Hustle (2004)
Few figures in professional baseball had a career quite like Pete Rose -- and practically no one who climbed so high fell so hard. Rose made his major-league debut playing second base with the Cincinnati Reds in 1963; nicknamed "Charlie Hustle" for his daringness and enthusiasm over the course of his career, Rose played in eighteen All-Star games, earned three World Series rings, broke Ty Cobb's record for career hits, and in 1975 was named Sportsman of the Year by both Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News. In 1984, after six years with other teams, Rose returned to the Reds, signing on as both player and manager at the age of 43; he continued to play until 1986, and stepped down as manager in 1989. That same year, a dark secret Rose had been hiding for years came to the surface -- Rose had for years been dealing with an addiction to gambling, and after falling deep in debt to bookies by betting on horse racing, he attempted to make the money back by betting on baseball.
Watch Trailer
Cast
Reviews
Sadly Over-hyped
Excellent, Without a doubt!!
Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
Hustle (2004) *** (out of 4) Peter Bogdanovich's story of Pete Rose (Tom Sizemore) and his fall from grace due to gambling. This has gotten all sorts of bad reviews but I rather enjoyed the film. It's certainly far from great but as a baseball fan I found it rather interesting. Bogdanovich's direction really keeps this above your typical TV movie but I guess most of the heat went towards Sizemore and his performance. Rose is such a legend that it would be impossible to really have any actor capture him on film. I think Sizemore gives a very good "performance", although it never really seems like Rose. Since I find it impossible to capture Rose, I think Sizemore did a good job creating a character. The ending is pretty depressing even though we now know the truth of what happened. The Hall of Fame has rapists, murderers, dead beat fathers, racists, alcoholics, druggies, cheaters so why not one gambler?
Tragic story of a man who had everything fame money a beautiful wife and the love of millions upon millions of baseball fans. Only to throw it all away due to his addiction to gambling and his inability to face and confront his demons. Like he was able to face and connect on a hard slider or sharp curve ball in the batters box.After breaking Ty Cobbs' record of 4,191 lifetime hits on September 11, 1985 Pete Rose, Tom Sizemore, was guaranteed a special place in Baseballs Hall of Fame with the likes of Ty Cobb Babe Ruth Walter Johnson and Joe DiMaggio. Rose went on to blow his chance in just three short years after his retirement in 1986. A sick and compulsive gambler Rose went beyond the usual betting on horses basketball and football game but betting on Baseball. Worst of all,in the spring and summer of 1987, the Cincinnati Reds while he was the teams manager.The movie "Hustle" picks up on Pete Rose becoming the Red's manager after a 23 years career as a major League Baseball player. During that time he set some dozen records, including a record 4,256 lifetime hits, that may never be broken. Surrounded by gofers and wannabe friends Pete the Great, also known as Charlie Hustle, has no trouble getting them to do his bidding. Which was mostly placing his bets with mob-controlled bookies which soon ran into hundreds of thousands of dollars. One of these flunkies was the shy and insecure Paulie Janszen, Dash Mihok. Janszan was so thrilled that the great man would even look at him, much less consider him a friend, that he's easily manipulated into calling in Roses bets, always as markers, on horses and sporting events. Janszan used mob bookie Ron DeLapane, Alex Karzis, to book the bets with him being purposely left out in the cold by his good friend Pete. The Baseball super star turned out to be both unconcerned and lazy to come through with the cash if he lost on his bets.We See in the movie, like in real life, Rose degenerate into a lying and helpless gambler as he also starts to cheat on his wife Carol, Melissa DiMarco,while on long road trips with the Reds. Rose like most sick gamblers seems to have no feelings for those who stick their necks out for him leaving Paulie in debt to the mob bookies for some $30,000.00 that he placed for the, what looked like, future Baseball Hall of Famer. Paulie pleading with his hero to get him out of the fix that he got him into has the indifferent Rose anything but concerned for his and his families health and safety. Rose finally gives him, just to get Paulie out of his hair, a check that's actually a loan of $10,000.00. While at