A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN: 25th Anniversary Blu-ray (Columbia 1992) Sony Home Entertainment
Penny
Marshall’s A League of Their Own was
a film I really didn’t want to see in 1992. Back then, I was not particularly
interested in ‘sports movies’; of a
preconceived notion one had to be intimately acquainted with the sport being
extolled to sufficiently be entertained by the experience of seeing it depicted
in a movie. So a flick about all-girl’s professional baseball was way down on my list of ‘must see’ movies. That attitude, I now
realize, was genuinely misguided. In fact, A
League of Their Own is primarily responsible for a complete renaissance of
that opinion, inspiring me to investigate other ‘baseball-themed’ sports movies
like Pride of the Yankees (1942) and
Field of Dreams (1992). Both have
since become cherished additions to my movie-going experience, along with The Natural (1984), to say nothing of
the countless other sports movies I have since come to know and love. That
admiration has only continued to exponentially grow over the years. Reflecting
on my ignorance then, I think part of my problem was that, like many, I had
never heard of the All-American Girl’s Professional Baseball League. I mean, it
was never even glossed over in any of my history classes, not even by some of
my more outspoken feminist professors in university – and there were more than
a handful of those preaching the anti-patriarchy gospel back then. So, the
complete absence of any sort of acknowledgement for this watershed chapter in
American sports history was something I really could not figure out – or forgive.
Truth told,
the reason I fell in love with A League
of Their Own the first time had absolutely nothing to do with extrapolating
any such feminist interpretation of the movie. As is the case for me now, back then
I worshiped movies for the stories they told. Tell me a good story and you
have me hooked from main title to end credits. And A League of Their Own proved to be an exceptionally good story
indeed, set during WWII; an epoch reflected upon ad nauseam in movies devoted
to some harrowing heroism abroad but, and with very few exceptions, left a
complete mystery about life on the home front (see also, 1943’s The Human Comedy and Selznick’s Since You Went Away, 1944, as
exemplars). In hindsight, the other aspect of A League of Their Own to leave a warm soft spot in my heart (or
perhaps, head) was its central character, Dottie Hinson (superbly played by Geena
Davis as the young ‘dirt in the skirt’
scrapper/war bride; Lynn Cartwright as the sage grandmother with continued
feistiness, even as her own dreams to play pro ball were sacrificed in order to
preserve the integrity of her marriage and heal the competitive wounds of an
oft-strained relationship with her younger sister, Kit Keller (the great and
sadly underrated Lori Petty for the flashbacks; Kathleen Butler briefly seen in
the emeritus years). We really must admire director, Penny Marshall for her
daring to eschew the tried-and-true ‘aged’ makeup route, forcing youthful
actors to interpret (often badly) what the ravages of time can do to a taut
bod. And while lots of movies before and since A League of Their Own have cast two people to play one part, dividing
the acting duties between youth playing young and the elderly being themselves,
I do not think I have ever seen it done more convincingly than in this movie. I
had to blink twice to assure myself Lynn Cartwright was not Geena Davis in the future; her looks, behavior and diction
uncannily on point and alike.
In the years
since A League of Their Own’s general
release I have done a fair amount of reading on women’s baseball during the war
and can more fully appreciate the exceptional level of verisimilitude achieved
in Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel’s screenplay (cribbing from a story idea by
Kim Wilson and Kelly Candaele); itself an engrossing fictionalized ensemble
piece with poignant, true-to-life reflections to touch upon not only the
emotional strength of these trail-blazing ladies, but also with an astute, subtle
social commentary on the sexual/racial politics of these more conservative
times. It really is a tightrope walk. A
League of Their Own neither preaches to the choir nor ever becomes
heavy-handed in its desire to teach the rest of us ‘a life lesson’. Personally, I have grown exceptionally weary of
today’s Hollywood beating to death a good yarn with their liberalized mantras
front and center, indoctrinating instead of entertaining the audience. But A League of Their Own makes its points and
it does so under the radar. That’s grand. Better still, Bill Groom’s production
design and Tim Galvin’s art direction (ably abetted by Miroslav Ondrícek’s cinematography)
get the ‘period look’ of the piece just right. A League of Their Own has the yellowed gravitas of a vintage
Kodachrome memory excised from those war years, but with a decidedly fresh
sense of humor about itself; decidedly, not like a movie desperately trying to
convince us of its authenticity. And lest we forget that it takes more than
vintage accoutrements neatly rearranged within the frame to give meaning, depth
and purpose to the time frame. Yet from beginning to end, what’s here has that ‘lived
in’ appeal of your grandmother’s favorite memory; very homey, richly textured
and rewarding.
