It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This is a pretty funny comedy here for anyone's family to watch. You can also tell that Marv from Home Alone and Home Alone 2 is in this. Also at first I thought that Ernie Banks aka Mr. Cub was in this movie, but it was someone else that looked like him. One very funny part of this movie is when Henry's arm is fully healed and the joint in his arm was healed tightly he smacks the doctor in the face and the doctor shouted out, " Funky butt lover." XD. We also see lots of the scenes of this actually at Wrigley Field and that was all very cool. This movie is definitely recommended for families who enjoy good family comedies. 8 out of ten for this.

I don't know what sort of movie 12 year old boys watch today. Certainly not the sort I liked 50 years ago when I was 12. Maybe this sort of movie would appeal to them. I can't say.It didn't do anything for me, but then, as I say, I'm not 12 years old.Instead, it struck me as a boy's version of The Natural, which I didn't get a lot out of either. A guy - or, in this case, a boy - has a stroke of good luck and acquires a magic power that makes him a great baseball player. It's luck, and not the result of hard work. (For that, see The Stratton Story, which is one of my favorite baseball movies.) He has a glorious career until the magic wears out. That didn't do much for me in The Natural, and it doesn't do much for me here. Played as comedy it can work - see "It Happens Every Spring" - but not, for me, as drama, because there's no drama involved.I don't know if boys still dream about baseball anymore. Maybe those who do, if they still exist, might enjoy this movie. If so, let them so do.But I won't be watching it again myself, at 62.

Are you a baseball fan? If you are go out and buy it. This movie is right up there with Angels in the Outfield. The story evolves around 12years old Henry Rowing Gardner who is a baseball fan but lacks any real baseball skills. One day while playing with friends he slips and breaks his arm, during those months his arm is in a cast, has his arm sticks up. Then the day the cast comes off he discovers that his arm healed in a interesting way, during that same day, he and his friends are at a baseball game but when the ball comes near him in the stands he picks it up and he displays an amazing throwing ability. The Cubs owner then ask him to join the team, where he gets to play with his favorite player named Rocket. I liked this movie because it shows that any tries dreams come true.

This movie asks the question: "What if pro baseball was fun again, like in little league, and not so taken so seriously?" The device of Henry's miraculous arm allows the story to inject a kid's eye view into a somewhat cynical world. Juxtaposing the sleazy Dan Hedaya's attempted $25 million trade of Henry to the Yankees with the Henry and his buddies taking a day trip on a boat, as well as Henry's adolescent antics on the field, director Daniel Stern is trying to get us to look at baseball, and maybe sports, maybe life, like we did when we were ten. I think Roger Ebert, although I agree with his review, took pretty poor notes while reviewing this film. From his article: "When the cast comes off, his dad takes him to Wrigley Field, and he catches a home run ball while he's out in the bleachers, and then he throws it back - all the way to the catcher behind the plate." Actually, he went with his friends, he doesn't even know his dad. And he didn't catch it, his friends pick it up from nearby, and hand it to him because they're scared to throw it on TV and embarrass themselves. Doesn't he have a fact-checker to proof his reviews?Second, he writes: "Henry becomes an overnight celebrity, and is signed to the Cubs by the team's genial owner." This ignores the desperation of Dan Hedaya, the would-be owner of the team, who sees the publicity and marketing windfall in having a kid on the team. The sell-out crowd is an important story element, as it reinforces the idea that we are all hungry for baseball to be fun again. There's are lots of laughs to be had in this film, although Stern seems to want to indulge in over-the-top hysterics from time to time, such as with the character he was playing. Also, the bilious "Jack" who gets Henry's mom to sign a contract without telling her it's a trade to NY, is downright spastic in his final scene. Stern shows a lot of promise as a comedy director if he could tone it down just a touch with the tangential characters. Understatement can be funny, as Busey shows with a few choice glares at the right moments. I loved Stern's allusion to the Wizard of Oz, likening the Emerald City gates to the Wrigley stadium gates, when Henry first arrives to play. The Cubs haven't won a Series since 1909. "And a little child shall lead them..." Every kid should see this movie.