haybert from 24, The Unit, Jarhead, and Breach tries to help him realize that he needs to get with the program.But, it is the manager's daughter that turns him around and , guess what, he starts to be a team player.Yes, I know that that was so predictable, but is still worth your time. It's no "Natural," but it's OK.

If you want a movie that makes you think differently or leaves a lasting impression on you, you're not looking for Mr. Baseball. If you're looking for a light and fun romp through the land of Japanese baseball hosted by Magnum, P.I. himself... this is the film you've been searching for.That's it. Tom Selleck, playing baseball... in Japan. Nothing shocking here. I mean, I could try to say it was like the humorous, less dramatic version of "Lost in Translation"... but that would be giving it too much credit.If you see this film on the USA Network, it might be worth the trouble to stay on the couch a while. It pokes fun at how different Japan is from America (see, now I'm segueing into that "Lost in Translation" bit...) with little men living in little showers eating little meals.And, um, if you don't catch on to the "twist" before it happens, you're incredibly dense or haven't seen one of the ten thousand other films that use the same gimmick.

I agree with BigAlC - this movie actually prepared me for a lot of the cultural differences and practices before I went to live in Japan for a year in 1993. Tom Selleck does a fantastic job here, as always, and the movie is greatly humorous and educational. I'm a big fan of Tom Selleck's, and he blesses this part with his usual charm and charisma to this part, bringing the film to life in a way I can't imagine any other actor being able to pull off. This film featured some first-rate Japanese actors, and it was highly entertaining to watch them as they interacted with Selleck - I can imagine the fun he had during the actual filming of the movie - Japan's an awesome place to go, whether you want to party, sight-see or just try to take everything in.