A 2006 American drama film written and directed by James Ponsoldt, starring Nick Nolte and Trevor Morgan. The supporting cast includes Rosemarie DeWitt, Sally Kirkland, and Timothy Hutton.
Ray Cook (Nolte) is an irascible baseball umpire unhappy with life. At the game to decide state playoffs, Ray calls a fourth ball on the pitcher, Dave Tibbel (Morgan), clinching a loss. In revenge, Dave and his friends vandalize Ray's house. Ray catches Dave, and forces him to clean up, as well as making a proposition that Dave come along to Ray's 40th high school reunion as a means to show off how good Ray wishes his life was. In the process, Dave and Ray strike up an odd friendship.
This film exhibits the following tropes:
- Class Reunion: Ray convinces Dave to pose as his son for his 40th high school reunion.
- Cranky Neighbor: Ray, although it's played oddly, because he implies that no one knows him and no one really cares that he is this.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Ray is in poor health, likely due to his years of flying Agent Orange during Vietnam, and this eventually leads to his death.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Ray and Dave. There's over forty years of difference between them.
- Missing Mom: Dave's mother left them two years ago with no explanation.
- Parental Neglect:
- Ray to his real son. He tries to reconnect by sending videos of him talking, but most are returned unopened.
- Dave's father is distant, and is implied to have become emotionally crippled by his wife leaving him.
- Parental Substitute: Ray eventually comes into this role for Dave. It makes the final rejection that much more painful.
- Title Drop: Held back until the end of the movie, where Ray admits that Dave's final pitch was "just off the black", i.e. that it just missed the corner of home plate.
- Toilet Paper Prank: Dave being caught in the middle of vandalization that involves this kicks off the plot.
- Your Days Are Numbered: Early in the film, Ray is told that it's not a matter of whether to operate, it's where to start...