The Phenom: Blu-Ray Review
Arriving on Blu-ray and DVD this week is writer/director Noah Buschel’s baseball drama, “The Phenom”, which stars Johnny Simmons, Paul Giamatti, and Ethan Hawke. I have seen countless sports dramas over the years but “The Phenom” definitely stands out as more of an intimate and personal story.
Hopper Gibson (Simmons) has spent most of his life dreaming of becoming a major-league pitcher. He has a gift and the scouts have their eyes on him. After a suffering a break down in the middle of a game, Hopper begins seeing sports therapist Dr. Mobley (Giamatti). The unorthodox doctor tries to help Hopper let go of his past in order to focus on the game and his future. The young ball player’s biggest hurdle is his abusive father Hopper Sr. (Hawke), who has just been released from prison and is back to his old ways.
There isn’t a whole lot of baseball in “The Phenom”, this is more of a story about the mounting pressures Hopper must deal with and how he must deal with them. The lack of field time is more than made up with a great cast delivering very solid performances. Simmons (“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”) definitely can hold his own against veterans, Hawk and Giamatti. “The Phenom” does drag in stretches but it is definitely worth a look.
By: Marc Ferman