Enter a Rotten Tomatoes movie slug to inspect the stored movie, batches, snapshots, and reviews.
Movie ID: 803
RT slug: the_hill
RT URL: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hill
Release year: 2023
Runtime: 126 mins
Wide release date: 2023-08-25
Limited release date: —
Festival premiere date: —
Streaming release date: —
Tomatometer final: 44%
Audience score final: —
Genres: Biography, Drama, Sports
Directors: Jeff Celentano
Writers: Angelo Pizzo, Scott Marshall Smith
Producers: Jeff Celentano, Warren Ostergard
MPAA rating: PG
Executive Producers: —
Created: 2026-06-17 18:59:52
Updated: 2026-06-17 18:59:52
Growing up impoverished in small-town Texas, young Rickey Hill shows an extraordinary ability for hitting a baseball, despite being burdened by leg braces from a degenerative spinal disease. His stern, pastor father (DENNIS QUAID) discourages Rickey from playing baseball to protect him from injury, and to have him follow in his footsteps and become a preacher. As a young man, Rickey (COLIN FORD) becomes a baseball phenomenon. His desire to participate in a try-out for a legendary major league scout divides the family and threatens Rickey's dream of playing professional baseball.
Solid work from Dennis Quaid helps elevate The Hill, but this fact-based underdog drama is only intermittently inspirational.
Canonical reviews: 36
Canonical fresh: 16
Canonical rotten: 20
Canonical calculated Tomatometer: 44%
Latest snapshot UTC: 2026-06-17 18:49:48
Snapshot Tomatometer: 44%
Snapshot review count: 36
Snapshot fresh count: 16
Snapshot rotten count: 20
Source note: Imported from manual review paste batch #1432 (full_snapshot)
| Company | Role |
|---|---|
| Briarcliff Entertainment | distributor |
| Rescue Dog Productions | production |
| Sony Pictures | production |
| Vitamin A Films | production |
| Billing | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dennis Quaid | James Hill |
| 2 | Colin Ford | Rickey Hill |
| 3 | Joelle Carter | Helen Hill |
| 4 | Randy Houser | Ray Clemons |
| 5 | Bonnie Bedelia | Gram |
| Batch ID | Status | Mode | Created | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 819 | processed | — | 2026-06-17 18:59:52 | Processed successfully into movie_id=803 using update_mode=merge_non_empty. |
| Batch ID | Local Snapshot | UTC Snapshot | Entered % | Entered Count | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1432 | 2026-06-17 13:49:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-06-17 18:49:48 | 44% | 36 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 36 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=36, fresh=16, rotten=20, tomatometer=44%. Net new reviews added=36, fresh=16, rotten=20. Current canonical totals=36 reviews, 16 fresh, 20 rotten, tomatometer=44% (44.444%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (36). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (44%). |
| ID | Critic | Outlet | Fresh? | Score | RT Time Raw | Approx Published UTC | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 178980 | Kevin Harley | Radio Times | Rotten | 2/5 | 2025-05-02T22:17:33Z | 2025-05-02 22:17:33 | Alongside Quaid's persuasive lead, veterans Bonnie Bedelia and Scott Glenn help bring flashes of conviction to an otherwise cornball affair. |
| 178981 | David Bax | Battleship Pretension | Fresh | — | 2024-11-20T01:29:30Z | 2024-11-20 01:29:30 | It’s sweet, earnest and honest. |
| 178982 | Raven Brunner | Decider | Fresh | — | 2024-01-22T23:51:53Z | 2024-01-22 23:51:53 | The movie’s story is cliché and rather preachy, but it isn’t bad. Rickey’s story is important and engaging… whenever viewers aren’t being weighed down by the pastor’s repetitive prejudice against his family and community. |
| 178983 | Jason Fraley | WTOP (Washington, D.C.) | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2023-09-22T17:30:31Z | 2023-09-22 17:30:31 | As the stadium lights fade on a reconciled father and son like “Field of Dreams,” you can’t help but smile. Yes, it’s a “perfect” Hollywood ending, but call me a sucker for inspirational sports flicks. Turn off your brain and tap into your heart. |
| 178984 | Mark Jackson | Epoch Times | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2023-09-13T22:22:42Z | 2023-09-13 22:22:42 | A true hero story. The fact that it's a little too long clearly hasn't bothered audiences. Didn't bother me either. Good family watch. |
