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AMERICA'S HEARTLAND — Spring is upon us once again, and with spring comes the beginning of the baseball season. With the Salt Lake Bees kicking off their 2014 campaign at home on April 3, here are four family-friendly baseball movies to get you ready for the return of America’s favorite pastime.
What it’s about:
Scotty Smalls is an extremely smart, shy kid without friends in his new neighborhood. Seeing his loneliness, Scotty’s mom encourages him to try to make friends by playing baseball with the neighborhood kids at the local “sandlot.” Scotty’s first attempt at playing is disastrous as he makes a fool of himself in the outfield. Fortunately for him, the best player and leader of the group, Benny Rodriguez, befriends him and teaches him how to play.
Later in the film, when the sandlot gang runs out of baseballs to play with, Scotty remembers the ball in his stepfather’s office that happens to be signed by Babe Ruth (whom Scotty knows nothing about). While playing, Scotty hits the ball over the fence into the yard behind the sandlot where a gigantic dog (nicknamed “The Beast” by the other kids) resides. When his friends realize the ball is signed by Babe Ruth, they band together and frantically engage in crazy schemes to try to recover the ball from the grasps of The Beast.
Why your family should watch it:
“The Sandlot” is fun for all ages. The story is narrated by an adult version of Scotty but told through the eyes of a child. Being told through a child’s perspective brings a sweet innocence to the action and makes the film relatable to all of its audience. Also, boys and men, in particular, can relate to one of the characters, Michael "Squints"' Palledorous, and his infatuation with the beautiful older lifeguard at the local pool. “The Sandlot” is chock-full of laughs, sentimentality and nostalgia for a simpler time when kids could be kids. The film is mostly family-friendly, though it does have some language and a scene where the kids use chewing tobacco — though they quickly learn their lesson to not do so again. OK.com agrees with the film’s PG rating.
Memorable line:
“You play ball like a girl!” — Hamilton “Ham” Porter
A League of their Own (1992) PG
What it’s about:
Speaking of playing ball like a girl, “A League of their Own” is a historical fiction movie about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. In the film, Major League Baseball owners are concerned about how to continue generating interest (more importantly money) from baseball while so many of the league’s stars are serving in World War II.
Desperate to keep baseball relevant and active, Chicago Cubs owner Walter Harvey decides to create a professional baseball league for women and starts hosting tryouts across the United States in search of quality female ballplayers. The film chronicles the conception of the league and follows one team, the Rockford Peaches, from the beginning of their season all the way to their World Series appearance. Particular attention is paid to two sisters from Oregon, played by Geena Davis and Lori Petty, and their tumultuous relationship. The film also chronicles the change of ex-baseball star and drunkard manager Jimmy Dugan, played by Tom Hanks.
Why your family should watch it:
While the baseball in the movie is well choreographed and believable, “A League of their Own” is much more than just a sports movie. The movie has important messages about the importance of relationships, redemption and dispelling of sexist attitudes.
The film is not all serious, however, as Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz both provide hysterical moments throughout the movie. Parents should be warned, however, that some of this humor is crass and Madonna’s character enthusiastically flaunts her loose morals in numerous scenes.
Memorable line:
“There’s no crying in baseball!” — Tom Hanks as Jimmy Dugan
What it’s about:
In “The Natural,” Robert Redford stars as the fictional Roy Hobbs, a wonderfully talented but egotistical young baseball player who forsakes his family and sweetheart (Glenn Close) in order to prove he is the best player alive. His prowess on the baseball diamond soon draws the attention of fans and writers alike. However, his brashness and selfishness quickly become his downfall, when he is seriously wounded by a mysterious seductress. After the injury, Hobbs is immediately forgotten about and written off by all in the baseball world.
After many years of maturation, Hobbs is finally given a chance to play in the big leagues for the New York Knights where he quickly becomes a major star. With his newfound success and fame come many temptations and ample opportunity to regress into the man he used to be. Will Hobbs continue his path to redemption? Will he overcome all odds and become the best ballplayer alive?
Why your family should watch it:
“The Natural” was nominated for four Academy Awards in 1984, including a nod for its iconic musical selection. Not only is the film well-made and the baseball beautifully captured, there are great messages involved in the film with an overall theme of redemption (though, ironically, the novel the film is based off of has a message quite contradictory to the theatrical production). Parents should take note, however, that while the movie received a PG rating, the film would probably be hit with a PG-13 rating now. OK.com says the film is appropriate for kids 12 and up.
Memorable scene:
With the film’s famous theme song playing, Hobbs hits a towering home run that shatters a gigantic clock as a play on baseball being literally and figuratively timeless.
What it’s about:
Kevin Costner stars as Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer and avid baseball fan who hears a voice that repeatedly tells him “if you build it, he will come.” After hearing the voice, Kinsella has a sort of vision where he is prompted to build a baseball park in his cornfield. Despite people asserting that he is crazy, he builds the park anyway and not long after a disembodied Joe Jackson (Kinsella’s father’s favorite player) comes to play on the field. Jackson informs Kinsella that other deceased players want to come and play, as well, and soon full games are being held in the former cornfield.
Despite feeling that he had completed his task by giving the suspended-for-life Jackson another chance to play baseball, the dreams do not stop coming to Kinsella. First, he is prompted to find an old, retired writer (played by James Earl Jones) and then seek out an older man who never got to hit in his very brief professional baseball career. Kinsella brings the two back to his home in Iowa to fulfill some unrealized dreams. At the movie’s climax, Kinsella finds out that there are two more very important people in his life whom the park will heal in a scene that has left many grown men in tears.
Why your family should watch it:
“Field of Dreams” is one of the most classic sports movies of all time. While the film is in many ways a love ballad to the game by Kevin Costner, there are themes and messages for everyone in the family. Throughout the movie, baseball is often a conduit to fulfill dreams, soften hearts, help mend relationships and bring families closer together.
Memorable line: “
People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh … people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.” James Earl Jones as Terence Mann Dylan Cannon is a regular KSL.com and OK.com contributor, film enthusiast and avid baseball fan. He can be reached at dylancannon86@gmail.com or via his Twitter account @DylanCannon11.
