At the Movies with Jerry Blevins

[A Boy Named Seo]

Our lovable LOOGY offers his 10 favorite baseball movies and gives Field of Dreams a beatdown on his way to some questionable inclusions and omissions, both. Whatever you think of FoD, it's way better than a couple of his toilet bowl choices, including Little Big League. I have to say, I've never seen his #1, but it scores some good rotten tomatoes so I'm gonna look for it tonight.

https://www.si.com/mlb/2018/03/02/field-dreams-bad-film

It’s not the best baseball movie. It’s not even Kevin Costner’s best baseball movie. Bull Durham and For Love of The Game are significantly better baseball movies. Heck, it’s not even James Earl Jones’s best baseball movie! The Sandlot and The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings are infinitely better than Field of Dreams.

Jerry Blevins, yall!

[Edgy MD]

For the Love of the Game is significantly bad.

It's a bad film. It's a baseball-y film that doesn't know anything about baseball.

Worse, it's a baseball-y film that doesn't know anything about baseball that thinks it knows about baseball. It's your cousin's aggressively obnoxious drunk husband at a wedding where the bar is free and he's going to milk that for all it's worth and talk some loud shit.

[Theoldmole]

Nice argument.

[Lefty Specialist]

It's incredibly sappy. But-

He beats the Yankees and shuts up their obnoxious fans.

Lots of Vin Scully.

[Edgy MD]

Steve Lyons is a tall price to pay, even for Vin Scully.

[G-Fafif]

There's an airport bartender at JFK in the movie who says she hates the MFYs. Would have taken one line of dialogue to make her a Mets fan. But they didn't bother. So for this, among many reasons, fuck For the Love of the Game.

Some nice songs on the soundtrack, though.

[HahnSolo]

Jerry’s list is totally invalidated by Bad News Bears only being #10.

[Edgy MD]

God, yes.

And he's probably thinking of the Billy Bob Thornton one.

[Vic Sage]

[u:35t3upzj]Blevins' list:[/u:35t3upzj]
1. Everybody Wants Some
2. The Sandlot
3. Major League
4. For Love of the Game
5. A League of Their Own
6. Bull Durham
7. Little Big League
8. Rookie of the Year
9. The Rookie
10. Bad News Bears

I haven't seen EVERYBODY WANTS SOME, but its a Linkater film, so maybe it's worth watching. But LOVE OF THE GAME? yeesh. that dog has fleas. and LITTLE BIG LEAGUE? ROOKIE OF THE YEAR? Man, he's got the taste of a 12 year old. No wonder he can't relate to FIELD OF DREAMS.

[u:35t3upzj]My top 10:[/u:35t3upzj]
Bull Durham
Field of dreams
The Natural
Moneyball
Bad news bears, the
A League of Their Own
Sandlot, the
Major league
Rookie, the
Eight Men Out

[u:35t3upzj]honorable mention:[/u:35t3upzj]
Bang the drum slowly
Damn Yankees
Pride of the Yankees
Bingo Long
Fever Pitch

[u:35t3upzj]Mets content:[/u:35t3upzj]
Game 6
Frequency

[Edgy MD]

Point of discussion: Game 6 and Frequency are both fine films. Are they baseball films?

Neither have baseball-playing protagonists or conflict that plays out on a diamond, but baseball, while mostly appearing within the film on TV screens, stands as metaphor or plot driver in a way that's greater than, say, The Odd Couple, but less than Field of Dreams.

Yet, without baseball, what are they? One is about the connection across time of fathers and sons and the other about being defined through your life and shaped in your character by the pain of victory denied.

I wasn't going this way when I started the post, but I think baseball itself is a character in both films, and therefore they indeed do qualify as baseball films.

[Guest cooby]

Bang the Drum Slowly

[Guest 41Forever]

Jerry is so wrong about Field of Dreams. It's my favorite movie ever.

Don't ask him to rank the Star Wars movies. If this is an indication, he'll have Jar Jar and Phantom Menace at the top.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I've seen many movies, but relatively few baseball movies. I wonder why that is? I've never even seen Major League.

Of Blevin's list, I've only seen A League of Their Own, Bull Durham, and Bad News Bears.

From Vic's list, I can add Field of Dreams, The Natural, Eight Men Out, and Pride of the Yankees.

Others that I've seen, that I can think of right now, are The Winning Team, Angels in the Outfield (1951), Fear Strikes Out, 42, and The Jackie Robinson Story.

Bull Durham is easily my favorite. Most of the others either didn't make much of an impression on me, or were just okay. But I'll give props to The Natural, Eight Men Out, and Pride of the Yankees.

Field of Dreams was a disappointment, because it wasn't nearly as good as the book that inspired it.

[bmfc1]

41Forever wrote: Jerry is so wrong about Field of Dreams. It's my favorite movie ever.

I agree. I love when "critics" mock the movie for not being realistic because Shoeless Joe Jackson bats righty instead of lefty. There are dead men who emerge from a cornfield to play baseball and that's what you're focused on for realism?

