Category Archives: Movie review

Dec 28

A League of Their Own

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Here you go, girls: a baseball film just for you, one that doesn’t rely on romance or fanaticism, but puts women in the heart of the sport.
With players like Bob Feller and Joe DiMaggio vacating the ballparks for the battlefields, baseball looked to women to hold down the home front. Two sisters, Dottie and Kit Keller, are recruited from their lifestyle of milking cows to hitting balls for the Rockford Peaches, one of four teams in the new All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
I have to admit, it’s refreshing to see a baseball film sans Kevin Costner. And there are plenty of stars to choose from here, including Tom Hanks, Rosie O’Donnell, and Madonna. Even so, this movie is more than a celebrity showcase. It takes viewers back to the “golden age” of baseball, a time before steroids and money-making schemes and million dollar salaries. More importantly, it explores the unraveling of individual rivalries and underhanded motives, and reexamines that age-old belief that girls just don’t belong in baseball.
In other words, A League of Their Own is a true baseball classic, one that knows how to tug on heartstrings and stir up a sense of camaraderie with each refrain of “The AAGPBL Song.” But before you whip out the hankies, remember Jimmy Dean’s timeless advice: “There is no crying in baseball!”
Dec 23

Field of Dreams

“If you build it, he will come,” the ethereal voice whispered to bedraggled corn farmer Kevin Costner. “He will come,” my mom repeated, not looking up from her iPad. “He will come,” my dad echoed over a bowl of caramel popcorn. This offseason, I’m doing my best to stay baseball-minded. My family is trying to help, so they’ve filled the Netflix queue with baseball movies, from Eight Men Out to The Rookie. That makes tonight Baseball Movie Night at my house–an event rarer than the occasional ballgame on TV, believe it or not.

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A heralded classic, Field of Dreams follows Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), who hears the voice of ages past and builds a baseball field in the middle of his crops, hoping to draw Shoeless Joe Jackson to the field. He ends up drawing a lot more than the infamous player, who was suspended from MLB in 1919 as part of the Black Sox Scandal. A character in itself, the voice draws Ray through both the midwest states and the history of great baseball players.
I have to admit, about half of my motivation to watch this film was to see if I’d fall into the pool of viewers and baseball fans who openly weep during the movie’s more emotional moments. I didn’t. This could be because my family, cynical movie buffs that they are, openly scoffed at the touching final scenes. Then again, perhaps it’s geared more towards long-time fans, or, you know, men (especially with that whole father and son thing).
All in all, it’s a great movie that reinforces the American values we all hold so dear: a love of family, affinity for baseball, and pursuit of impossible dreams. If you consider yourself a baseball fan and still haven’t seen this film, rent it immediately. If you’re well acquainted with it by now, maybe it’s time you picked up that ball and glove and started a game of catch with your own dad.
Dec 14

For Love of the Game

190882.1020.A.jpegYes, the offseason has finally driven me into the arms of classic baseball films. Tonight, it was AMC’s showing of For Love of the Game with Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston. I have to admit, when it comes to baseball movies, I always assume they’ll be geared towards male viewers. After all, men play the game, and for the most part, support the teams who play it. But For Love of the Game isn’t just a love story between a man and his sport.

Rather, it combines what men love most–playing baseball–with what women love most–romance. Kevin Costner is Billy Chapel, a fictional hero of the Detroit Tigers, and an ace of a pitcher that is losing his magic touch. On the cusp of a trade from Detroit to San Francisco, Chapel pitches his last game against the Yankees to spoil their anticipated pennant win over the Red Sox.
When he’s not facing New York’s spry, young hitters, Billy is courting his less-than-baseball-obsessed girlfriend, Jane Aubrey. Jane, played by Kelly Preston, is an intelligent, put-together businesswoman who seems to have life figured out. Through a series of flashbacks, Billy spends his downtime during the game mulling over the course of their relationship, recalling the various ways baseball–okay, and his character flaws–pushed the two lovers apart.
As far as the ratio of baseball to romance goes, this film weighed more towards the latter. Most of the flashbacks center around Preston and Costner’s rendezvous as he visits during away games or in the offseason months. However, the parts that struck me the most were of Chapel’s struggle to hold onto a sport he loves, even as he battles a hand injury, weak arm, and the negativity of those who doubt his pitching ability. It made me think about my favorite pitchers right now, like Lincecum and Hernandez, and where they’d end up in 10 years or so.
Speaking of the love of the game, the Phillies picked up Cliff Lee today for 5 years at $100M. While this was surprising after the incessant pursuit by both Texas and New York, I have the feeling Lee made the right decision. Sure, it would have been nice to see him stick with the team he enjoyed the World Series ride with, and I’m positive a lot of Yankees fans are just a tad disappointed not to see him in blue pinstripes next season. In the end, though, Lee chose a team he loved playing for and, if all the news reports are true, wants to be a part of for years to come. In an age where players switch teams without batting an eye and money talks louder than loyalties, this is a refreshing and welcome change. (However, this doesn’t mean I’m okay with former Giants players wanting to play for L.A. Just saying).
So what’s next on the list of holiday sports films? I’m thinking Field of Dreams, reportedly the only movie that makes men cry. That alone is enough to pique my interest in a film, even if it’s a little weird.