Weaving a
seamless tapestry of comedy, drama, history and sentiment is never as easy as
it appears, and, at times A League of
Their Own veers dangerously close to losing its emotional center. The trick
and the wonderment is it remains true, not just to its characters, but also the
period. The movie works on virtually every artistic level one may wish to ascribe
it, not the least for its cleverly executed balancing act between the ‘hearty laugh’ and the ‘good cry’. Some might call this a
shameless manipulation of sentimentality run amuck. Respectfully, I disagree. A League of Their Own hails as
exceptional movie-making craftsmanship, perpetually to tickle the fancy as it
effortlessly massages the heart into rose-colored yearnings for that simpler
time and place when life had a more even cadence. There is an all-pervading, corn-fed, bucolic ‘feel good’ at play here; joyously
impervious to even the obtrusively contemporary slant lent ‘All-the-way’ Mae Mordabito,
a character transparently emulated by Madonna. The picture has other stars to
account for: Tom Hanks as the crusty but benign, former all-star, now drunkard
come manager of the Rockford Peaches; Jimmy Dugan, and Rosie O’Donnell (typecast
as loudmouth butch 3rd base, Doris Murphy). Yet in hindsight, A League of Their Own’s greatest innings derive not necessarily
from these bigger names in its batting roster, but from the participation of
character actresses like Tracy Reiner (Betty ‘Spaghetti’ Horn), Megan Cavanagh
(wallflower Marla Hooch), Anne Ramsey (pin-up Helen Haley), Bitty Schram (Evelyn
Gardner) and Ann Cusack (Shirley Baker), whose names meant absolutely nothing
to me back in 1992, and – regrettably – have rarely been given such
opportunities to make as big a splash elsewhere since.
We begin in
1988 with a very reticent Dottie Hinson (Lynn Cartwright) being prodded by her
daughter to attend the induction of the All-American Girls Professional
Baseball League (AAGPBL) into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. It’s
been so long since Dottie played ball. She is not even sure anyone will
remember her. Still, her passion for the sport never died, even after
retirement these many years. And Dottie Hinson was huge back in 1944; renowned
as the ‘Queen of Diamonds’ and making
the cover of LIFE magazine for her impromptu ‘split’ save. So, off Dottie goes;
surprised, in fact, when former teammates Mae (Eunice Anderson), Doris (Vera
Johnson) and Marla (Patricia Wilson) not only recognize, but welcome her back
into the fold with open arms. Their
camaraderie rekindles the sights and sounds of a different time. We regress
with Dottie back in time to 1943 – the height of the war.
Recently
married, Dottie (now played by Geena Davis), whose husband, Bob (Bill Pullman)
is off fighting in Europe, and her younger sister, tomboy Kit (Lori Petti) live
on their parent’s dairy farm in Oregon. They play baseball in their spare time
for a local women’s league. Although both are passionate about the sport,
Dottie is the true believer with the innate talent. Baseball is in her blood.
Still, Kit has heart. Moreover, she desperately wants a different life for herself.
Kit realizes that, left to her own accord on this bucolic backdrop, she will
always live in the shadow of her older sister. Dottie is prettier, more amiable
and the better all-around athlete. But when candy bar magnate and Chicago Cubs
owner, Walter Harvey (Garry Marshall) decides to rescue major league baseball
from a hiatus by creating an all-women’s pro league to sub-in for the men, he orders
promoter, Ira Lowenstein (David Strathairn) and agent, Ernie Capadino (Jon
Lovitz) to seek out the best of the best and quickly sign them to contracts for
the duration of the war.
The irascible
Capadino takes an immediate interest in Dottie and why not? She is a hell of a
catcher, a solid pinch hitter and a real ‘dolly’
– exactly the sort of ‘poster girl’
Harvey is looking to promote. Unfortunately, Dottie politely turns Capadino
down. That is, until Kit begs her to reconsider. Dottie tells Capadino she’ll
sign, but only if Kit can play too. Capadino is not particularly interested in
Kit, but reluctantly agrees to Dottie’s terms. On route to basic training
Capadino and his new recruits stop to scout another young hopeful, Marla Hooch
(Megan Cavanagh); a phenomenal switch-hitter/slugger who unfortunately has
about as much sex appeal as Slim Summerville.
Insulted by Capadino’s immediate dismissal of Hooch solely on the basis
of her ‘plain Jane’ looks, Kit and Dottie refuse to budge until Marla is also
signed, leaving Capadino no choice but to once again cave in to their demands.
