THE HILL (2023)
A true miracle of faith, family, and never quitting.
Should You See It?
Yes — this is the rare sports drama that earns every bit of its uplift. THE HILL tells the true story of Rickey Hill, a boy with a degenerative spinal disease who dreamed of playing Major League Baseball despite leg braces, a skeptical father, and a family with almost nothing. Dennis Quaid and Colin Ford give performances the source calls captivating, and the film moves at a pace that will hold viewers of many ages.
What sets it apart from other films in its genre — including RUDY and HOOSIERS, written by the same screenwriter — is an unapologetically Christian heart: prayer, Scripture, church, and a family learning to forgive and trust God's plan over their own.
The caution is small but real: brief coarse language, some smoking, and two scenes of drunkenness, including a churchgoer who tries to drive drunk. None of it is graphic or intense. For older kids and up, this one is worth the trip.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESYoung Rickey Hill spends his days hitting stones with a stick in the backyard of his family's rural Texas home, while his pastor father and siblings watch in wonder at his accuracy. Born with a spinal disease that forces him into leg braces, Rickey can barely walk or run — but baseball won't let go of him. When his family loses nearly everything and is forced to start over, Rickey's love for the game collides with his father's hope that he'll become a pastor instead. What happens next is a story of perseverance nobody saw coming.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars, and the source review makes clear why. THE HILL is an inspiring, well-paced biographical drama anchored by what it calls superb performances from Dennis Quaid and Colin Ford as father and son. The film builds a compelling, authentic family dynamic and sustains momentum well enough to captivate viewers across age groups. It stands comfortably alongside classics of the genre like RUDY and HOOSIERS — sharing a screenwriter with both — while carrying a more overtly Christian worldview than either. The craft here serves the story rather than showing off, and the result is a movie the source calls hope-filled from start to finish.
The Worldview
THE HILL carries what the source calls a very strong Christian, biblical, moral worldview — and it shows. The film champions courage and faith through prayer, Scripture, and scenes in church, and it lifts up Christian charity as part of ordinary family life. At its center is a story about forgiveness: Rickey and his father must learn to love one another and trust God's plan above their own, even when that plan doesn't look the way either of them expected.
The film doesn't shy from complicated faith — a father excommunicated from his own congregation for calling out sin, a son who believes he can honor God by playing baseball rather than becoming a pastor. That tension is handled with humility rather than easy answers, and the reconciliation it builds toward is earned rather than sentimental.
Rickey's story is, at its heart, a story about a man who ran his race despite a body that told him he couldn't — and about a family that learned grace could hold more than any of them expected. Scripture speaks to exactly that longing: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Very strong Christian, biblical, moral worldview champions courage and faith, with positive Christian elements such as prayer, Scripture and scenes in church, plus examples of Christian charity
Brief relatively light obscenities such as “h” and “d”
Some heavy themes about Rickey’s disease and the pain he goes through every day, another man tackles a drunk driver, it’s assumed that a man beats his wife, but this is never shown, and a character suffers an injury while playing baseball, but none of the violence is intense, strong or graphic
No sex
No nudity
A man shows up drunk to church, and, in a later scene, he tries to drive while drunk
Some brief smoking;
Nothing else objectionable.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Rickey believes he can honor God by playing baseball, even though his father disagrees. How do we discern God's calling when the people we love see it differently than we do?
Romans 12:2 · Proverbs 3:5–6Rickey's father struggles to attend his games, and their relationship is strained for much of the film. What does real forgiveness between a parent and child look like?
Ephesians 4:32 · Colossians 3:13Despite his disease and his family's poverty, Rickey never quits. What's the difference between stubbornness and the kind of perseverance Scripture praises?
James 1:2–4 · Hebrews 12:1The Hill family loses almost everything and has to start over. How does trusting God's plan look different from trusting our own?
Proverbs 16:9 · Jeremiah 29:11The Final Word
THE HILL earns its four stars honestly — a true story told with skill, faith, and heart, carried by performances that make you believe every mile of Rickey Hill's journey. The caution is small: a little language, a little smoking, two scenes of drunkenness, nothing graphic. For older kids and up, our answer is simple: worth the trip — ages 10 and up.
