Good, clean, and fun (so what are you waiting for?) (Now Playing).(movie The Rookie)

Have you taken your family to see The Rookie yet?

If not, you're missing out on what's pretty much an endangered species at the movies: a G-rated family film that's light on sap, heavy on warmth, humor, and common sense, and doesn't feature characters who began life in some animator's sketchbook. Usually, families looking for harmless, non-cartoon entertainment have to accept talking animals or insipid, hyperactive "adventures," such as today's Clockstoppers. But here's some good, clean fun that's actually good and fun.

Based on the life of former Tampa Bay Devil Ray Jim Morris, played here by Dennis Quaid, The Rookie dramatizes Morris's career from his days as a high school science teacher and baseball coach in a tiny Texas town to his successful Major League Baseball tryout at the ripe old age of 35.

Directed by Texas native John Lee Hancock with the burnished glow of a heartland sunset, the movie celebrates second chances and small-town life with an uncommon dignity and reserve.

The importance the film places on the concept of family is so heartfelt it's almost shocking--especially these days, when so many dramas strive to expose the supposedly sordid underbelly of middle-class life (the American Beauty syndrome). Right from the start, Morris's wife Lorri (Rachel Griffiths) and their three kids are shown to be an integral part of his life; dinners proceed amid a joyously raucous cacophony, while his son Hunter (Angus T. Jones) serves as the de facto assistant manager for his dad's high school ball club.

These bonds are put to the test when Morris signs with the Devil Rays; his dreams have come true, but at what cost? Instead of glorifying the bright lights of fame, the movie takes time to consider what road trips and long-distance relationships can do to an athlete's family. When Morris calls his wife in anguish one night wondering if he should come home for good, it's because he misses and wants to be with his family. Later, when Lorri brings the kids to a game against the nearby Texas Rangers, the way ...