A League of Their Own

Sports films are a genre of movie that are usually big crowd-pleasers. This is quite fitting given the subject matter as films that highlight and showcase a popular sport with an underdog team battling against the odds in order to make it to the top, have historically been very successful throughout the years and resulted in a stereotype that can lead into the realms of corny popcorn fluff. While there are definitely more grounded portrayals and given the amount on display, not every example is going to be successful, its undoubtedly worked out in the past and the 1992 film, A League of their Own, is no different. Being both a critical and commercial success, this women-centred sports film adopted a lot of familiar elements to the genre yet brought their own spice which definitely managed to pay off in the long run. Set in American during World War II where the disappearance of the men runs the risk of shutting down all major businesses, including baseball, a plan is put into motion to allow women to form their own team and play in the big leagues to keep the sport alive. Several women are chosen throughout the states to represent for the country, which includes Oregon farm girl, Dottie (played by Geena Davis) who proves to be a great player but has no interest in leaving her simple life and plans to wait for her husband, Bob (played by Bill Pullman) to return from duty. Only deciding to go once her younger sister, Kit (played by Lori Petty) gets the chance as well, both travel to Chicago for the try-outs and wind up qualifying for a team. After meeting some of their team members including taxi dancer Mae (played by Madonna), a bouncer named Doris (played by Rosie O’Donnell) and second baseman, Marla (played by Megan Cavanagh), they learn that they will be managed by former star baseball player, Jimmy Dugan (played by Tom Hanks) who has grown into a disgusting slob with no desire to coach a team led by women. This changes however once the team starts to grow more successful over each passing game, with more respect being formed between him and Dottie, who eventually becomes assistant manager. Despite their success and how much these women have grown to adore their new jobs and team, their inclusion is still treated as a triviality that will be trimmed off the second men return from the war front, and with Dottie planning to leave the team once her husband returns, what future will this team (and women in general) have at this rate in the world of baseball? A League of Their Own is a purely wonderful film that takes what could be a standard and even overly cheesy film, and makes it incredibly entertaining, timeless, and engaging through amazing performances, memorable moments and lines, and superb direction.

Though the film never outright states as such, the film does contain some autobiographical elements to it, with the premise being a fictitious account on the rise of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (or AAGPBL) which existed between 1943 and 1954. Not only is that a great story to bring to the mainstream as the subject of women within baseball has sadly never been properly addressed on a huge level, but it also just works great as a driving force for a sports film, as seeing the journey of regular women around America leaving their uneventful often docile and stagnant lives to enter the world of sports and find strength, courage and compassion amongst a team is right in line with this genre and can provide something that while corny, can still be emotionally impactful and that is what this movie is in buckets full. It’s not the most complex, deep, or even original film, but it is so passionate about its content, so light about its presentation and so loving about its characters and their struggles, that it hits into that specific corner of the heart that will fall in love with every cheesy element it throws at you. The film was inspired by a 1987 TV documentary of the same name created by Kelly Candaele and Kim Wilson, and while you’d imagine the Hollywood-isms of this picture would be detrimental to telling this important story in sports history, it doesn’t come across like that or feel even disingenuous. Ironically, having a take that feels a little more mainstream and in a reality that (in fairness) would’ve undoubtedly cut out some of the truly horrible situations these women would have had to face in the time period, allows this true story to become public knowledge in a way that people will actively enjoy and appreciate rather than feeling like they’re being talked down to. The funny thing is that this film from a writing standpoint isn’t that dramatically interesting or new, as the screenplay by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel keeps this narrative in a very safe area and is pretty predictable all the way from beginning to end (which is bizarre given the fact its inspired by true events). While it deserves some points from avoiding tired tropes, you could feel how this story would very easily fall apart if it wasn’t for the directing by Penny Marshall. Having already proven her capabilities as a filmmaker with movies like Big and Awakenings, her ability to craft this film in a way that is fun and uplifting without being cheesy and too sappy is nothing short of miraculous, as everything from the tone, dialogue, performances, characters, staging of the film, musical choices, even juggling between what to keep accurate and what to make up, is handled perfectly for this kind of story in this time period. Without her control of this movie, it might have been an instant failure, so she deserves several flowers for holding it up so strongly and giving it such a strong, infectiously passionate personality.

