MAJOR LEAGUE. Directed and written by David Ward; produced by Chris Chesser and Irby Smith for Paramount. Starring Tom Berenger and Charlie Sheen. Rated R.
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Trust a baseball movie to know the importance of a strong finish. After a slow first half loaded with cliches, crudity and cheap laughs, down the home stretch Major League makes up for all those faults. The conclusion of the story sports as many bromides, to be sure (although at least one is turned, very neatly, inside out.) But for some reasons I can identify, and some that I can't, they start to work.
The major cliche of Major League is one which might strike a little too close to home for some sports fans. A young widow inherits the Cleveland Indians when her husband dies. It seems she never has liked Cleveland, and hopes to move the team to Miami. Her lease won't let her, though, unless attendance falls to abysmal levels. So this crafty lady proceeds to put together a team whose mothers wouldn't come to see them.
I'm sure I don't have to tell you how the story turns out. Eventually this collection of has-beens and could-never-be's reaches a level of play neither they nor their owner ever imagined, bringing thousands of new fans into the stadium in the process.
One of the reasons that this very predictable narrative manages to come alive is that the emphasis late in the movie is squarely on baseball. And this game has more potential for riveting drama and nail-biting suspense than any of its competitors. The script of Major League milks this aspect of the game for all it's worth, setting up the final confrontations neatly and filming the final action skillfully.
Another reason Major League makes a winner in the end is its acting. Even early on, when they didn't have lines or situations worthy of their talent and charisma, Sheen and Berenger get us involved with their characters. (And even though their wild rookie pitcher and almost-washed-up catcher are a pairing that rather shamefully rips off Bull Durham.)
Several of the minor characters stand out as well. Corbin Bernsen, as an all-bat, no-glove infielder, doesn't have much to do. But Rene Russo is attractive and believable as Berenger's old flame, Bob Uecker has some funny bits as the announcer, and James Gammon, with a voice that sounds like gravel rolling around on sheet metal, makes a great manager.
April 19, 1989