| Overall Grade: |
B+ |
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| Story: |
B |
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| Acting: |
A |
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| Direction: |
A- |
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| Visuals: |
B |
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"Well, bite my butt and call me an apple."
by Ryan (movies profile)
Jul 2, 2005
2
of
2 people found this review helpful
A League of Their Own pulls one of the rare feats. It's a movie about women, but since it's a baseball movie, men will enjoy it too. A humorous look at a woman's professional baseball league during World War II, A League of Their Own follows the lives of Dottie (Geena Davis) and her kid sister Kit (Lori Petty) as they try out for and make the Rockford Peaches, one of the four teams in the league just for women. While some of the names have been changed to protect the innocent, the movie tells the mostly-true story of the league's first year. Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell play fellow Peaches, adding a sassy duo that helps bring smiles to the scenes that they are in. But it's Tom Hanks who steals the show. He plays Jimmy Dugan, a former home run king who cannot get a Major League managerial job because of his obsession with drinking. There was not really a baseball player named Jimmy Dugan, but most believe the character is based on former Philadelphia Athletic power hitter, Jimmy Foxx. Hanks plays his character over the top, over asleep drunk in the dugout. He utters the most famous line of the movie, "There is no crying in baseball" to one of his players who just committed an error. He also holds the record for longest on-camera urination in the history of cinema. But Tom Hanks comedic performance could have been overshadowed if Jon Lovitz had been in just one more scene. Lovitz plays a scout looking for talent across America, while playing a variation of "The Liar" he perfected on SNL at the same time. Penny Marshall, who directed this film, makes sure to keep the pace even, with both baseball scenes and scenes with just the girls. My favorite non-baseball scene involves the girls at charm school trying to sip tea the right way. The movie does follow the usual sports-movies clichés, but you know what? I had a good time anyway. The movie isn't about the team on the field, but rather the way the girls bonded as a team. There is one heartbreaking scene where one of the girls finds out here husband died in the war. But that scene is equaled with Tom Hanks driving the team bus after waking up to a rude surprise. |
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