What also holds this film up is the amazing performances that come from these incredibly talented actresses, all of whom are able to play these arguably cartoonishly straightforward people, yet never to the point that they feel phoney or like caricatures. They all feel like living women with their own individual struggles to overcome, and the way the film showcases these problems and how each of them together overcome them is very engaging and very delightful to watch. There’s a great feeling of companionship in this flick that isn’t overly stated, yet is constantly felt from how they interact with each other, how they might not always get along yet still come together as a group, and how they aren’t willing to settle for being just a cute little sideshow against the ‘’men’s league’’ yet still know how to use that lame bias to their advantage in getting them more popularity. Whether the role is small or big, each one of these ball players has personality and stands out quite well because of it. Geena Davis as the lead is definitely meant to be the blank slate or the stoic mediator against the more openly wild side characters, but for that kind of role, she really nails it. She brings a tough and assured, yet still connectable swagger to her part that makes all her actions feel believable and cool, yet never without forgetting the emotional humble centre to make her relatable. Lori Petty, with worse direction and writing, could come across as very unsympathetic and annoying (and at times, she kind of is), but the film is smart enough to handle this kind of bratty younger sister with enough understanding and awareness to keep her feeling genuine and not just like a trope. Rosie O’Donnell and Madonna (in her first acting role) seems like such a weird pairing, yet they actually manage to have good chemistry between each other, and they make for a memorable duo. Megan Cavanagh manages to come across as endearingly adorkable and sympathetic, and Anne Ramsay, Tracy Reiner, Bitty Schram, Freddie Simpson, Renée Coleman, and Ann Cusack are all really good as fellow players. Tom Hanks has arguably never played a character so openly unlikeable and pathetic in his entire career within this movie (even though his later work playing ‘’wholesome’’ people can be equally as stomach churning), yet his conviction to playing this part as well as his eventually change to somewhat improvement, also makes it one of his best roles just from how much he gets into it. He’s got a lot of memorable lines, and he shares a lot of great scenes with Davis as you really feel the respect between the both of them. On the smaller scale, David Strathairn as the league’s general manager does pretty good, and while Jon Lovitz might not be the best actor, his voice and delivery is pretty good at resulting in a laugh.

The magic of this film is that with a different direction, this film would not have come across as likeable and as humorous as it did. As previously stated, the script for this film is not only pretty generic from a conflict and narrative progression standpoint, but even from a joke department, most of the lines are either incredibly basic or sometimes the bits seem even childishly crude (the stuff they get Hanks to do earlier in this film is honestly a little embarrassing), so it should fail. However, through Marshall’s great handling and amazing performances, it allows this world to be likeably corny and it manages to remain balanced by retaining somewhat of a grounded feel (at least from an emotional level). Honestly some of the most entertaining and impactful moments happen when it ties into how the world really operated back then and watching the ludicrousness of the situation. Highlighting the women’s introduction into the workforce in the era and showing how it was only meant as a hurdle point that women ‘’had an obligation to uphold’’ rather than as a respectable act, and how they would very easily be tossed aside again the second the men return and have to resume the ‘’status quo’’ is a nice detail this film picks up on and having those double standards highlighted like the need for them to wear dresses while playing, forcing an etiquette class and make-overs so they look appealing to the remaining viewers, and even showing a 1950s style advertisement for the women’s league in a manner that style highlights ‘’traditional feminine roles’’, all ties into that element and works a lot in the films favour. This is also true in regard to some of the more sentimental moments, as they act as a more subdued break in the wackiness of the film and help breath a bit more weight into what should be a light-hearted fluff film. Little moments like helping an illiterate team member confirm her advancement, supporting a teammate with a love interest and then supporting her and their wedding in such a distinct way, showing the characters in the future where it manages to be both wholesome and bittersweet in a very nice way, or even showing the segregation of the sport at the time by having a black women show similar feats of strength yet be unable to attend (made even cooler when its revealed that cameo was played by actual softball outfielder, DeLisa Chinn-Tyler), it creates a great balance. The music works in a very similar way, as the piece composed by Hans Zimmer manages to hit all the expected notes of a corny uplifting sports movie piece yet has enough chaotic flair and softer moments to make it one that still serves its purpose as a wacky comedy.

As is the case with most things about life, sports have had just as much extraordinary female talent as it has male talent, and they have been grossly overlooked due to perceived prejudices and historical erasure that has only recently started to stop becoming an issue, and it’s a film like A League of Their Own that reminds people that it isn’t such a black and white sports field, so to speak. As people recollect names like Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Lou Gehrig, Shohei Ohtani and Joe DiMaggio (who is referenced in the movie), maybe people might start recognizing people like Doris Sams, Jackie Mitchell, Toni Stone, Ayami Sato, and every other woman who was part of the AAGPBL and any other professional league. This movie isn’t flashy, overly dramatic or turn heads for its ‘’meaningful portrayal’’, it is instead an immensely charming, entertaining, and wonderfully acted and directed film that everybody got on board with, which also just so happened to open up the doors for this kind of discussion whether intentional or not. It’s definitely a knockout of the park film to look back on all these years later.