Review of Major League (1989) by Mickey M — 27 Jul 2008

The widow of the Cleveland Indians owner (Margaret Whitton) wants to leave Cleveland for Miami -- and take the team with her. So, she takes it upon herself to form the worst team she could possibly make to insure low attendance at the Municipal Stadium, the home stadium for the team.

The team, fed up with the treatment from the widow, who now owns the team, and decides that they must pull it together and make it a winning season for the team. A team that hasn't won a title in over 30 years.

There are some pretty good jokes in this movie. You are guaranteed to snicker to laugh out loud. However, there are at least one or two that are dated. None of the jokes are over the top, and are not jammed down your throat.

The cast is really good. Their chemistry is one of the better ones I've seen for an entire cast. You can really believe the team is really a Major League Baseball Club, on and off the field.

There is really good chemistry between Tom Berenger and Rene Russo, who are the love story in the movie. Sadly, the love story is seen more than other subplots in the story.

There are few characters that should be expanded into a much larger role. I would have liked to have seen Bob Uecker's role out of the broadcast position. He is, however, used to highlight parts of the season which is not seen on camera. Uecker lucked out, as he got some of the best one-liners in the movie.

There are a few holes in the script. There are also some missed opertunities for subplots and funny moments. But these are melded into the story and work.

Overall, this is a pretty good movie with a few flaws. In my opinion, this movie is worth looking at if you see it on your video rental store's shelf.