Billy's (Luke Edwards) a huge baseball fan, knows all the arcane rules and can cite situations and examples from the lengthy history of the game as evidence. When his wealthy, baseball-loving grandfather (Jason Robards) passes away, Billy learns he's the new owner of the Minnesota Twins. And when the manager of the team (Dennis Farina) chooses to disregard Billy's suggestion that screaming at and insulting the players isn't helping their performance, Billy fires him. In need of a manager, Billy takes his friends' suggestion and hires. . .himself. Hijinks and life lessons ensue.
The movie has a bit of rising and falling action. The players' initial resistance to being coached by a kid, only for them to eventually buy in when he encourages them to remember baseball is fun. Then the pressure starts to get to Billy, the tough decisions - releasing an aging veteran who is one of Billy's favorite players - take the fun out of it. He starts ignoring his friends, snapping at the players. The team's star (Timothy Busfield) is dating his mom, and Billy doesn't handle that well.
The team starts losing, there's a funny bit where Billy gets ejected from a game for calling the ump a dork, then adds a few more, colorful, remarks (which are blocked by an air horn.) When the umpire repeats them to Billy's mom, he gets grounded for a few games, and gives a press conference where he refers to himself in the third person (always a bad sign.)
Eventually Billy figures out he's not ready for baseball to be a job yet, loosens up again, and the team goes on a late winning streak to get into a 1-game playoff against the Mariners. Kind of weird to see the Mariners played as the big bad, but the Mariners were an up-and-coming team in the mid-90s, so it actually makes more sense, given the time period, than the Yankees being the final boss in Major League (the Yanks were mediocre to shit from 1988 to 1994.) Of course, the Twins had won 2 World Series in the previous 7 years before this movie came out (compared to Cleveland, which has not won a World Series since World War 2), so the notion the fans would be ecstatic about the team almost making the playoffs as a wild card is a little odd.
Where was I going with that? Oh right, the Mariners as bad guys. Ken Griffey Jr. in particular is played as this imposing, cocky hitter. He hits a home run to give the Mariners the lead, then practically saunters around the bases, even winking at one of the Twins' infielders as he goes by. When he walks later and Bowers (Jonathan Silverman, playing a goofball relief pitcher) tries a pickoff, Griffey remarks that just for that, he's going to steal second base, maybe third, maybe even home. Then gets tricked by a faked, wild pickoff attempt the entire Twins' team, including one of the security guards, take part in. Pure cocky heel getting his comeuppance, which is just an odd role for a super-popular player known at the times for highlight reel plays and nicknamed "The Kid."
The movie gets some good mileage out of "child in an adult world" stuff. Billy learning about the wonders of adult films being available to rent in hotel rooms when on a road trip. The principal calling Billy into his office, then being real excited because the Twins might be able to sign Rickey Henderson. Billy and Bowers having fun with water balloons. The best bit is probably in the hours before the playoff game, when the team rallies to help Billy with his math homework. Maybe help should be in quotations marks. I've heard from people who at least played in college, that baseball players are the stupidest of all collegiate athletes, and this movie certainly plays to that stereotype.
No comments:
Post a Comment