A-List: Baseball Movies
By Josh Spiegel
June 11, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Of course, for the other ten months of the year, when baseball is either vying for attention with other sports like basketball or football, or when it's simply not being played, I can always comfort myself with some of the great baseball movies. America's national pastime has managed to provide hours of entertainment on television - as with the famous 1990s PBS miniseries documentary Baseball - and the movies. Directors as varied as Barry Levinson, John Sayles, and even Sam Raimi have found inspiration with this centuries-old sport (though the film from the latter director, For Love Of The Game, won't be showing up on this list).
Even more, though the sport and the films surrounding it are usually dominated by men, one of the very best baseball movies is not only about a ragtag league full of women, but was also directed by a woman, a sadly rare feat indeed. Though the sport of baseball has been tarnished recently due to the shameful steroid scandal, new and old movies about baseball can live on despite the dark realities going on around us. As a few of the movies on this list prove, there's something truly nostalgic about baseball, something deeper than a childhood memory; baseball is so inherently American, moreso than football or basketball, because it harkens back to a time that's not so much forgotten as created. Baseball is a symbol of a time that may have only lived in fantasy, but the movies that can evoke that symbolism often succeed best. Not all of the movies on this list are so fond in their remembrances, but the majority do fall under that category. So, let's get to this week's A-List.
Field of Dreams
When talking about baseball movies, not mentioning 1989's Field of Dreams amounts to heresy. The film's star, Kevin Costner, has often been associated with baseball movies; though 1987's Bull Durham is another classic baseball movie, this one is by far the best Costner ever did. Of course, I'd be willing to go so far as saying that Field of Dreams is the best baseball movie ever. Okay, it may not be the wildest statement you've seen in one of these A-Lists, but it's important to give credit where it's due. Based on a novel by W.P. Kinsella, Field of Dreams is about a normal guy, Ray. One day, while on his farm, he hears a voice tell him "If you build it, he will come." Now, Ray is appropriately freaked out, but eventually assumes rightly that "it" is a baseball field.
Once Ray builds the old-style diamond, he finds out that "he" is the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta, as un-creepy as ever), the Chicago White Sox player who participated in a scandal to fix the 1919 World Series. Shoeless Joe gets another chance to play baseball thanks to Ray's field and some magical cornfields. Things snowball after this, as Ray ends up meeting one of his literary idols (James Earl Jones), other ghostly baseball legends and even his father, in the most memorable game of catch ever. By the way, some men may not admit it, but if you don't even consider letting a few tears fly in that last scene, fellas, you may have a heart of stone. For Costner's performance, the magic that writer-director Phil Alden Robinson so perfectly captures, and...well, everything about this movie, Field of Dreams is a classic. If you haven't seen this movie for any reason (such as not liking the sport of baseball), go to Netflix and add it to your queue.
Eight Men Out
If our first film presented Shoeless Joe Jackson as an enigmatic but charismatic baseball player, the late-1980s drama Eight Men Out is the film to present Jackson as something a little less desirable and heroic. That scandal Jackson was part of in 1919, known as the Black Sox scandal, is the subject of this film from indie director John Sayles (who appears in the film as journalist Ring Lardner). Featuring a wide cast of character actors, such as D.B. Sweeney, John Mahoney, David Strathairn, Michael Rooker, Bill Irwin, and two up-and-comers, Charlie Sheen and John Cusack, Eight Men Out is a fascinating look at the dark side of America's pastime.
It may not seem so dark in these times full of players like Manny Ramirez and Barry Bonds being completely tainted by the steroid scandal, but Eight Men Out stills makes for compelling drama. As in films such as The Natural, we see characters coerced into the evils of temptation; this time, though, the temptations were real and the fallout was enormous. Jackson and the seven other players on the White Sox, who decided to help rig the World Series, were banned from baseball for the rest of their lives (hence the poignancy of seeing Jackson on a baseball field in Field of Dreams). Some knew what they were doing, but Jackson in particular is portrayed as a bit of a lovable oaf, a guy who didn't figure out what trouble he was in until it was too late. Though Eight Men Out isn't usually thought of as one of the great baseball movies, its fine performances and stylish direction help it stand out from the crowd.
