A League of Their Own

A classic! My daughters are getting older so with that said, we've been watching movies that I loved as a young girl and boy, this was a top one for me as a teenager. Those were my softball years as well. So on our last pizza movie night, we all gathered in the living room to watch A League Of Their Own and to my surprise, not one single kid got up and left the entire movie. My kids range in age from 17 down to 7 and they all enjoyed it.

I love this movie so much that I can't stand the thought of having to look for it on a streaming service when I need to watch it.

this movie is such a fun one! I enjoyed it very much! It was very entertaining!

Historical.

I'm not a baseball fan but I loved this movie. Tom Hanks was my favorite character. I probably would have changed my mind if I saw these women performing in person. They make baseball look fun.

One of my favorites! Can’t go wrong with this movie.

Dottie Hanson, played by actress Geena Davis, is pretty but married, and also empathetic and smart. To help her younger sister realize her dreams for a life beyond the farm, the pair accepts the New York recruiter’s invitation (played by Jon Lovitz) to attend the tryouts for the fledgling All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (it should be noted that Dottie would have been considered a ‘woman’ in this time period because she is married, whereas single women were referred to as ‘girls’). The recruiter signed over a hundred of baseball and softball’s finest from Canada and the USA to the tryouts in Chicago. Once the team is selected and a team manager is hired – Jimmy Dugan, played by Tom Hanks, the film becomes less nostalgia and increasingly comedic. Dugan is a washed-up home run hitter and alcoholic who aimlessly spits tobacco and struck out in life with two failed marriages. He is also initially against women playing baseball, although the grit and heart of his players slowly erodes his unfounded bias. Dugan’s baseball past continues to attract fans for his autograph, which his employers recognize is profitable. Memorable teammates played by actresses Lori Petty, Madonna, and Rosie O’Donnell provide a comedy cast of hilarious on-the-field and off-the-field antics as the ‘girls’ blaze a trail to the World Series in this highly fictionalized film loosely based on a true story. The film concludes with Dottie choosing to return to her married life in Oregon after one memorable season and her sister staying in Racine, Wisconsin with her new team, while Dugan stays manager of his team.Although touted as a comedy, compared to Major League, a 1989 film starring Tom Beringer, Charlie Sheen, and Corbin Bernsen, this film was slow-moving and seldom hilarious. In short, I found it predictable and a bit of a grind to watch. Nonetheless, there were some touching scenes from the several back stories, especially the father/daughter relationship and sibling rivalry. The Library of Congress liked the film much more than me, calling it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", according to a reference (no. 3) at Wikipedia.org . The film’s scriptwriters seemed cognizant of sociology’s hegemony theory, going so far as changing the actual Mr. Wrigley into a fictional character – Walter Harvey of Harvey Bars. This movie likely staved off any potential lawsuits for defamation of character.

Baseball aficionados will enjoy this fun movie. Geena Davis, Tom Hanks and others deliver fun entertainment based on true happenings during WW2.