Product: A League of Their Own (Widescreen Edition) [VHS] (1992)
Rating: 4.0
Engaging, Seriocomic View of Baseball's Sleeper League
I'm not entirely certain I would call this the best baseball film of them all, but it is one of the ten most entertaining baseball films, no questions asked. Hooking it on the first year of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League would have made it worth a watch if only to have even a small taste of an isolated but memorable element of the old ball game during the war era and a short time beyond. But casting Geena Davis and Lori Petty as the sisters around whom the tale revolves was inspired; casting Tom Hanks as the cynical manager was a masterstroke (we tend to forget Hanks's seriocomic virtuosity is as suited for support work as for lead roles); and, given that Penny Marshall is one of the least risky directors in Hollywood, there is an understatement to the film which a) makes it even more affecting, and b) overcomes even the blatant cliche of the championship climax. (Understatement, believe it or not, is also the word for Madonna's surprisingly effective subordinate role as the team party girl; someone should bring a bat down on her head and tell her her best film talent is as a deft supporting comic actress.) And, as a tribute to real young women who played real, full-out baseball in the AAGPBL for ten seasons, "A League of Their Own" is as respectfully unpushy as a film can be. Grab your beer and hot dog and enjoy.