| 178985 | Rachel Wagner | rachelsreviews.net | Rotten | 4/10 | 2023-09-11T04:58:58Z | 2023-09-11 04:58:58 | Sadly the script isn't interested in such a complicated legacy but is content with cliched scenes of the preacher father who doesn't understand his talented son despite everyone else believing in him. |
| 178986 | Sean P. Means | The Movie Cricket | Rotten | 2.5/4 | 2023-09-10T05:46:14Z | 2023-09-10 05:46:14 | “The Hill,” ultimately hits with power, but without finesse. |
| 178987 | Paul Salfen | AMFM Magazine | Fresh | 8.5/10 | 2023-09-08T04:08:00Z | 2023-09-08 04:08:00 | An incredibly inspirational and touching movie that of course pulls at the heartstrings but it sets out what it was meant to do: honor the subject of a unique story and to give hope and inspire. Dennis Quaid gives his best performance in years. |
| 178988 | Dennis Schwartz | Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews | Rotten | C- | 2023-09-01T06:18:13Z | 2023-09-01 06:18:13 | The story is filled with cliches, clunky dialogue and speechifying lifted from Bible verses. |
| 178989 | Joe Friar | Fort Worth Report | Fresh | 3/4 | 2023-08-30T22:23:04Z | 2023-08-30 22:23:04 | Toggling back and forth between a sports drama and a faith-based film, Jeff Celentano aims to please by never getting too gritty. Sappy at times, but the feel-good film leaves you inspired just as the filmmakers intended. |
| 178990 | Jackie K. Cooper | jackiekcooper.com | Fresh | 7/10 | 2023-08-27T00:09:36Z | 2023-08-27 00:09:36 | A true story of faith, hope and love entertainingly delivered. |
| 178991 | Dann Gire | Chicago Daily Herald | Fresh | 3/4 | 2023-08-26T14:49:03Z | 2023-08-26 14:49:03 | The Hill celebrates a time-tested formula for dad-and-son baseball dramas. |
| 178992 | Todd Jorgenson | Cinemalogue | Rotten | — | 2023-08-26T02:16:58Z | 2023-08-26 02:16:58 | Overflowing with underdog cliches and aggressive sentimentality, the film's wholesome charms are neutralized by heavy-handed platitudes and sermonizing, right down to the obligatory big-game finale. |
| 178993 | Thelma Adams | AARP Movies for Grownups | Fresh | 4/5 | 2023-08-26T01:17:45Z | 2023-08-26 01:17:45 | Echoes of Norman Rockwell bounce off The Hill, a sincere, inspiring baseball movie grounded in a complicated father-son relationship. |
| 178994 | Carla Hay | Culture Mix | Rotten | — | 2023-08-25T22:59:08Z | 2023-08-25 22:59:08 | The Hill is a poorly constructed faith-based biopic about disabled baseball player Rickey Hill. This long-winded and preachy drama leaves big questions unanswered about his life. The movie is also plagued with hokey dialogue and corny acting performances. |
| 178995 | Hosea Rupprecht | Pauline Media Studies | Fresh | — | 2023-08-25T19:42:39Z | 2023-08-25 19:42:39 | Starring Dennis Quaid as Rickey's preacher Dad, James, and directed by Jeff Celentano, this faith-based sports film uses the titular metaphor to express what Rickey had to overcome to pursue his heart's desire. |
| 178996 | Charles Koplinski | Reel Talk with Chuck and Pam | Rotten | 2/4 | 2023-08-25T19:38:09Z | 2023-08-25 19:38:09 | In reading about Hill and his struggles, it’s obvious his story needed no embellishment. His deeds were inspiration enough, something “The Hill” doesn’t trust. |
| 178997 | Robert Kojder | Flickering Myth | Rotten | 1.5/5 | 2023-08-25T19:37:39Z | 2023-08-25 19:37:39 | The Hill leaves no cliché unturned when driving home the “inspired” part of the description “inspired by a true story.” |
| 178998 | Keith Garlington | Keith & the Movies | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2023-08-25T17:41:30Z | 2023-08-25 17:41:30 | There’s plenty of good material to work with. But the wildly uneven handling of it leaves the movie oscillating between sincerely touching and overly sentimental. |
| 178999 | Jonathan W. Hickman | The Newnan Times-Herald | Rotten | 5/10 | 2023-08-25T15:27:45Z | 2023-08-25 15:27:45 | ... the movie’s antiquated structure and insistence on relying on clumsy exposition when it should show us how Hill overcame the odds prove to be its undoing. |