Arriving at
Wrigley Field for basic training, the girls are introduced to other hopefuls;
tough talking taxi dancer, Mae Mordabito (Madonna), her best friend, Doris
Murphy (Rosie O'Donnell), right fielder, Evelyn Gardner (Bitty Schram),
illiterate left fielder, Shirley Baker (Ann Cusack), left fielder Betty
‘Spaghetti’ Horn (Tracy Reiner) and former beauty queen turned pitcher, Ellen
Sue Gotlander (Freddie Simpson). After some very intense tryouts the ladies,
along with Kit, Dottie and Marla, are all drafted into the Rockford Peaches,
managed by former Cubs all-star, Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks). Unfortunately, Dugan,
who proudly declares women are something you sleep with - not coach - is a very
bitter man. Once the headliner, Dugan blew out his knee during a drunken brawl;
an injury that forced him into early retirement. He has since turned to the
bottle to medicate his depression and insecurities. Unable to reconcile his
current plight with those more lofty ambitions and failed dreams, Dugan is
condescending to the women at first and treats his coaching duties with general
disdain, forcing Dottie to take on most of his responsibilities to keep the
morale high among her fellow team members. Dugan and Dottie frequently clash
over game-time decisions, but gradually a mutual respect begins to develop
between these two adversaries.
Despite
Harvey’s high hopes, the initial debut of the AAGPBL garners little public attention.
Attendance is so low the owners begin to grumble about the league being a waste
of both their time and money. Determined to prove everyone wrong, Lowenstein
informs the Peaches he has brought in a LIFE magazine photographer to craft a
story about women’s baseball and encourages the team to do ‘something
spectacular’ to get his attention. Hence, when a pop fly goes behind home
plate, Dottie obliges Lowenstein’s request by catching it while doing a
dramatic split. The photo is taken and generates a national craze for women’s baseball.
Kit, who had hoped a change of venue – from farm to baseball diamond - would allow
her to step away from Dottie’s shadow and find her own way in life, quickly realizes
Dottie has already become Rockford’s star. Resenting her sister’s success, Kit
confronts Dottie; the two striking a bitter sibling rivalry that boils over
after Jimmy pulls Kit for a relief pitcher on Dottie's advice. Later, Dottie
informs Lowenstein she has decided to quit the league in order to salvage her
relationship with Kit. Instead, Lowenstein arranges a trade. Kit is sent to the
Racine Belles.
The middle act
of A League of Their Own diverges
ever so slightly from Dottie and Kit’s story and becomes a more ensemble piece.
We learn a little about the other players, just enough to make each one more
memorable. Evelyn informs Dugan her husband is forcing her to take their son,
Stillwell (Justin Schiller) on tour with the team. The child turns out to be a
handful, trying both Dugan and the team’s patience. Marla meets her unlikely
soul mate, Nelson (Alan Wilder) after becoming intoxicated at a roadhouse. This
‘cute meet’ is, in fact, one of the movie’s most delightful vignettes; Mae
spiking the team’s chaperone, Miss Cuthbert’s (Pauline Brailsford) drink to
ensure her confinement while the girls sneak off to partake of some hot swing
music, cool brews and chance rendezvous with amiable men on leave. Learning of
their disappearance, Miss Cuthbert, half recovered, is on her way to turn the
girls out into the street. Barring the rules of the league, they are not
allowed to fraternize with men after hours. Dottie beats Cuthbert to the
roadhouse, driven in a jalopy by an underage ‘would be’ lady’s man (played by
fifteen year old Ryan Olsen). “Hey, doll
body,” the kid suggests, “How about
you and me get in the backseat and you make a man out of me.” “Why don’t I just
slap you around for a bit?” Dottie smarts back, to which the kid playfully
inquiries, “Can’t we do both?”
Sometime later,
Betty is informed her husband has been killed in action. Dottie suffers a terrible
bout of anxiety, quelled when Bob suddenly arrives to collect his wife at the
team’s boarding house, wounded but otherwise out of service for the duration of
the war. The next morning, Dottie tells Dugan she is quitting the league to
return to Oregon with Bob; a decision he is certain she will live to regret. As
the World Series commences, it becomes clear the Rockford Peaches will be
pitted against the Racine Belles and Dottie, having reconsidered her love of
the game with Bob, unexpectedly rejoins the team for this penultimate showdown.
The reunion, however, becomes even more personal, exacerbating Dottie and Kit’s
sibling rivalry. The Peaches and the Belles square off. Dottie tells Ellen Sue
about Kit's fatal weakness for high fastballs. But after predictably missing
the first two pitches, Kit surprises everyone by belting a line drive that
sends the Peaches into a game-changing frenzy. Ignoring all stop signals from
her teammates, Kit rounds third and heads for home plate. It is up to Dottie to
tag her sister out and win the game. It remains unclear whether Kit
legitimately conquers the field by slamming into Dottie and dislodging the ball
from her glove, or whether Dottie has decided to throw the game by dropping the
ball on purpose. Regardless, Racine wins
the World Series and Dottie leaves the field with a sense of pride. Kit has at
last been afforded her moment in the spotlight.