the same time neglecting to give Paulie the $30,000.00 that he owes him for the bets he secretly booked for him. This last and condescending action to placate Paulie ,who up until then just about had it with Rose, for all the trouble that he got him into with his obsessive gambling was definitely the straw that broke the camels back. With that Paulie went straight to the FBI who already were about to indite him, on both drug trafficking and illegal book making.Looking more like Moe Howard of the Three Stooges, for the first half of the movie until he got himself a new haircut, then Pete Rose Tom Sizemore does a component job as the former Red All Star infielder being both personable as well as sleazy at the same time. Dash Mihok is both likable and at the same time psychotic as Rose's best buddy Pauie Janszen who comes to his senses only when he's confronted with getting his brains beat in by the mob and his a**. Paulie also comes to his senses with the fear of being thrown into a federal penitentiary for some 10 to 15 years by the FBI.All that for him being so taken up by Rose in not only breaking the law for the Baseball legend but brainlessly taking the consequences for his crimes as well.It was after Paulie passed an FBI lie-detector test that he went to Sports Illustrated magazine with the story about Pete Roses sick and despicable gambling habits. Paulie also had a lot to say how Rose treated him as a pasty to be thrown to the wolves, or the mob and FBI, when he couldn't make up his losses to the bookies. This alerted the Baseball commissioner Bartlett Glamatti ,Geore DiCenzo, into after having a heart to heart talk with Rose and then had special investigator John Dowd, Rick Reed, make a complete report of Paulie's allegations.The truth sadly came out in the Dowd Report that Rose was indeed betting on Baseball games with the records of hundreds of telephone calls from the Reds managers offices unlisted phone, that only Pete Rose had access to. The phone calls were made to both Paulie and his main bookie DeLapane to who Rose bet an astounding 52 Cincinnati Red games. Pete Rose was banned from Baseball by Commissioner Giamatti on August 24, 1989, ironically just a week before Giamatti died from a massive heart-attack at the age of 51.With that Rose's chances to ever be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame went down the drain together with the love and respect of millions of Baseball fans, that he earned over the years. Including Paulie Janszan who risked both his life and freedom in putting in Roses illegal bets and ending up being the person who both exposed and brought him down to reality and disgrace.
The naked facts of Pete Rose's life would seem to be the stuff thateven an imaginative writer might have trouble coming up with: major league baseball's all-time hits leader, a hometown boy whobecame a hometown AND national sports hero, a player whobecame an American icon for determination, grit and theembodiment of willpower.Then, for the traditional tragedy lover in all of us, comes the fall....atumble from living legend, to a man in public and possiblypersonal denial, finally ending for Rose banned from baseball aconvicted tax cheat and weepy self-confessed gambler. Unfortunately, "Hustle" seems to have missed every chance toextract even a scintilla of pathos from Rose's life, insteadconcentrating on a thin portrayal of the sordid events stemmingfrom his gambling addiction. Whether inside Pete Rose there's areally a significant inner person worthy of close examination is agood question, but it's a question that "Hustle" never even gets asniff of. A miscast Sizemore and a way past prime Bogdonavich togetherfail to create a single genuine moment.
After I saw this TV movie about Pete Rose, I was kind of skeptical until I watched a discussion afterwords with people who knew Pete Rose. They said, and after thinking about it I agree, this movie captures Rose's gambling problem accurately. The actors did a fine job with their roles and you could tell there was a lot of research that went into the making of this film. I'm glad he did finally admit he bet on baseball, including the Reds, and I think he should be in the Hall Of Fame for what he did as a player. Weather you like Pete Rose or not, the point of this movie, I think, was to portray his gambling addiction. I do wish they would have focused on John Dowds report more because that was the main reason Rose was kicked out of the game for life. Like him or not, this film brings out a side of Pete Rose not too many people know and it's about time some of the truth of his life was displayed. This film, for me, does that.