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Back to the cussing. We've established that Bernie Mac has a talent for it. But this movie shows he's also got some other tools in his acting arsenal—comedic timing, relate-ability, a penchant for physical humor and so on. He can make you hate him and make you love him. In that sense he's a little like his character, Stan Ross. Here's hoping that in the future Mac will find more interesting material with which to rouse his own "better gods."

Talk About It

1. In addition to getting into the Hall of Fame, do you think there was another reason Stan Ross was so set on getting 3,000 base hits?
   
   
2. Have you known anyone who was as self-centered as Ross? How did you deal with that person?
   
   
3. Why do you think Mo moved back to Milwaukee? What changes prompted that move?
   
   
4. Do you enjoy baseball? If so, what draws you to the game?
   
   

The Family Corner

Cursing and casual sex (including shots of skimpy lingerie and a bare behind) make this movie unsuitable for kids and young teens.

Photos © Copyright Touchstone Pictures

Mr. 3000 stars Bernie Mac as Stan Ross, an arrogant baseball star who gets his 3000th hit and, figuring he's a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame, retires on the spot—only to learn, several years later, that due to a counting error, he's actually three hits short of that magic number. So he gets back into the game, and along the way he learns a few things about humility and being part of a team.

Lisa Ann Cockrel (Christianity Today Movies) finds the movie "disjointed" and notes that Mac has a talent for cussing. "But this movie shows he's also got some other tools in his acting arsenal—comedic timing, relate-ability, a penchant for physical humor and so on. He can make you hate him and make you love him. In that sense he's a little like his character, Stan Ross. Here's hoping that in the future Mac will find more interesting material with which to rouse his own 'better gods.'"

Michael Elliott (Movie Parables) takes issue with the "muddled" writing but is similarly impressed by Mac's performance. He writes, "Not only is Bernie Mac a very funny man, he is able to do something few actors can do. He is somehow able to play an arrogant and obnoxious character without losing any of his 'likeability.' Even when he is being rude or full of himself, we can't help but root for him anyway. He lets us see Stan's vulnerability that exists beneath and behind the showmanship."

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) complains that co-stars Angela Bassett and Paul Sorvino are wasted in their thankless roles, as the token girlfriend and a baseball manager respectively, but he says Mac acquits himself well: "While it is hardly a grand-slam performance, he takes his swings with authority and doesn't strike out. … Mac's comedic charisma softens the character's more abrasive edges and succeeds in making even a self-absorbed braggart likable. Mac also provides many of the film's genuine laughs. Unfortunately much of the picture's humor is of the vulgar and sexually suggestive variety, which is unwelcome in a PG-13 movie."

Brett Willis (Christian Spotlight) notes that the film has a moral message at the end, but he is upset by the language and the casual sex: "What a strange culture we've become when family-oriented, stand-up-and-cheer movies are made as strong PG-13s that you might not want to take the family to."

Mainstream critics generally don't care for the movie, though they have good things to say about its star.

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