Review of The Sandlot (1993) by Ben L — 28 May 2014

This is one of those movies I think affects people differently depending on what age they first see it. If you see it when you're about the age of the main characters, I imagine you can relate with it well and will always have fond memories of what the story meant to you. Unfortunately, I was one of the poor souls who didn't come upon The Sandlot until I was in my teens, which was just too old. Instead of identifying with the kids in the movie, I just found them annoying. Now that it's been 20 years and I watch it again, I have to say, they're still annoying. In fact, I can't help looking at the whole story through a more critical adult mind and think how illogically it was constructed. I mean what cave did Smalls crawl out of that he has never heard of Babe Ruth, s'mores, or even throwing? Particularly in a home with a step-dad who clearly loves baseball. Likewise I can accept that, in the mind of a group of kids, the size of a big dog can become mythical. But how exactly is this dog mangling metal and shredding a wooden pole in one bite? The moment when the beast is revealed suddenly makes the earlier parts of the film seem to exist in some alternate cartoon universe. It works when it's in the kids' imagination, but when they have the dog interacting with other physical objects in monstrous ways I'm completely taken out of the film.

While I do have a number of complaints with the film there are highlights. The kids aren't always so irritating. In fact Patrick Renna, as Ham, is pretty funny when he gets his moments to shine. Particularly great are his scenes trash-talking behind the plate. I also like Squints' crazy idea, and how that pays off. It feels more like what I'd expect out of wacky kids of that age. One of the funniest scenes is actually when the little league team shows up and the youngsters verbally spar with the dirtiest words they know. I also can never complain when James Earl Jones makes an appearance in any movie. His brief scene is just delightful, and I wish he was in it more. I love baseball too, so there is something very nostalgic in the themes of the Sandlot. It has elements that remind me of how baseball used to be. Yet the sad reality is that this is an overly rosy, and ultimately unrealistic look at what childhood is really like. In reality there's more frustration and disappointment, and it's highly unlikely any kid would willingly try to work with another kid who can't catch or throw (unless they had a preexisting friendship.) So I can see how this would be a feel-good movie for some people and it would remind them of the good times, but for me I'm just reminded that things weren't usually like that in my childhood. This is low on my list of baseball films, but I can tolerate the annoying kids if someone really wants to watch it.