''Mickey'' is a 2004 American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

that stars

Harry Connick, Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and television host. He has sold over 28million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling male artists in the Uni ...

, directed by Hugh Wilson (his final directorial effort), and written by best-selling

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

John Grisham John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is an American novelist, lawyer and former member of the 7th district of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his popular legal thrillers. According to the Am ...

. ''Mickey'' was filmed in 2004, at baseball fields in Colonial Heights,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, and

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg (along with the city of Colonial Heights) with Din ...

, and also

South Williamsport, Pennsylvania South Williamsport is a borough in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is famous for hosting the Little League World Series. The population was 6,259 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statis ...

, home of baseball's

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...

(LLWS). Grisham played Little League in his home state of Mississippi. He wrote the first

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

for ''Mickey'' in 1995, inspired by his Little League experience as a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. Grisham and director Wilson live in the Virginia area where much of the filming took place. ''Mickey'' was only the second film, after 1994's ''

Little Giants ''Little Giants'' is a 1994 American family film, family sports film, sports comedy film directed by Duwayne Dunham. The film stars Rick Moranis and Ed O'Neill as Danny and Kevin O'Shea, two brothers living in a small Ohio town who coach rival ...

'', to receive permission to use the Little League trademarks.

Plot

Tripp Spence is a widowed Virginia-based lawyer who becomes the focus of an intensive

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

investigation regarding false bankruptcy claims he filed during his wife's fatal illness. Realizing his case against the inevitable criminal charges is hopeless, he takes his 13-year-old son Derrick, who loves playing

Little League Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...

Championship game as the U.S. representative against a highly publicized team from

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, the International finalist. During the game, a politician who had vowed to ban the Cuban team from participating in the tournament passes on information to LLWS officials of ineligible players on both the Cuban and U.S. teams. It is found that the Cuban team, which is supposed to be strictly from Havana, is made up of All Star players from various island teams, and Mickey and Glen's true identities are exposed. Following the game, Glen is arrested and a press conference is called. Tripp/Glen reveals the truth about Derrick/Mickey. The LLWS Commissioner announces that both teams' participation in the tournament will be forfeited, and that the semifinal losers will play the next day for the championship. Derrick confesses the truth to his coach and teammates, but his friends forgive him because they never would have made it as far as they did without him. Derrick visits Tripp at the local precinct, where they say goodbye. After a year in prison, Tripp is released, and in the final scene he throws a baseball to Derrick that hits the windshield of Patty's car.

Cast

as Glen Ryan (Tripp Spence) * Mike Starr as Tony * Michelle Johnson as Patty * Hugh Wilson as Munson *

as Commissioner *Shawn Salinas as Mickey Ryan (Derrick Spence) *Mark Joy as Seeger *Alexander Roos as Pudge *Danny Bellacey *Gill Baker as Peggy *Stan Kelly as Prater *Don Yesso as Cardinal's Coach *Richard Fullerton as President Sloan *Peter Gil as Senator Martinez *Tom Trigo as Jack Fernandez *Jon-Michael Moralez as Cuban Coach *Jeremy Kesig as Fan Extra *Ryan Monoski as Fan Extra *Parker Monoski as Fan Extra *Brittney Monoski as Fan Extra *Robbie “So Spicy” Marvin as Assistant Baseball Coach and #1 Draft Pick

Awards and nominations

*Winner PLATINUM Award, Best Family Film - WorldFest Film Festival, 2004

Box office

According to

Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray began ...

, the film ''Mickey'' had a budget of $6 million but earned less than $300,000.

References

External links

Mickeythemovie.com
* * *
DVD review

''Mickey'' at Little League online

''Mickey'', from the set. At richmond.com

''Mickey'', interview with Harry Connick, Jr. At richmond.com
{{Grisham 2004 films 2004 drama films 2000s sports films American baseball films Films directed by Hugh Wilson Films scored by Guy Moon American legal drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films