Viewed in
2008
Premise
A disgruntled drunk manages a rag-tag team of misfit youngsters in a little league.
Who should watch
Walter Matthau fans. Those who want a sports comedy full of mean spunk.
Thoughts
Overall, this was a ton of fun.
The late great Walter Matthau was perfectly cast as the bitter, failed-professional coach. Everything from his body language to his drunken rants were hilarious.
What was surprising to me was that the kids were equally strong as Matthau on screen, especially Tatum O'Neal. Instead of lazy caricatures, they were full of spunk and nastiness. When the coach cussed them out, they would cuss right back. They behaved like kids! I laughed out loud numerous times between the tug-of-war between the coach and his kids.
While this movie formula has been used countless times, this was the best of its kind that I had ever seen. I was caught off guard on how mean and spirited this film was. And that was a good thing.
What I would change
Toned down the serious nastiness in the final game. I know there is always psychological and ethical ugliness when overly competitive adults manage little league teams, but this aspect was never present in the first two acts. I hate it when films enter a different genre abruptly.
Random
I understand it was before days of PG-13 ratings and political correctness, but I have trouble calling a film containing derogatory words for blacks, Hispanics, and gays a family film. While it was realistic that kids would use these words without awareness, but that understanding only works with adult audiences. If I were a parent, how would I handle this?