[HahnSolo]

He also wore shoes in the movie.

[Benjamin Grimm]

And his name was "Doug". They kept referring to him as "Shoeless Doug Jackson."

[MFS62]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Field of Dreams was a disappointment, because it wasn't nearly as good as the book that inspired it.

And I was afraid I'd be the only one here who didn't like it.
I never read the book, but didn't like the movie because I thought it was "hokey" and manipulative - pushing too hard for the tear-jerker effect.
I liked Bull Durham, Major League, Bad News Bears (the original), The Jackie Robinson Story(because Jackie starred in it, and I thought that was cool) and, yes, Pride of the Yankees. I would watch any of them again. The Natural was ok, but don't see myself watching it again.
The others? meh.

To me, the best sports movie ever was Hoosiers, but I think we've had that discussion before.

Later

[dgwphotography]

"It’s not the best baseball movie. It’s not even Kevin Costner’s best baseball movie. Bull Durham and For Love of The Game are significantly better baseball movies. Heck, it’s not even James Earl Jones’s best baseball movie! The Sandlot and The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings are infinitely better than Field of Dreams."

Yeah, I have to agree with him here. As for the rest of his list, Vic said it much better than I ever could.

My top 10:

Bull Durham
The Natural
Eight Men Out
A League of Their Own
The Bad News Bears
The Sandlot
Major League
Trouble With The Curve
The Rookie
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars

I just saw Trouble with the Curve a few weeks ago, and liked it much more than I thought I would.

[Centerfield]

Bull Durham is easily my favorite.

Mine too. I love every minute of that movie. In first place by a comfortable margin.

My list:

1. Bull Durham
2. Major League
3. A League of Their Own
4. Field of Dreams
5. The Natural
6. Bad News Bears

All the other movies either I haven't seen them or they didn't leave much of an impression on me. I know I've seen Moneyball, the movie where the kid can suddenly pitch, the movie where the kid inherits the team, and the one where Dennis Quaid plays the old guy. I also saw the douchefest Billy Crystal movie about Roger Maris.

[Edgy MD]

61*

I mostly liked it.

[Centerfield]

Point of discussion: Game 6 and Frequency are both fine films. Are they baseball films?

I haven't seen Game 6. I liked Frequency a lot. But I don't think it's a baseball film.

You know what else wasn't a baseball film? Stealing Home with Mark Harmon and Jodie Foster.

Hey, what are we doing tonight?

College GF: Let's stay in. I rented a video.

But you always pick crappy movies

Don't worry. This one's about baseball. A minor leaguer. Like that movie you like.

Bull Durham?

Yeah, it's supposed to be like that. You'll like it.

[Edgy MD]

Game 6 is amazing in that it was an indy film starring then on-the-outs Michael Keaton. It got overlooked as most such films do.

Nine years later, Komeback Keaton stars in the Oscar-darling Birdman, which seemingly lifted a lot of its elements right out of Game 6. Maybe it was mostly coincidental. I like Game 6 more, though.

[Guest 41Forever]

Edgy MD wrote: 61* I mostly liked it.

I thought it was good. And it was filmed partially in Michigan. We have a farewell party recently for our film and digital media staffer and a 61* poster was one of the decorations.

I liked Fever Pitch, too. Didn't care much for Love of the Game, but it had its moments.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I feel like Barry Pepper in 61* was the first time I ever saw Brandon Nimmo.

[Vic Sage]

[u:1geyubyr]Rotten Tomatoes top 10:[/u:1geyubyr]
Bull Durham
Moneyball
Bad News Bears
Pride of the Yankees
Sugar
Field of Dreams
Bang the Drum Slowly
8 Men Out
The Rookie
42

[u:1geyubyr]just missing the cut:[/u:1geyubyr]
Major League
Fear Strikes Out
The Natural
League of their Own
Fever Pitch
Cobb
Off the Black
Game 6

[u:1geyubyr]In the top 25, but not "fresh":[/u:1geyubyr]
Sandlot
Perfect Game
Mr. 3000
Trouble with the Curve

[Benjamin Grimm]

Oh, I forgot about Cobb.

That was a dreadful movie.

[Vic Sage]

[u:37i2z06p]IMDB top 10:[/u:37i2z06p]
Moneyball
42
Field of Dreams
Natural
Bad News Bears
8 Men Out
League of their Own
Major League
Sugar
Bull Durham

[u:37i2z06p]honorable mentions:[/u:37i2z06p]
Sandlot
Pride of the Yankees
Everybody Wants Some
The Rookie

Edited March 6, 2018 by Guest

[Vic Sage]

has anyone seen SUGAR?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

documentary about DR baseball? Or was that Sugar Kings?

We watched Mr. Baseball not long ago. As bad as most baseball movies are, but not a whole lot worse. Could have been much better. The director was an Australian who knew nothing about baseball.

[Edgy MD]

Mr. Baseball is part of a larger question: How did Tom Selleck end up in so many turkeys?