Mr. 3000

The largely formulaic plot and over-the-top ego of Bernie Mac’s title character will leave viewers apathetic to the minor final twist and just glad the movie is over. The former Bosley now stars as a conceited major league hitter who quit the game mid-season once his 3000th hit granted him assumed entrance into the Baseball Hall of Fame. While dressed like a ’70s pimp and showboating as a poster boy for everything from dogs to dim sum, the pompous protagonist learns that three of his career hits have been disqualified due to some mumbo-jumbo technicality. Therefore, the past-his-prime player returns to the Milwaukee Brewers to get his remaining three hits as well as the inevitable insults from his young, skeptical teammates. Although Paul Sorvino appears as an oddly fascinating catatonic manager, and Angela Bassett lights up the screen despite her role as the clichéd love interest, director Charles Stone III’s flick plays like a string of sitcom outtakes. Mr. 3000 strikes out.