Undrafted(2016)
Vertical Entertainment Jul 15, 2016 | Limited
When twelve ragtag teammates set out to play what should be a meaningless summer intramural baseball game, it ends up becoming the most important game of their lives.
Releases
Original Release | Jul 15, 2016
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Other Details
Country of Origin: United States
Language: English
Summaries
Plot Summary
- The playoff game is between the DBs (Diamondbacks, but that's too long) and the Bulldogs. The league only has six active teams but the winner goes to the finals in Ocean City, Maryland. These are not professional players, or at least they're not supposed to be.Maz is one of several players who are late for the game. Others who are keeping track are watching what is happening in the pro baseball draft. There have been more than 30 rounds and Maz was not chosen, but it's not over.Ty is supposedly the coach but he is a buffoon and doesn't exactly command respect. Later in the movie, other players act more like a coach. Garvey is the catcher and tries to act important but the others make fun of him. David (Andy on "The Goldbergs") is also not respected but he doesn't seem to have a problem with it. He does get a chance to be a hero.One of the players is a veteran who was injured after a brief pro career. I can't remember if he played for a major league team but he was at least minor league.Palacco is an immigrant. Zapata may be but this is not made clear. Dells is Ty's brother, the closer, who ends up being the opener and then is told he is not allowed to get tired. And the opponents know he has choked in the past.Maz does arrive, with his father Joe (played by Jim Belushi) and he's not quite certain whether he wants to play, now that the draft is over and he was not chosen. Joe is supportive of his son regardless of what happens. He sits with Murray, whose son is a player who has a temper (his name might be Patrick).The other team arrives on a really nice bus. DB players recognize players who were already drafted by major league teams and they call foul. The Bulldogs have a legitimate roster with 50 players, though the DBs weren't aware of most of these players earlier.When it is finally time for the game to begin, there is not much action at first. There is arguing, philosophy, advice, ranting, and pretty much everything except the game itself.Some players have to overcome major obstacles. Some are out of the game. But some are up to the challenge and show what they are made of. The Bulldogs do not have as easy a time beating the other team as one might expect in this kind of movie, and before it is all over, there is a bench-clearing brawl so bad the cops get involved.Although there is a "home movie" at the end which looks very much like the ending if the actual movie, and a description of what the player went on to accomplish in life, this is a work of fiction, as it says at the very end of the credits. The name of the man whose life is described appears to be the same as the name of the writer and director, who also plays the father of one of the players. However, this man's name is only similar to that of the main character.
Storyline
- When 12 ragtag teammates set out to play what should be a meaningless summer intramural baseball game, it ends up becoming the most important game of their lives. This collection of characters--the reliever turned starting pitcher (Tyler Hoechlin), a hot-dog power hitter (Chace Crawford), an outfielder with anger management issues (Joe Mazzello), a player coach with clipboard envy (Duke Davis Roberts), an over-eager catcher (Ryan Pinkston), the old guy who shouldn't be playing anymore (Philip Winchester), and the guy everyone forgot was on the team (Matt Bush)--truly gives new meaning to the phrase "amateur status." As they struggle to transition away from baseball and towards an uncertain future, the best player among them (Aaron Tveit)--who they all felt should have gotten drafted--must deal with the news that his big-league dreams were dashed, leaving him grappling with why he should still play. One game can be just another box score, but when it's played by a team galvanized around the love of the game, and for the pride they have in each other, it can define a lifetime. Written and directed by Joe Mazzello ("Jurassic Park," HBO's "The Pacific," "The Social Network"), "Undrafted" is based on the real-life experiences of Joe's brother, a collegiate baseball star who was skipped over in the Major League Baseball draft. — Vertical Entertainment One week after the end of the regular season in what is ostensibly a Southern California baseball beer league (or ice-cream league as the case may be), the D-Backs are entering into the first game of the post-season against the Bulldogs, who they should have no trouble beating. The D-Backs are comprised of a loosely-defined group of friends who individually have a wide variation of skill, talent and commitment (or lack thereof), both to the game and to the team. Each team member is facing his own demon in terms of the game of baseball and his place on the team. Upon arriving at the field, they find that under the league rules unknown to them, the Bulldogs have stacked their team with a bunch of ringers who were nowhere to be seen within the league at the end of the regular season. In addition, the Bulldogs have devised a method to get under the skin of the D-Backs, especially those who are already having troubles fighting their demons. Hanging over the D-Backs this day is the fact that the highly anticipated drafting into the MLB of who is their best player, Maz, did not happen, the draft just having happened before Maz arrives at the field. This combination of items has the potential to be an explosive mix, leading to what should have been a meaningless game in the big scheme of their lives into a need to prove themselves as individuals and as a team. — Huggo