Summary

• Dennis Quaid's overlooked sports movie, The Hill, has finally gained recognition and become a hit on Netflix.
• The movie tells the incredible true story of Rickey Hill, a baseball player who overcame a degenerative spinal disease to pursue his dream.
• Despite facing adversity and discouragement, Hill's talent and determination allowed him to sign with the Montreal Expos before his career was cut short by his condition.

The Hill cast as his father Pastor James Hill alongside Colin Ford as Rickey Hill, Joelle Carter, Scott Glenn, Bonnie Bedelia, Randy Ho, and Hall of Famer John Smoltz making a cameo appearance.

Now, after it was overlooked in 2023, Dennis Quaid's sports movie has become a hit on Netflix. For the week of January 22-28, The Hill was viewed for 13.4 million hours and received 6.3 million total views. This is good enough for fourth place and marks the movie's first week in the Global Top 10.

The Hill was largely overlooked in theaters, grossing only $7.6 million at the box office and receiving middling reviews.

The Hill's Incredible True Story Explained

The Hill tells the true story of Rickey Hill, who was born with a degenerative spinal disease but still pursued his dreams of becoming a professional baseball player. Due to his condition, in which he was born with a missing spinal disc, Hill underwent several surgeries to allow him to walk with leg braces. As a result, he faced bullying as a child, and to make matters worse, his family was impoverished. His strict father, Pastor James Hill, also dissuaded Ricky from playing baseball out of fear of further injury and wanted him to pursue preaching instead.

Despite everything that was stacked against him, Hill pursued his dreams of playing professional baseball. From a young age, he was regarded as a batting prodigy, and in high school, he became a top prospect, though he struggled to attract the attention of scouts. Through sheer luck, Hill was discovered by MLB scout Red Murff and earned an invitation to a major league tryout where he showed promise as a designated hitter. As revealed by The Hill's epilogue, he signed with the Montreal Expos and played four seasons in the minor leagues before his spinal condition cut his career short.

Source: Netflix