Wettfieber

This quite possibly is the worst movie I have ever seen. I found it with some bargain bin DVD's, and now I know why. I am even a HUGE baseball fan, and hated it. The only 2 things worth seeing about this movie come in the first 15 minutes of the film. You see Sarain Boylan in a skimpy top, and you see them make up 2 ficticious teams out of 2 real teams. The St. Louis Cardinals are transformed into the "St. Louis Eagles" complete with a Mark McGwire substitute "Mike McGuinn". Same goes for the Chicago Cubs. They become the "Chicago Bruins" with a Sammy Sosa wannabe "Manny Mosa". If anyone wants to buy a used (watched once) DVD of this movie despite numerous poor reviews from IMDb users, let me know. I'll sell you mine... CHEAP! 1/2 out of 5 stars.

I saw it now as one of the producers is a friend. It has fun bits. The scoreboard scene with Maury Chaykin and Charles Durning is worth the whole DVD. It was set up that they had women up there. Someone said it is the gateway to heaven where they total up your hits, runs, and errors. The Gore Lieberman line is a throwaway, but laugh out loud. And the starting romance is a delight. We hope it works. The woman ever so slightly pulls the umbrella over, twice. A directors or actors perfect touch. Good actors. Good acting. The one flaw is Brad Garrett at the end becoming a mean dude. Not sure it was ever set up. Some funny bits. Worth the hour. Good job brother Rubin. As producer and the Cards manager.

It is clear that this was based on a play. The scenes are set in the bleachers of a "Chicago Bruins" baseball game during the course of a single game. This movie is a testament to team loyalty as well as loyalty to friends and the comradery of groups. Anyone who has spent much time at baseball games will recognoze some of the characters here. For me the rabid fan cheerleader steals the show, he spices the movie up just as he intends to spice the game up. I found myself rooting for him more than for the team. Nice ensemble piece. Would be interesting to see or read this plays script to see how it was originally set up for stage. If you like baseball or like well scripted movies, you wil enjoy this.

I was actually an extra in this movie and didn't get to see the finished product until much later. The movie was not great, that's true but after some research I found that this movie is based on a play and I think performing this show on stage may give it the endearing quality it lacks on screen. I spent 2 weeks in 2001 working on this movie. The direction was very good considering the seeming lack of budget that was present at the time. It was actually filmed at Varsity Stadium in Toronto and it was a blistering summer. I walked away as an extra earning my 8 dollars an hour and at the ame time feeling a proud and a new respect for all the extras in the movie industry.

Yes, I know the team in the movie is the Chicago Bruins but you just know it's the Cubs. This is a good movie although not a good baseball movie. A little too cliche' and a few too many errors (pitcher not pitching from the rubber, players changing position, bad baseball skills. etc.) to be a good baseball movie. But a good character study with a great ensemble cast. The couple who fight over the betting, the estranged father and son who came back together, the blind man and the bimbo with a heart of gold and of course, the wacko fanatic played with a lot of zesto by Stephen Markle. A baseball fan will probably enjoy it most but it's still a good movie to watch on a rainy Saturday afternoon when the Cubbies (or your local team) has been rained out.