With baseball being around as long as it has been, it’s picked up its share of traits. From the seventh inning stretch to hot dogs and peanuts, baseball has created an atmosphere that feels like its own small world. The ballplayers’ quirks, though, is another story entirely. All the superstitions, rivalries and the unique personalities of some players give the baseball that extra little magic to make it the great sport that it is. A movie like Major League goes beyond the traditional baseball story and delves into these little intricacies gives fans of the genre a little breath of fresh air, and makes you wonder why more sport films don’t follow its example.
Written and directed by David S. Ward, Major League follows the Cleveland Indians, a Major League Baseball team that is short on fans, money and talent. The team gets a new owner who is dead set on putting together a team so bad that attendance will drop low enough for her to move the team to Miami. This opens the door for the cast of talented misfits. On first look they appear to have no business being in the majors. “Jake Taylor,” played perfectly by Tom Berenger, a former all star catcher who has seen better days, becomes the de facto leader over the newer and younger members. This includes pitcher “‘Wild Thing’ Rick Vaughn,” played by a pre -Tiger Blood Charlie Sheen, fast talking Wesley Snipes as centerfielder “Willie ‘Mays’ Hayes,” and voice of Allstate Dennis Haysbert as voodoo enthusiast “Pedro Cerrano.” In typical sports movie fashion, the players start as a bunch of losing parts before coming together to make a winning team.
The characters are what make the movie great, from the leads all the way to “Harry Doyle,” the Indian’s play-by-play announcer. In reality Doyle is Bob Uecker, an actual announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers, which makes it all the more impressive when he’s constantly stealing every scene and nailing the film’s best lines. James Gammon’s “Lou Brown” also puts up a solid case for best coach in the whole sports genre. Unfortunately not all characters are as well rounded, especially when it comes to the women. Phelps is a great villain but extremely one-dimensional, and Rene Russo plays Jake Taylor’s girlfriend in a romantic subplot that’s probably better forgotten.
This movie is hilarious and radiates fun. Even if you’re not a fan of baseball it’s hard not to at least smile at the great dialogue and the ineptitude of the team. Then it becomes impossible to not get swept up in the excitement as they turn it around. Take the time to appreciate this classic while it’s on Netflix.
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