We return to
the present with Dottie and her teammates sharing a sentimental tour of the
museum exhibit in Cooperstown dedicated to their former glories. Dottie is
reunited with Stilwell (Mark Holton) who informs her that his mother, Evelyn
has since passed away. He has come to Cooperstown to honor her memory. Ellen
Sue strikes up an impromptu rendition of the team’s pep song and as everyone
joins in Dottie and Kit are reunited in a reconciliation that is truly
heartfelt. Dottie is at last able to admit, if only to herself, just how precious
those years she spent with the league were. In these penultimate moments, A League of Their Own achieves one of
its primary objectives; the good cry. But until this shameless tear-jerker of a
movie-land moment, much of it plays like a flag-waving patriotic comedy of
errors; a sort of ‘Bad News Bears’ for adults with a backdrop of a sisterly
bonded feminism dressed up in a sports motif. This isn’t as terrible as it
sounds. In fact, despite its rather discernible stereotypes and the obviousness
in some of its clichéd comedy, A League
of Their Own consistently hits
one out of the park with an enviable batting average.
Part of the
film’s success is heavily anchored in its casting decisions. Virtually everyone
is a character’s character – imbued with memorable (if oft’ cartoonish) traits
that make them easily identifiable and even more readily loveable and endearing
for the audience: Tom Hanks’ forgivable slob, Geena Davis’ stern sass, and
Madonna, playing to her pop iconography as the gal whose racked up almost as
many bedpost notches off the field as innings on; Rosie O’Donnell’s
smart-mouthed sidekick and Lori Petty’s willful spitfire adding to the milieu
and mileage director, Penny Marshall gets from her highly sentimentalized and
glowing tribute. These performers unequivocally make A League of Their Own the stellar ensemble piece that it is, full
of meaningful interactions and sincerity that lingers in our hearts and minds
long after the houselights have come up. Penny Marshall’s direction should also
be cited; slick and stylish – making its points and moving alone without a
moment’s drag or lost opportunity. Miroslav Ondricek’s cinematography perfectly
visualizes the vintage look of wartime America while Hans Zimmer’s noteworthy
score recreates a lush orchestral palette that elevates the emotional content
of the story. In the final analysis, A
League of Their Own is precisely the sort of ‘bases loaded’ crowd-pleaser Hollywood doesn’t seem to make – or even
want to make – anymore; not because it is a perfect movie, but because it has
so obviously been made by people working in front of and behind the camera who
have women’s baseball coursing through the very fiber of their souls.
Batter up, and
play ball…again! I am still trying to fathom the executive logic behind this 25th
Anniversary Blu-ray release from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, particularly
since there was absolutely nothing wrong with their 20th Anniversary
Blu-ray from five years ago. Herein, we get the very same immaculate transfer
in 1080p. As with its predecessor, this Blu-ray exhibits impressive colors that
are vibrant and occasionally eye-popping. Good solid contrast levels, deep
blacks and lifelike skin tones reveal an impressive amount of fine detail and
film grain. There are several brief shots that appear slightly softer than
anticipated, but otherwise this is a gorgeous hi-def transfer that will surely
delight those who have had to contend with the rather unimpressive DVD
incarnations over the years. The 5.1 DTS audio is equally identical as before.
There’s an impressive clarity. Dialogue sounds extremely natural and the music
tracks soar and envelope.
Extras are all
carry overs from the DVD release and include a director and cast audio
commentary, an extensive gallery of deleted scenes, Madonna’s ‘This Used to be My Playground’ music
video and ‘Nine Memorable Innings’ –
a nearly hour long documentary divided into 11 featurettes that effectively
covers reflections on the making of the film. For the 25th
Anniversary, Sony has added a retrospective clocking in ad a miserly 12
minutes: Bentonville, Baseball & The Enduring Legacy of A League of Their
Own – in HD, and also the movie’s original trailer, again in HD.
Ho-hum. It would have been nice to see Sony go the extra mile (for which they
are oft known and appreciated) and remaster the image in 4K with a true 4K and
Blu-ray release in tandem. No soap, alas. Bottom line: A League of Their Own is a great movie. But if you already own the
20th Anniversary, pass on this inning and be very glad that you did!
FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)
4.5
VIDEO/AUDIO
4
EXTRAS
4
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