A League of Their Own (1992) Columbia/Comedy-Drama RT: 128 minutes Rated PG (language, suggestive references, thematic elements) Director: Penny Marshall Screenplay: Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel Music: Hans Zimmer Cinematography: Miroslav Ondricek Release date: July 1, 1992 (US) Cast: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, Megan Cavanagh, Tracy Reiner, Bitty Schram, Ann Cusack, Anne Elizabeth Ramsey, Freddie Simpson, Renee Coleman, Robin Knight, Patti Pelton, Kelli Simpkins, Neezer Tarleton, Connie Pounds-Taylor, Kathleen Marshall, Sharon Szmidt, Pauline Brailsford, David Strathairn, Garry Marshall, Jon Lovitz, Bill Pullman, Justin Scheller, Eddie Jones, Alan Wilder, R.M. Haley, David L. Lander, Eddie Mekka. Box Office: $107.5M (US)/$132.4M (World)
Rating: ****
Director Penny Marshall had a great run in the 80s and early 90s with hits like Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986), Big (1988), Awakenings (1990) and A League of Their Own. In my never humble opinion, the 1992 baseball comedy-drama is her finest work. It’s a funny and touching (and largely fictionalized) account of the beginnings of the AAGPBL (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League) founded in 1943 to keep the game going while the men were away fighting WWII. It was co-founded by chewing gum magnate Philip K. Wrigley, represented by candy bar tycoon Walter Harvey (Penny’s brother Garry) in the movie, and continued until 1954. It’s a fascinating chapter in sports history and it translates very well to the big screen.
Geena Davis (Thelma & Louise) plays Dottie, an Oregon woman invited to join the newly formed AAGPBL after a fast-talking scout (Lovitz, SNL) sees her play for the local dairy. She’s not interested, but younger sister Kit (Petty, Point Break) is eager to join. A talented pitcher, she wants more out of life whereas Dottie is content to stay where she is and wait for her husband (Pullman, The Accidental Tourist) to return home from the war. The scout agrees to take Kit, but only if Dottie comes along too. She reluctantly agrees and it’s off to Harvey Field (a stand-in for Wrigley Field) in Chicago for tryouts.
Of course, the two sisters make the cut. They’re assigned to the Rockford Peaches along with taxi dancer Mae (pop singer Madonna) and her best friend, bouncer Doris (comedian O’Donnell). The team also consists of homely power hitter Marla (Cavanagh, Robin Hood: Men in Tights), soft-spoken Evelyn (Schram, Monk), beauty queen Ellen Sue (Simpson, Popcorn), illiterate farm girl Shirley (Cusack, Grosse Pointe Blank) and sweet relief pitcher Betty “Spaghetti” (Reiner, The Flamingo Kid).
Their manager is Jimmy Dugan (Hanks, Big), a washed-up former Cub who thinks the whole idea of women playing baseball is a joke and treats it as such. Because he’s usually drunk and passed out in the dugout, Dottie takes over managerial duties. That is, until Jimmy finally starts to get on board and do his job.
Naturally, there are naysayers, the biggest being Mr. Harvey who threatens to shut the whole thing down at the end of the season. It’s just not attracting enough attention. Ira Lowenstein (Strathairn, Eight Men Out), the general manager appointed by Harvey, does his damnest to turn things around which he eventually does by way of a few publicity stunts and a cover story in Life magazine. It doesn’t hurt that the girls can actually play ball.
The main dramatic focus of A League of Their Own is the sibling rivalry between Dottie and Kit. Kit is tired of constantly living in her older sister’s shadow. It seems to her like Dottie is deliberately trying to keep her down. It finally comes to a head when Kit is traded to another team. What are the chances the sisters will find themselves facing off against each other in the World Series?
I absolutely LOVE A League of Their Own. It’s easily my favorite baseball movie next to The Bad News Bears (1976) and Eight Men Out (1988). It’s not your ordinary sports drama even though the general story arc is more or less the same. It distinguishes itself in a few ways, but the one that stands out the most is that the Peaches’ opponents in the big game aren’t depicted as mean bullies with a smirking coach who encourages dirty playing. There aren’t any off-the-field fights or harassment. They’re merely the other team; you don’t hate them at all. If anything, you feel sympathy for Kit as she tries to make a name for herself other than Dottie’s little sister. A League of Their Own is a feel-good movie all the way.
The cast does an excellent job. Not only are their individual performances right on-point, they’re terrific as an ensemble. Hanks rids himself of the stink that was his previous film, the 1990 debacle The Bonfire of the Vanities. He’s great as Jimmy, a bitter and abrasive alcoholic being given a last chance at a career in baseball. His transition to caring but tough manager is completely believable. His famous scene with Bitty Schram (“There’s no crying in baseball!”) is still funny. He also has a tender side that we see in the scene where somebody from the War Department shows up bearing bad news for one of the girls.
Davis nails it as Dottie, a talented catcher who doesn’t really want to be there. She loves the game, but she loves her quiet life with her husband more. Petty also does great work as the younger sister desperately attempting to be her own person. The two actresses don’t resemble each other, but they make it work. Cavanagh, despite her character’s looks being running joke, carves out a place for herself as Marla.
One of the film’s biggest surprises is Madonna. She’s amazing in the role of “All the Way” Mae. She still plays a version of Madonna, but this time it fits with the movie. She has great chemistry with O’Donnell in her film debut. The future talk show host nails it as tough-as-nails Doris. Reiner, the daughter of the director, while not the star of the show, gets to shine in the film’s most moving scene.
A League of Their Own is told as a flashback. It’s bookended by scenes of an older Dottie (played by Lynn Cartwright) attending the induction of the AAGPBL into the Baseball Hall of Fame with most of her teammates including Kit. The end credits roll over scenes of the older women playing ball while Madonna sings “This Used to Be My Playground” on the soundtrack. I freely admit to tearing up during this sequence. It’s a beautiful song that recaptures lost youth.
Marshall does a near-flawless job on A League of Their Own. My only complaint is that the subplot concerning the owner’s desire to end the girl’s baseball league isn’t more developed. I would have liked to hear more about the business end of the venture. It’s a small wrinkle in an otherwise perfectly tailored suit. Marshall, working from a screenplay by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (Splash, City Slickers), manages a perfect blend of comedy and drama. It’s funny at the right times. Evelyn’s bratty son, who she’s forced to bring to away games, is a riot and a strong argument for birth control. She handles the film’s more serious moments with equal ability. The scene where one of the girls learns about her husband being killed will definitely elicit a tear or two.
Sadly, it was all downhill for Penny after A League of Their Own with disappointments like Renaissance Man (1994), The Preacher’s Wife (1996) and her unfortunate swan song Riding in Cars with Boys (2001). She died in 2018, but she left behind a great legacy with A League of Their Own. It’s such a wonderful film. She gets everything right. It’s a cinematic grand slam.
