This weekend is Memorial Day, which is the unofficial start of summer here in the States. And when I think summer, I think baseball.
Now, since I’m not a jock and probably the biggest “indoor kid” you’ll ever meet, I only think about baseball for about 15 minutes. But the thought does cross my mind.
Real-life Jared and I are going to see our Triple-A baseball club – the I-Cubs (Chicago’s farm team) – play the Fresno Grizzlies tonight at 7:05 PM. Or, rather, we’re going to sit in a baseball stadium for 3 hours, drink overpriced beers and catch up with each other’s lives as a baseball game is played in front of us.
All this talk about baseball made me think of a movie I’ve probably seen two dozen times, but don’t own – Major League.
I’ve always enjoyed this movie and I can’t explain why. Probably because the first time I remember watching it was at a friend’s house who got HBO and I remember it being vaguely dirty. Plus, it has that lovable loser angle going for it as it charts the improbably goal of the Cleveland Indians winning The World Series so their owner doesn’t move the team to Florida.
You get to see Charlie Sheen before he became a sex addict, Wesley Snipes before he became a tax cheat and Corbin Bernsen before people stopped caring about Corbin Berson. Tom Berenger does a good job playing an over-the-hill catcher trying to win back his wife (Rene Russo, of all people!) and the voice of the Milwaukee Brewers, Bob Uecker shows up delivering some of the best one-liners and withering play-by-play commentary as the Indian’s at-home radio broadcaster.
There were a couple of unfortunate sequels made to this movie (and the less said about the third one, the better). But the original stands out to me as a comedy with relaxed charm. Comedy always seemed more confident in the 80’s. Less ironic and less self-conscious like it is today. It’s a treat to watch characters deliver a funny line without breaking their stride. These days, a lot of comedies seem to have “WAIT FOR APPLAUSE” pauses built into ever scene.
Or maybe I’m just an old man griping.
I’m curious what your favorite baseball movie might be – and it doesn’t have to be a comedy. Certainly Bull Durham and Field of Dreams are the first two to pop into my minds. But I’m wondering if there are any others. Let me know!
Or, if you just want to talk about Major League, we can do that, too…
Batter up!
There’s no better baseball movie in the world than “Field of Dreams”. None of the others come close. Except maybe “The Sandlot”. But for sheer “Man-BAWWW!” “FoD” is the gold standard.
“No, Ray, it was you.” *sniff*
I haven’t watched Field of Dreams in years. When I was younger and first saw it, I thought it was boring and self-important.
Now that I’m a father, I’m sure I will have a decidedly different appreciation for the film.
It has less to do with YOUR being a father and more to do with the relationship you have with your own dad.
Edrondol, good point. But I guess what I’m saying is that, when you’re younger, you don’t consider your relationship to your parents with quite as much regard than you do after you become a parent yourself. You realize what they went through and you relate to them more.
I’d have to say that as a child of the 90’s the Sandlot might have to be my favorite. That was one of those movies school would always show at the end of the year when no one was in class. Now that I am in my 20’s however, I really enjoy Major League. I think I have a great idea for a movie marathon to fill my empty weekend.
In no order, Major League, Field of Dreams, and the Sandlot. Major League and the Sandlot were comedies appealing to different age brackets, and both worked very well. Field of Dreams was just powerful. It brought tears to my eyes as a young teen. I give Rookie of the Year some consideration, too.
Oooh Rookie of the Year. I liked that a lot as a kid. Angels in the outfield too. I don’t think they make it to the standards of the Sandlot though.
I also want to give a shout out to A League of their Own. That is another one that is always good to catch on cable. And one of hte only sports movies your girlfriend will watch with you
Major League for me. I must have watched that movie a million times when I was a kid, much to the chagrin of my mother. I’m sure she didn’t care much for all the language. 🙂
I’m surprised to see so much love for The Sandlot. I’ve never seen that movie and don’t really have a desire to.
There were a lot of movies in the ’90’s starring kids that tried to replicate the success of Home Alone and I kind of think The Sandlot is one of them. I mean, it’s not about home invasion or anything. I’m just talking about movies that make kids the stars… I never had much patience for that.
As a non-American I have to admit my only forray into baseball was as a very bemused child in Indiana in 1999, and my only other experience has been “The Sandlot” haha.
Love, love, love ‘Field of Dreams’ and ‘Bull Durham’. Also want to toss the movie ‘The Natural’ out there. Not up to the level of the Costner flicks, but a very good baseball movie.
I think it would be hard for me to pick a favorite baseball movie. I’m a huge Cubs fan (think Jimmy Fallon in Fever Pitch), and a fan of the game in general, so I feel like I’ve seen a lot of baseball movies, and I love 95% of them.
The Sandlot and Field of Dreams might take the cake just for having James Earl Jones in them, who is one of my all-time favorite actors.
I would say that an adult watching the Sandlot for the first time might have a little trouble getting into it. But I wouldn’t compare it to home alone. The Rookie is more simialr to HA as a “Kids doing adult stuff” power trip, where the Sandlot is more a movie about growing up and creating friendships. I almost want to compare it to somethign like Stand by Me. If you couldn’t make yourself watch it now, bust it out for Henry when he is about 10.
The sandlot is a classic movie that everyone should give a chance. I’d throw For Love of the Game out there as a good baseball movie.
I like “Mr. Baseball” with Tom Selleck. It speaks to me more as a foreigner living in Japan
than “Lost in Translation” did and Japan is basically just like that.
“Here, you are a ‘gaijin'”
“A ‘gaijin’?”
“It’s like being black in America only there are a lot fewer of us.”
Oh, forgot another one that I have seen but don’t own. “Mr. Rookie”
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0353761/
Hysterical if you get some of the inside jokes. Probably not so much if you
don’t get them (and there are a LOT of them.)
I’d say Sandlot has to be my favorite baseball movie, even though baseball isn’t what the movie’s about. I recently had my girlfriend watch it (I really couldn’t believe she’d never seen it) and she thought it was pretty good. And, as was mentioned before, James Earl Jones is great in everything.
The Natural is my favorite, Robert Redford and Glenn Close!
I hate baseball. It’s such a boring and slow and self-important game. Any sport where sitting in a line and waiting your turn is a part of the game is not a sport.
That said, I tend to like baseball movies. FoD was good, and The Sandlot is great for nostalgia (If I lost Denis Leary’s ball, I’d be afraid of him too) but I think Major league is my favorite.
Also, what about A League of Their Own? That’s up there.
Major league is great but I really enjoyed for love of the game so it’s a toss-up. I might just have to give it to major league since I was an extra in it lol.
How on Earth has nobody mentioned The Bad News Bears? Sure, I love The Sandlot and Field of Dreams as much as the next person, but BNB is one of the few movies that I HAVE to sit and watch when I find it on cable. Hilarious.
It’s maybe lost its edge over the years, but it’s still waaay better than Richard Linklater’s pointless remake.