A League of Their Own
"There's no crying in baseball!" It's one of the most memorable lines from an American movie, delivered beautifully by Tom Hanks, in one of his funniest performances. Moreover, that line and performance come from a mostly great (I'll get to the exception in a second) baseball movie, 1992's comedy A League of Their Own. Based on the true story of how, during World War II, an all-women's national baseball league was started up while the men were off fighting, this movie focuses on two sisters (Geena Davis and Lori Petty) who wind up becoming two of the new league's biggest stars.
The cast also includes Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell, Jon Lovitz, David Strathairn, and Bill Pullman. Of course, there's also Hanks, as ex-ballplayer Jimmie Dugan (based on real-life player Jimmy Foxx), who manages the Rockford Peaches, the team the sisters play for. As a consistently drunk, initially uncaring oaf, Dugan is immediately likable, simply because his bark is definitely worse than his bite. Hanks is great here, whether it's berating one of the Rockford Peaches for welling up, mistaking a chaperone for the Wicked Witch of the West, or sobering up to become a better manager. My only problem with A League of Their Own is the completely fake-seeming subplot of sibling rivalry. I can't say it's just Petty's performance that turns me off her younger sister, but the scenes that feature her are the least memorable, partly because of her naturally shrill demeanor. Despite this flaw, A League of Their Own is an all-time classic comedy, with or without that iconic one-liner.
Rookie Of The Year
Okay, despite the fact that this film is completely lacking in nostalgia for a bygone time, I can't help but place this one on the A-List. Chalk this one up to childhood nostalgia, or even to my completely immature mind. Can you honestly say that hearing the non sequitur "Funky butt-loving" doesn't even make you smile? Sure, it has nothing specifically to do with baseball, but any movie where a doctor says this after being whacked in the face can't be bad. This 1993 comedy is a kid's dream come true: what would it be like to start for a Major League Baseball team? Thomas Ian Nicholas is Henry Rowengartner (a frequent running gag is how often his last name is mispronounced), a kid who loves his mom, his buddies, and the Chicago Cubs.
After a mishap with a baseball, Henry breaks his arm, but once it heals, he finds that he has the power to throw a baseball faster than the best professional pitcher. Despite the shock, the Cubs, who are having some serious trouble, decide to make Henry one of their starters. Of course, the plot is completely outlandish, but what kid wouldn't want to be a starting pitcher for their favorite team? Part of the reason that Rookie Of The Year still works so well is the humor from great actors such as John Candy, Daniel Stern (who also directed the film) and even Gary Busey...yes, Gary Busey, who not only plays Henry's mentor, but a romantic interest for the kid's mother! OK, now that you've got that image in your mind, I'll just say that Rookie of the Year is far better than most other kiddie baseball movies, simply because it was made with a fervent love for the game.
The Bad News Bears
There was once a time, way back in the 1970s, when all that Jackie Earle Haley was known for was his big role in the foulmouthed comedy The Bad News Bears, about a real underdog team lead by a grumpy coach who hates kids. Sure, this one is all about kids, but I can't really call this one a kiddie movie, as it's a little more blue than Rookie of the Year. Haley isn't the lead, but one of the underdog players. The great Walter Matthau, as Morris Buttermaker, an ex-baseball player who coaches a local Little League team that pretty much sucks. Buttermaker brings on two new recruits (Tatum O'Neal and Haley) who help the team turn things around and go all the way to the championship.
Despite falling into the sports-movie tropes, The Bad News Bears is most memorable because the characters are frequently as unsportsmanslike as you can get, from its alcoholic coach to the troublesome players. The movie was remade in 2005, and many sequels followed its success in 1976, but none matched up to the original. Matthau has rarely been better, except his byplay with frequent co-star Jack Lemmon; the baseball may not be so nostalgic, but The Bad News Bears is still a great baseball movie.