Garra de Campeões

As you might know, Baseball is not big in Germany. Hardly anybody knows or understands the rules. People watch soccer here. Basketball gets bigger. But Baseball? No.

So this movie, which many of my friends watched as well, was my first contact with this interesting sport. Of course, it is a fairy tale. Of course, the underdog won't get that big that it will beat everybody and win the championship. Or will it?

Sports history tells us different. The story is the same in every sport. Just two years ago, a team just promoted from second division won the German soccer championship!

This movie depicts the glorious story of a bunch of outsiders and underachievers who finally win some games. And it is told in such a wonderful manner that you can't but root for them on their way out of the slumps. Yes! It is a simple story! But the characters are wonderful, the wisecracking Harry Doyle incredibly funny and the finals... well... no spoilers here.

My most favorite moment is when oldtimer pitcher Harris is replaced by Charlie Sheens character in the finals. In the first games of the season, some die-hard fans had given Sheen the nickname "Wild thing" and sang the famous song. Now, the whole crowd is chanting this song as Sheen steps onto the field to pitch his largest enemy. This scene always gives me goosebumps. It is splendid.

Many great moments, excellent humor and a fate you would wish for your favorite sports team as well - unless you are one of those boring Yankees, Bulls or Bayern Muenchen fans...

Over the years many times I have watched Major League and each time I enjoy it. This film just seems better if you watch it during baseball season. The cast and plot of this movie is just great. You have a bunch of misfits and old-timers who come together and bring the Cleveland Indians out of many years of a slump, and finally contend for an American League Pennant. The movie has plenty of funny moments and mishaps that the characters do just to make you laugh while at the same moment you cheer for the team in each game of the season. Charlie Sheen is great he was perfectly cast as the pitcher. Plus the cast of Wesley Snipes, James Gammon, Dennis Haysbert, Corbin Bernsen, and Tom Berenger all worked very good together even Bob Uecker is a joy as the Indians very funny play-by-play announcer. Major League is just one of those movies when you watch it each time you enjoy it and you just love to cheer for the underdog. If you are a baseball fan and love a little comedy mixed with winning then Major League is a movie to watch many times.

There have been some excellent baseball movies made from Field of Dreams to The Pride of the Yankees, but no movie based on the national pastime can ever claim to be as hysterically funny as Major League. Granted, the value of the original was hurt by the second and third attempts at re-creating the atmosphere. Those two films were an embarrassment to all involved.

Major League, however, personified the attitude of "Nothing to lose". Aside from the easily identified woes of the Cleveland franchise of the late-eighties, there were several actors in this film that had yet to hit big or had started to fall from grace. The incredibly strong language of the movie only made it seem that much more realistic.

Let me preface this by saying I can't stand baseball; I find it to be one of the most boring sports out there. With that said, I love this film. It has a great "underdog" story, some genuine comedy, great characters, and heart. It's a minor film, but it's thoroughly entertaining. If more films could just be entertaining, I might go to the theater more often.

The heart of this film is the characters. We have the broken down veterans, the rookies, the love interest, the wise old coach, and the villain. These are rather cliched characters, but they are written and performed so well, you don't notice. Much of the humor arises out of character moments, which keeps it from becoming tired or dated.

Tom Berenger and Charlie Sheen were hot, coming off of the success of Platoon. Corbin Bernsen was enjoying fame on LA Law. Rene Russo and Wesley Snipes were relative unknowns who got a chance to shine. And then there's Bob Uecker! Uecker is the glue that brings everything together and he gets the best lines in the movie.

You can't go wrong with a film like this. Everything works well and a good time is had by all. Too bad the sequels forgot what made this a success.

I saw this movie when it was released back in 1989 and I couldn't stop laughing; This movie was hilarious.

It was very fitting, since the Cleveland Indians at the time were the laughingsock of the Major Leagues and for years, they were stuck in the realms of mediocrity or in last place year after year.

The cast was great; Led by Tom Berringer, and Margaret Whitton. She played the perfect villain in this movie. You just wanted to hate her. Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bersen, along with 3 unknown actors at the time, Wesley Snipes, Dennis Haysbert and Rene Russo. Snipes was hilarious as Willie "Mays" Hayes as well as Haysbert as Pedro Cerrano, the power hitter who practices voodoo. The cast was well rounded off with Checie Ross as Eddie Harris, the aging religious pitcher, James Gammon, Charles Cypers and Bob Uecker as "Harry Doyle".

There were many great one liners and hilarious scenes. The American Express commercial was classic and here's a couple of my favorite scenes:

-Jake Taylor, Willie "Mays" Hayes and Ricky Vaughn are in a bar after a game and discussing the long ball Vaughn gave up:

Taylor: "It wasn't that bad" Vaughn: "Oh yeah? Name one park that ball couldn't have left" Taylor: "Yellowstone" (All 3 laughing)

That scene was in the theater version and I've seen it in the trailers for the movie, but it was deleted in the video version. I'd like to know why, because that was one of my favorite scenes.

-"Oh now you come around; But he isn't fooled"- Eddie Harris on seeing Pedro Cerrano crossing himself.

Here's a few bits of trivia on the movie:

-Funny thing was seeing Pete Vukovich as Klu Haywood, a first baseman. Mainly because he was a pitcher in the Major Leagues.

-Catcher Jake Taylor wore #7. This was the uniform number of longtime Los Angeles Dodger catcher Steve Yeager, who was the technical advisor to this movie and played 3rd Base Coach, "Duke Temple" (Fitting that Taylor wore his number?).

-The movie was filmed in Milwaukee and 3 people affiliated with the Brewers were featured: Pete Vukovich, Bob Uecker (Brewers play-by -play man) and pitcher Jerry Augustine (Duke Simms).

-Was it a coincedence that Miller and Lite Beer was used, since Bob Uecker at the time was spokesman for the Miller Brewing Company?

This movie is one of the best sports movies around. Getting the dvd is worth it.