Released: July 1st, 1992
Rated: PG
Studio: Columbia
Starring: Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Rosie O’Donnell,
Madonna, Lori Petty, Jon Lovitz, David Strathairn, Garry Marshall, Bill Pullman
Directed by: Penny Marshall
Written by: Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel
Personal Bias Alert: pro
feminism, likes funny Tom Hanks
6 of 10
“A
League of Their Own” is one of those movie I always knew of, but it wasn’t
until I was in college that I realized I’d never actually seen it. There’s something comforting about coming to
a film this late. Its legacy and the
fates of the people involved are set in stone.
Tom Hanks will continue an outstanding career, Geena Davis’s star will
falter, Madonna will continue selling records, Penny Marshall’s directorial
clout will fade, and the film will live on.
It’s earned a place in the National Film Registry for being “culturally,
historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Let’s not mince words here; it’s there for its cultural
significance. It’s a perfectly fine
film, but it’s no work of art.
Set
in the 1940s, “A League of Their Own” follows Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) as
she becomes a star in the first ever professional women’s baseball league. She’s not actually that interested in
baseball, and only goes because her younger sister Kit (Lori Petty) is
desperate to go. Small crowds, demeaning
outfits, and a drunken, disinterested manager named Jimmy (Tom Hanks) makes it
clear to the talented girls that they aren’t going to be taken seriously. Dottie and the others are smart enough to
figure out the game, both on and off the field, and work to ensure that their
league will survive.
Plot
summaries of this film always makes it seem more seriously feminist than it
is. Keep in mind, this film also stars
Rosie O’Donnell and Madonna (who isn’t bad).
Its charm is in its broad comedy, in its insistence on laughing at the
absurdities the women go through instead of condemning them. That they were expected to leave their homes
and families to play a professional sport, but do it in a dress while taking
charm classes on the side, is ridiculous.
While
it’s a good story, the movie tries to cram in too much for one film. It follows the women through tryouts and an
entire season, with subplots involving sibling rivalries and war-torn
families. It drags on and on, and would
have been better off with a runtime closer to 1 ½ hours verses it’s final 2
hours. I think that this is one of those
movies people remember as being better than it is. You’ll think you had a great time, but when
you sit down to re-watch it you’ll remember all the clichés and unnecessary
stuff that drag it down.
For
younger people like me, it’s easy to forget that Tom Hanks is as strong a
comedic actor as he is a dramatic actor.
“A League of Their Own” stands as one of the last in his string of
comedy hits from the late 80s to the early 90s.
Over the next two years, Hanks would win back-to-back Oscars for
“Philadelphia” and “Forest Gump.” Here,
he delivers a line that’s taken on a life bigger than that of the film
itself. “There’s no crying in baseball”
is a phrase I’ve seemingly known my entire life, long before I ever saw the
film. Having now seen it, it’s a fitting
phrase to pull out. It’s funny but
pointed, bringing up issues of gender expectations without making it
uncomfortable.
Other Notes:
Ø This
film has a ridiculous amount of montages.
Ø Seriously
Hans Zimmer? You could try not doing the
music for every film in existence.
Ø “You
think there are men in this country who ain’t seen you bosoms?” That line is directed at Madonna’s character,
which is some nice meta-humor.
Ø Did
they just film Rosie doing improve on third base between takes and insert parts
into the movie?
Ø Cast
roster: nice touch in the credits
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