| 179000 | Matt Zoller Seitz | RogerEbert.com | Rotten | 2/4 | 2023-08-25T15:19:36Z | 2023-08-25 15:19:36 | When it's not wrestling (however nicely) with spiritual matters, "The Hill" is a well-meaning but dutiful trudge toward an ordained destination. |
| 179001 | Ty Burr | Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack) | Fresh | 2.5/4 | 2023-08-25T14:25:40Z | 2023-08-25 14:25:40 | While the movie has its cliches and missteps... that central generational struggle is as old as the Bible (and “The Jazz Singer”) and still dramatically compelling. |
| 179002 | Collin Garbarino | WORLD | Rotten | 2/4 | 2023-08-25T13:53:26Z | 2023-08-25 13:53:26 | The production values are better than the typical faith-based movie, and the acting is solid, though at times a bit melodramatic. ... Most disappointingly, The Hill suffers from some of the same theological problems that plague other faith-based movies. |
| 179003 | Patrick McDonald | WBGR-FM (93.7 FM - Monroe, WI) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2023-08-25T13:53:15Z | 2023-08-25 13:53:15 | I swear sometimes I'm seeing different films. Look at Dennis Quaid's acting in this film, and the strong writing, and you'll realize it's a cut above the genre. Even as a non-religious person, I appreciated the spirituality thru the mystery of baseball. |
| 179004 | Rachel LaBonte | Screen Rant | Rotten | 2/5 | 2023-08-25T13:33:08Z | 2023-08-25 13:33:08 | The Hill doesn't properly sell the obstacles in Rickey's way, and its refusal to deepen its central figure makes the whole affair feel hollow. |
| 179005 | Avi Offer | NYC Movie Guru | Rotten | — | 2023-08-25T04:42:08Z | 2023-08-25 04:42:08 | A heavy-handed, preachy and schmaltzy underdog sports story. In a double feature with American Underdog, it would be the inferior B-movie. |
| 179006 | Mark Dujsik | Mark Reviews Movies | Rotten | 1/4 | 2023-08-25T03:47:27Z | 2023-08-25 03:47:27 | The Hill is a corn-fed pile of religiosity and schmaltz. |
| 179007 | Christopher Lloyd | The Film Yap | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2023-08-25T00:41:23Z | 2023-08-25 00:41:23 | An unabashed, inspirational piece of Americana in the true story of a boy determined to play baseball despite a body cursed with frailty and a father too full of the Lord. |
| 179008 | Mike McGranaghan | Aisle Seat | Rotten | 1.5/4 | 2023-08-24T22:52:12Z | 2023-08-24 22:52:12 | Rickey Hill's journey to overcome his physical ailments and get into Minor League baseball is inherently compelling. The Hill inexplicably chooses to depict it through a series of worn-out clichés. |
| 179009 | Randy Myers | San Jose Mercury News | Rotten | 2/4 | 2023-08-24T21:34:00Z | 2023-08-24 21:34:00 | While director/screenwriter Jeff Celentano's heart and soul is firmly in the right place, his faith-based drama suffers from being too long and repetitive and sidelines the subject's transition later in life. |
| 179010 | Rick Bentley | KGET-TV (Bakersfield, CA) | Fresh | B | 2023-08-24T20:53:48Z | 2023-08-24 20:53:48 | This film never tries to be anything more than a family-friendly production designed to be inspirational. It has its flaws but the heart and soul of The Hill are in the right place. |
| 179011 | Frank Swietek | One Guy's Opinion | Rotten | C | 2023-08-24T20:32:42Z | 2023-08-24 20:32:42 | So formulaic that you might be inclined to call it “Field of Clichés"...yet it will probably meet the expectations of viewers who like this sort of cannily manufactured uplift. |
| 179012 | Neil Pond | Neil's Entertainment Picks | Rotten | 1.5/5 | 2023-08-24T20:08:10Z | 2023-08-24 20:08:10 | It means well, but its real-life drama of the diamond, under the halos of the ballpark lights, gets lost in tedious, telegraphed tent-revival messaging. |
| 179013 | Frank Scheck | The Hollywood Reporter | Fresh | — | 2023-08-24T19:01:13Z | 2023-08-24 19:01:13 | Corny but uplifting. |
| 179014 | Tara McNamara | Common Sense Media | Fresh | 3/5 | 2023-08-24T17:49:48Z | 2023-08-24 17:49:48 | It's not a grand slam, but The Hill is rich with conversation starters. |
| 179015 | G. Allen Johnson | San Francisco Chronicle | Rotten | 2/4 | 2023-08-24T11:18:07Z | 2023-08-24 11:18:07 | It is a cinematic case of confirmation bias, designed to fulfill preexisting values and beliefs. |
Showing the latest 100 canonical reviews for this movie.