Original Release Date: April 7, 1989
Written and Directed by David S. Ward
Cast: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Margaret Whitton, James Gammon, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes, Chelcie Ross, Dennis Haysbert, Andy Romano, Bob Uecker, Neil Flynn
Soundtrack: James Newton Howard
Sometimes in life you get REESE’S moments.
It’s no secret that I love Alamo Drafthouse more than I love cake, ice cream, or a combination of the two, but what may be surprising, given that I am an out-of-market listener, is that I’m a loyal fan of The Grant & Danny Show (on 106.7 FM in the greater Washington D.C. area).
So, when the guys on the program said that not only would they be creating a “Movie Madness” bracket (not to be confused with National Lampoon’s Movie Madness, which also featured Margaret Whitton) of sports films to vote upon, but would also be showing the winning movie at their local Alamo Drafthouse, of course I said to myself, “I’m there,” despite the near-300 mile drive entailed.
Was it worth it?
Yeah, it was worth it. After all, it’s not every day you get to meet the crew from one of your favorite XM radio programs, as well as other loyal listeners. Plus, we all got to watch a great movie together.
As I said when I briefly talked about Goon, I have one rule about comedic films: make me laugh. Major League achieves this, and so much more; I think one could say it actually affected professional baseball as we know it (more on that later).
Let’s start when he was twelve at the beginning, with the opening credits: a montage of Cleveland sights and sounds as well as back page headlines chronicling the Indians’ mediocrity though the decades, all set to Randy Newman’s “Burn On”. Now, did they choose this song only because it’s about Cleveland? Or were they also making a subtle reference to the fact that Randy Newman scored The Natural? Either way, it’s the perfect choice.
It sounds horribly obvious, but good choices seem to be the key as to why Major League works so well (especially when compared to Major League II, which goes full-on broad comedy and I don’t want to talk about it). Take the casting. Tom Berenger as grizzled veteran catcher Jake Taylor works; he’s the steady hand that keeps the team together. Charlie Sheen (who I believe actually pitched in high school) as reprobate hardball thrower Rick Vaughn is believable, despite some of the innate silliness of the character. Wesley Snipes as Ricky Henderson clone Willie Mays Hays is as cocky as he needs to be. And last, but absolutely not least, James Gammon as manager Lou Brown is the perfect combination of heart and toughness that I’d want in a real-life baseball manager. Even smaller roles like Andy Romano as coach Pepper Leach have the right je ne sais quoi.
The plot of a trophy widow owner assembling a team so bad that attendance will drop to the point of being able to get out of the contract with the city and move to Miami is a fine comedic premise, but what makes Major League truly special is that even though there are some wacky funny bits (like the nominally Christian pitcher who tells the voodoo practitioner, “[Jesus] isn’t fooled,” while he himself is reading a Hustler magazine), it also legitimately works as a sports movie. I have to admit, in spite of all the silliness, I got a little emotional at the end.
It’s because the baseball scenes are largely taken seriously that the movie triumphs. Not to say that somebody couldn’t nitpick it to death (for one thing, I’ve never seen that many women at a ballgame), but there’s nothing as egregious as the “Martell crossed” moment in The Replacements (where Shane Falco goes from quarterback to fisherman in an instant, because there are no backups in this universe). On the contrary, when Pedro Cerrano hits one out of the park, rounds the bases, celebrates with his teammates, and then comes back out of the dugout for a curtain call, it feels completely real; by far one of the best sequences in the film. I also like the “calm before the storm” ahead of the one-game playoff, when everybody’s in the locker room just trying to relax, or get stretched out, or visualizing the big moments to come.
All of this of course brings us to the sequence that actually changed baseball, where “Wild Thing” Ricky Vaughn walks from the bullpen to the mound while the crowd goes crazy to his eponymous theme music (performed by X, of all people), setting the standard for Closers to come (although it was a non-save situation for Ricky). As far as I can find, no pitcher before the release of Major League ever walked onto the field to music, but it’s certainly become commonplace since.
In the end, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give proper credit to writer and director David S. Ward. It was his movie, it was his dream, it was his labor of love, and it’s fantastic. You know you’re doing something right when you can get an audience to cheer for the Cleveland Indians when they never would otherwise.
Much like real March Madness brackets, Major League might not the best sports movie of all time, but it sure felt like a worthy champion this year.
Rating: ★★★★½ (out of five)
P.S. Shout out to Wookie of the Year for bringing Astro donuts to the event. I had a s’mores donut and it was ¡muy delicioso!
P.P.S. Bob Uecker. That is all.