Celebrate America's Birth With America's Game..."Major League"

Major League (1989)

Rated R for language

Starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Wesley Snipes, Bob Ueker, Margaret Whitton, Rene Russo, Dennis Haysbert

Written an Directed by David Ward

The Story:

The owner of the Cleveland Indians is dead.  His widow (Whitton) decides to field the worst possible team that money can't buy so that attendance will drop so low, she will be able to leave Cleveland and take her talents to South Beach.

Hey wait a minute...

:)

There's no crying in baseball.

But there is laughing, and Major League will score laughs from beginning to end.

One of 2 classic baseball movies released in 1989 (Field of Dreams), both have endured as baseball classics, and I would say it is safe to say, movie classics as well.

For a quarter of a century, these two have ranked, easily, in my top 5 baseball movies, and also part of a great bumper crop of classics released in 1989.

Strangely, I'm not really a baseball fan, but I do love a good baseball movie.  I guess because they are inherently faster, and things actually happen.

:)

Needless to say, the team and coach defy expectations and rally to turn the franchise around, and make the Cleveland Indians a respectable team.

Shortly after the release of Major League, the Indians actually began to turn their franchise around.

Life imitating art.

Pretty cool.

As you can see by the cast, I've left several people off the list.  While Berenger was the "star" of the film, it really was an ensemble with every player being an important part of the team. 

It was a breakout role for Snipes as Willie Mayes Hayes.

It was also the big screen debut of Rene Russo.

And Bob Ueker nearly steals every moment he's in the film with his play by play.

There's a lot to like about this film, so get to it!

Watch the movie, especially if it's been anywhere close to 25 years since you last saw it.

Otherwise you might risk offending Jobu!

:)

Currently available to stream on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: A+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I already own it, and it gets a spin every so often.  Hilarious every time.

Back When Charlie Sheen Was Still Sane...Mostly... "The Chase"

The Chase (1994)
Rated PG-13 for language

Starring Charlie Sheen, Kristy Swanson, Henry Rollins, Ray Wise, Josh Mostel, Marshall Bell

Written and Directed by Adam Rifkin

The Story:

Jack Hammond (Sheen) has been wrongfully accused and sentenced to prison for a crime he didn't commit.  He escapes and ends up taking Natalie Voss (Swanson) hostage.  The problem with that, she's the daughter of millionaire industrialist Dalton Voss (Wise) and he enlists half of the California Highway Patrol to get his daughter back, including the local cops (Rollins & Mostel) who are filming a "Cops" style documentary.

I cannot begin to express how much I love this movie.

Guilty pleasure, whatever, but it is so much fun and I can watch it anytime without fail.

If I'm flipping channels and it's on...the flipping stops.

It's light, breezy fun, and for an action comedy picture that takes place (90%) from the front seat of a car, it's pretty engaging.

As it celebrates 20 years, it's fun to look back now and I wonder if this was a favorite of the writers from Psych, as three of the most frequent guest stars (Swanson, Wise and Cary Elwes) on that show were all in this movie.

Yep, another reason to like the film.

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I do already own it, and it gets played at least once a year on average.