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A League of Their Own

During WW II, many of our brave people served in the armed forces. Soon to follow were many of our baseball players. The irony is that the players who went to defend the American way of life left a huge void in the fields, and to any fan, baseball is about as American as one can get. Being a resourceful people, the All-American Girls Baseball League was established to fill that void. Yes, there really was a woman's league. This really did happen. I haven't researched it so, I don't know how much else in the movie is real, but the general storyline is based on fact.

The movie opens with Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) and her sister Kit Keller (Lori Petty) playing a softball game. Dottie is an ace catcher and Kit the pitcher who when batting has a penchant for swinging at the high ones. Dottie is statuesque, graceful, and gorgeous, and Kit is shorter, fiery, and a bit rough around the edges--a tomboy who hasn't quite grown up, but dreams of getting out of their farming community and traveling to the big cities. As chance would have it, Dottie was spotted by a scout Ernie Capadino (Jon Lovitz) at that very game and soon the girls were boarding a train to attend Major League baseball try-outs. Did I mention that this really did happen? Note: Lovitz's performance alone is worth watching the movie.

At the try-outs, the audience is introduced to other key players namely Mae 'All-The-Way-Mae' Mordabito (Madonna) and Doris Murphy (Rosie O'Donnell). I was a bit leary to see these two cast, but I have to honestly admit that they both handed in fine performances. Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) the often drunk, has-been baseball player is soon recruited to manage Dottie's team. Hanks packed on some extra weight for this flick and shaved his face sparingly. His character looks bloated, dirty, and limps around from a knee injury that ended his ball-playing days. Initially disgusted that he has to manage "girls,'" he soon sobers as he comes to terms with what he did to destroy his career and awkwardly, yet charmingly moves into a space of compassion to assist these woman achieve their dreams.

Baseball is about hard work, honesty, courage, and honor and it transcends racial and gender barriers. That is the beauty of this movie. There is a poignant scene where an Africian American woman is standing outside the fence and retrieves a ball that has gone astray. She throws is hard and straight to Dottie. When Dottie catches the ball there is a wonderful moment of acknowledgement and honoring that left me breathless.

While the story follows Dottie's character, all the players grow as they face and battle the dragons of their past and present. It is heart wrenching to see that these women have to produce twice the results with far fewer resources than their male counterparts just to earn the right to stand on the field. Director Penny Marshall made sure that this point was made. She didn't belabor the idea, but allowed the predudices of the day to tell the story and, no doubt hoping, that present day viewers would see with better eyes. I think all girls, and women, too, for that matter, should see this affirming movie about what women can accomplish. This movie does more than demonstrate that women can mimic the athletic prowess of men, but that they too have honor--a trait which women are rarely acknowledged to possess especially in a male dominated area such as baseball.

Althoug the movie is set during WW II, the war feels far away and we are lost in the ballpark. There are reminders of the war some of which come quickly with horrible news, others are faint and fade into the background. There is some music of the day, but the main music theme is haunting and in an instant, can sent me back to the time when Dottie's hair was youthful and shinning. I was horrified by the uniforms the women had to wear--short skirts--and they had to slid to base. Ouch!

There is some great banter between Dottie and Dugan, but much of the humor is situational. Throughout the hard times and good times, the tears and laughter, what I remember most about this moive is getting pulled into the past, hearing the crack of a bat striking the ball at just the right angle, the crowds roaring, the feel of sweat and dust, and the smell of a glove warmed by the summer sun.

I do have one complaint. There are no significant special features on the DVD.

Summary:

As there are coming of age films, this is a coming of self movie. It is about courage, deciding what one wants and digging down deep to make that dream come true. It's about baseball and all that is good about the game. The story teaches us that unless the love of the game isn't embraced the indididual is just someone who tosses a ball around.

Director: Penny Marshall

Runtime: 128 minutes

Cast

Tom Hanks (Jimmy Dugan) Geena Davis (Dottie Hinson) Madonna (Mae 'All-The-Way-Mae' Mordabito) Lori Petty (Kit Keller) Jon Lovitz (Ernie Capadino) David Strathairn (Ira Lowenstein) Garry Marshall (Walter Harvey) Bill Pullman (Bob Hinson) Megan Cavanagh (Marla Hooch) Rosie O'Donnell (Doris Murphy) Tracy Reiner (Betty 'Betty Spaghetti' Horn) Bitty Schram (Evelyn Gardner) Don S. Davis (Racine Coach Charlie Collins) Renee Coleman (Alice Gaspers) Ann Cusack (Shirley Baker)

Written by: Hilary Thomas

Reviewers Rating: 9.5
Reader's Rating: 9.15
Reader's Votes: 20

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