''Chasing 3000'' is a 2007 American

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

chronicling the cross-country travel of two brothers to see the 3,000th

base hit In baseball statistics, a hit (denoted by H), also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches or passes first base after hitting the ball into fair territory with neither the benefit of an error nor a fielder's ch ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

legend

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early dea ...

. It stars Trevor Morgan,

Rory Culkin Rory Hugh Culkin (born July 21, 1989) is an American actor who is known for his roles in ''Scream 4'', '' Lords of Chaos'', '' You Can Count on Me'', ''Columbus'', and M. Night Shyamalan's '' Signs''. He is the younger brother of actors Macaulay ...

Ray Liotta Raymond Allen Liotta (; December 18, 1954 – May 26, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Shoeless Joe Jackson in '' Field of Dreams'' (1989) and Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's ''Goodfellas'' (1990). He was a Pri ...

, and

Lauren Holly Lauren Holly (born October 28, 1963) is an American actress. She has played the roles of Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the television series ''Picket Fences'', NCIS Director Jenny Shepard in the series ''NCIS'', Dr. Betty Rogers on '' Motive' ...

. The film was originally meant to premiere at the

2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 77th playing of the midseason exhibition baseball game between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game w ...

, but its release was delayed until April 2007.

Plot

In 1972,

is close to making his 3,000th hit. High school student Mickey ( Trevor Morgan) and his younger brother Roger (

) drive to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

with a

learner's permit A driver's permit, learner's permit, learner's license or provisional license is a restricted license that is given to a person who is learning to drive, but has not yet satisfied the prerequisite to obtain a driver's license. Having a learner's ...

to attend the baseball game. Roger has

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily af ...

, but that does not deter them from traveling with their grandfather (

Seymour Cassel Seymour Joseph Cassel (January 22, 1935 – April 7, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies and television shows, and had a career that spanned over 50 years. Cassel first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering in ...

). Their mother (

) follows them and they are later helped by a runaway, a motorcycle gang leader, a farmer, and an emergency room doctor.

Production

The film was originally meant to premiere at the

, but the filmmakers changed their minds because they wanted a better chance of securing a distribution deal. It cost less than $3 million to produce the film. The film's producer Ryan Johnson gave the script to actor

business agent. When Liotta read the script, he said that he could relate to it and wanted a part in the film. Liotta joining the film as an actor caused other actors to join the production. It was originally intended to have a straight to DVD release, but the filmmakers changed their mind once Liotta had a role. Bill Mikita began to write the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, ...

in 1999 and he decided to add Clemente's 3,000th hit to the script because he and his brother Steve are major fans of the athlete. The film was based on Mikita and his brother's own cross-country trip to the game.

Release

The film had its debut on April 29, 2007 at the AMC Loews 34th Street Theater. It was shown at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was ...

in 2007 and former Vice President Al Gore hosted the

gala Gala may refer to: Music * ''Gala'' (album), a 1990 album by the English alternative rock band Lush *'' Gala – The Collection'', a 2016 album by Sarah Brightman *GALA Choruses, an association of LGBT choral groups *''Gala'', a 1986 album by T ...

on opening night. The DVD release date was on September 28, 2010.

Reception

Andrew Barker of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote, "A brotherly love tale substantially weightier than its baseball road-trip premise might indicate, ''Chasing 3000'' overcomes some heavy-handed moments and narrative shortcuts with a surprising degree of emotional honesty". Bob Hoover, writing for ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

'' stated, "Its earnestness and innocence carries ''Chasing 3000'' a long way, and its sweet appreciation of the 'Burgh will win over local hearts." Michael Ordona of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' gave a mixed review, stating, "This sincere, nostalgic, brothers-on-the-road movie has its strong points but sadly fails to do what Clemente so famously did in his final at-bat—finish on a high note".

References

External links

* *
''Post-Gazette'' story
{{Pittsburgh Pirates 2000s sports films 2007 films 2007 independent films American baseball films American children's films Fictional portrayals of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Films set in 1972 Films set in Pittsburgh Films shot in Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pirates 2000s English-language films 2000s American films