H. Bala 2008-04-29
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
I love this movie, I really do. MAJOR LEAGUE, to me, hasn't lost an iota of its watchability factor. The uproarious humor, sometimes verrrry salty, still cracks me up. The underdog theme still gets me cheering wildly. Its unexpected moments of poignancy, still heartfelt. The big game at the end, still ridiculously stirring. In terms of its place in my personal hierarchy of baseball flicks, this one ranks right up there with The Natural (Director's Cut), Bull Durham (20th Anniversary Edition), The Pride of the Yankees (Collector's Edition), A League of Their Own (Special Edition) and Field of Dreams (Widescreen Two-Disc Anniversary Edition). Add in a low key but engaging romance, and MAJOR LEAGUE then boasts all the ingredients to be a pretty darn generous picture - if you're looking for laughs and love and baseball.
So the plot, in brief, centers around the hapless Cleveland Indians, who haven't won the pennant in over 30 years. This season, the team is intentionally jampacked with a ragtag bunch of losers and headcases and newbies. The film tracks an unlikely season in Cleveland's history, as somehow the Indians climb out of the cellar and ultimately vie for the pennant. This, despite the duplicity of the newly widowed, ex-showgirl team owner, who schemes to relocate her team to Miami. She's not a nice lady.
Absolutely, it's a predictable story, and the feel-good ending not much of a shock. But, man, just the sheer entertainment value oozing from this film! Factor in the excellent script, and take into account the really terrific cast. Starting with Tom Berenger, who keeps everything grounded with his broken-down character, who longs for one more day in the sun and who manages to keep his unruly crew together. Trickle down to Charlie Sheen's deadpanned juvenile delinquent pitcher (I think this was his first major comedic role), James Gammon's maverick, raspy-voiced manager, and Margaret Whitton's devilishly wicked (and sexy) Cleveland Indians owner. Rene Russo makes her debut here, after being a highly sought after supermodel. And, while she doesn't have too many scenes, she proves to be very memorable. Wesley Snipes (startlingly hilarious) and Dennis Haysbert were little known back then, and it's hard to recognize them as, respectively, the speedy showboat Willie Mays Hayes and the bald, voodoo-worshipping Pedro Cerrano. And then there's Bob Uecker, who is simply classic as the boozing Cleveland Indians broadcaster Harry Doyle. And how many of his lines can you quote? Does "JUST a bit outside!" ring a bell? Enough ESPN anchorfolks have used it...
MAJOR LEAGUE, coming out in 1989, does a great job of capturing the essence of life in the big leagues and depicting behind-the-scenes stuff in the clubhouse, and that rough-and-tumble camaredie which bonds a team together. No, it's not as perceptive or wise as, say, BULL DURHAM, but it has its moments. Not much in the way of soul-searching here, no. Instead, MAJOR LEAGUE has a simpler mission, which is to make you snort with laughter (although BULL DURHAM also does this effectively). The soundtrack rocks, by the way. Randy Newman's "Burn On" nicely opens the movie and is an ode to a long-suffering city of Cleveland. Then there's that one great slow song (don't know the name or singer) which seranades Jake and Lynn up to her loft apartment. And X's "Wild Thing" provides the chills up your spine as Rick Vaughn at last comes to the mound for his big showdown with Yankees power hitter Clue Haywood. In fact, MAJOR LEAGUE has been instrumental in introducing the trend of closers entering the field to some dramatic music.
So this dvd is the Wild Thing Edition and contains a pretty nifty set of bonus features, most of which are worth checking out: an informative audio commentary by the producer and the writer/director; "My Kinda Team" - the 23-minute-long Making Of segment (where, sadly, you can see how much Berenger has let himself go); A Major League Look At MAJOR LEAGUE - members of the real Cleveland Indians team talk about the film; Bob Uecker: Just A Bit Outside - a spotlight on Bob Uecker; an alternate ending with an introduction by the film producer - this scene purports that the owner Rachel Phelps actually had the team's best interests at heart; A Tour of Cerrano's Locker (dull); and a long-winded photo gallery.
Let's see, off the top of my head: the Wild Thing's birth control glasses; Jobu the voodoo god (created for this movie); duct-taping the plane; "Hats for bats."; "How's your wife and my kids"; and, of course, "JUST a bit outside!" Just some of the stuff which cracked me up so much (and still do). And that's not even mentioning the riveting final game. Anyway, MAJOR LEAGUE proved to be popular enough to spawn two sequels, Major League 2 and Major League 3: Back to the Minors. The first sequel is pretty good, the other one is a tosser.
Underdog films just don't get old. And if it's a sports underdog story, then all the better. MAJOR LEAGUE is raucous and off-the-wall and goofy and funny as hell. Ultimately, it's a feel-good movie that hits all the right notes. The characters are earthy and winning, for a bunch of sad sacks. Since this movie came out, the Cleveland Indians have fared much better in real life, even getting to the World Series in 1995 and 1997. Not bad for reality.
But give me the movie every time.
