Reel Matt
This blog started as my movie marathon — watching a movie a day for a whole year — and has continued as a place for me to write reviews about movies, TV, and various other items.
This is still a work in progress as I migrate from my old platform at Tumblr. For now, you can still access the whole backlog of posts there at http://reelmatt.tumblr.com
A League of Their Own
Film #99
THE PLOT
Two sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amidst their own growing rivalry.
Year 1, Day 98
BEFORE: We’re about a week into October and that means it’s time for baseball playoffs to begin. I won’t mention my disappointment at a horrendous performance this year by a certain team but instead focus on the wonderful sport that is baseball. To celebrate the beginning of the playoffs, I will be starting a six-film baseball chain with tonight’s A League of Their Own.
Let’s play ball!
AFTER: A League of Their Own is a decent entry into the baseball genre. It excels in the characters but it’s lacking in the story.
This film looks different on the outside from other baseball films in that it centers around an all-female team, something you don’t see much of. On the inside however, the basic story is similar to that of other baseball films; a rag-tag group of people bands together to try and win against all odds. Obviously there are differences, some major differences, but that is the heart of A League of Their Own. It’s not the most original idea and it doesn’t stand out from all the other fare available but it also wasn’t poorly done.
A big positive of this film is the characters. Just from watching them on the screen, I know I would want Doris Murphy (Rosie O’Donnell) on my team and have a, sober, Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) as my manager. Both O’Donnell and Hanks, while they have supporting roles, stood out as leaders of the team at various points throughout the film. There is some very funny dialogue and famous dialogue as well. Hanks’ “There’s no crying in baseball” was rated 54th on the AFI’s 100 Movie Quotes list.
A League of Their Own is an average film. Some good, some bad. I’ve only seen a handful of baseball films before this (see: Moneyball, Little Big League) so I can’t really compare it. Hopefully by the end of this chain I have a better grasp on the baseball genre and can make better conclusions.
RATING: 3 out of 5