The common theme bridging the age gap in the audience is baseball. In this film, the game means everything. There's no arbitration, salary disputes, or 8 million dollar contracts. In the world of The Sandlot , baseball is still America's number one national pastime, and, in the closing scenes with James Earl Jones, it's easy to get a sense of the greatness that underlies playing ball. The Sandlot is no more for men and boys alone than Fried Green Tomatoes is just for women.
Memories of childhood are frequently gender-independent.
Men might have the inside track on some elements of nostalgia touched by The Sandlot , but they don't have a monopoly. And humor, as well as the love of baseball, is universal. There are those who will see this as a silly fantasy, but they have either missed or chosen not to feel the magic woven by The Sandlot . Predictable as the movie is, the Field of Dreams quality is not the only thing to like about The Sandlot .