A League of Their Own (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Love baseball? Love high stakes action? Love humor? Love heartwarming melodrama? Then 'A League of Their Own' (directed by Penny Marshall) has a little bit of everything in it for you. The era is the 1940's, and the setting is Oregon; where sisters Dottie & Kit (Geena Davis, Lori Petty) are offered the opportunity of a lifetime. With WWII taking away many of pro baseball's best male players, a new women's league is formed; and Dottie & Kit are invited (by David Strathairn) to try out. They make the same team, but when Dottie freaks out & becomes the heralded star of the entire league, Kit becomes agitated at being in her shadow. Holding the team together - barely - is washed-up player and horrid drunk, Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks).
His last chance at resurrecting a baseball career comes with managing the team of the 2 sisters, 'The Rockford Peaches'. Dottie's competitive spirit brings out the best in Jimmy, the team, AND the league. Women players become accepted. Camaraderie develops among the 'Peaches', including the charismatic Mae & Doris (Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell). The girls party hard, make lasting friendships, play ball, & make it to the Finals. But along the way, rivalries grow; most notably, btwn. Dottie & Kit. And the ramifications are such that familial bonds could be cut forever. Who'll win the championship? With American soldiers fighting in WWII, how will their death affect the female players (whose husbands are over there)? And will Dottie & Kit's sisterly relationship be salvageable?
Whether or not you love baseball is beside the point. And yet, the true-to-life baseball action scenes bring necessary drama & credibility to the proceedings. By combining vivid characters, well-timed humor, & the thrill of sport, Penny Marshall has created quite the engaging, heartwarming story.
The film also contains some fantastic stretches of dialogue, including a memorable zinger from Hanks' character: "There's no crying in baseball!". You could tell that Hanks had a ball playing Jimmy; and his charisma is infectious. Geena Davis is perfect as Dottie; sympathetic, compassionate, yet ballsy when she needs to be. Her poignant final scenes really got me. Lori Petty exhibits a lot of spunk as Kit, but it's endearing & not annoying (surprisingly). The actors who play Dottie's fellow teammates all bring nice character traits to their roles. The best of the rest include characters well-portrayed by Madonna & Rosie O'Donnell -- great humor there. Jon Lovitz is loveably hateful. And both Bill Pullman & David Strathairn bring a quiet calm, as well. As you can see: huge cast and, they're all swell.
You know, 'A League of Their Own' is one of the most flat-out ENJOYABLE films of the year. Penny Marshall believably captures the camaraderie btwn. these likeable, talented women. That's why this film is most successful. Now, I wouldn’t say there are any surprises in the screenplay or many groundbreaking directorial choices (maybe an underlying theme on feminism). And some may find the film to be too hokey or sentimental. To that I say, get a life {haha}. This story of the short-lived women's baseball league & the melodrama that ensued is just a pleasure to watch.
His last chance at resurrecting a baseball career comes with managing the team of the 2 sisters, 'The Rockford Peaches'. Dottie's competitive spirit brings out the best in Jimmy, the team, AND the league. Women players become accepted. Camaraderie develops among the 'Peaches', including the charismatic Mae & Doris (Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell). The girls party hard, make lasting friendships, play ball, & make it to the Finals. But along the way, rivalries grow; most notably, btwn. Dottie & Kit. And the ramifications are such that familial bonds could be cut forever. Who'll win the championship? With American soldiers fighting in WWII, how will their death affect the female players (whose husbands are over there)? And will Dottie & Kit's sisterly relationship be salvageable?
Whether or not you love baseball is beside the point. And yet, the true-to-life baseball action scenes bring necessary drama & credibility to the proceedings. By combining vivid characters, well-timed humor, & the thrill of sport, Penny Marshall has created quite the engaging, heartwarming story.
The film also contains some fantastic stretches of dialogue, including a memorable zinger from Hanks' character: "There's no crying in baseball!". You could tell that Hanks had a ball playing Jimmy; and his charisma is infectious. Geena Davis is perfect as Dottie; sympathetic, compassionate, yet ballsy when she needs to be. Her poignant final scenes really got me. Lori Petty exhibits a lot of spunk as Kit, but it's endearing & not annoying (surprisingly). The actors who play Dottie's fellow teammates all bring nice character traits to their roles. The best of the rest include characters well-portrayed by Madonna & Rosie O'Donnell -- great humor there. Jon Lovitz is loveably hateful. And both Bill Pullman & David Strathairn bring a quiet calm, as well. As you can see: huge cast and, they're all swell.
You know, 'A League of Their Own' is one of the most flat-out ENJOYABLE films of the year. Penny Marshall believably captures the camaraderie btwn. these likeable, talented women. That's why this film is most successful. Now, I wouldn’t say there are any surprises in the screenplay or many groundbreaking directorial choices (maybe an underlying theme on feminism). And some may find the film to be too hokey or sentimental. To that I say, get a life {haha}. This story of the short-lived women's baseball league & the melodrama that ensued is just a pleasure to watch.