Cobb

I read about Ty Cobb in a baseball book when I was a kid, and while it was only a short bio it did manage to touch on many of the infamous incidents he was involved in along with his spectacular statistics. So when I heard a movie was going to be made with Tommy Lee Jones in the title role, I expected the worst and hoped for the best. The result is somewhere in the middle. I had always wondered if Cobb ever changed much in his old age, or ever had any regret over the way he treated people in the past. If he did, it didn't make it into this movie. Jones' portrayal is angry, belligerent, and over the top, and comes off as a man who has done nothing but make enemies his entire life, and intends to die as he lived, because to do anything otherwise - to show even a shred of remorse, would be admitting he had been wrong. It's something of a sensual overload to watch, is certainly not a movie to take a first date to see. But I was captivated by the rage on the screen, and watching very carefully for any cracks to appear. And the movie's biographer, Al Stump, is also looking to find a chink in the Cobb's armor, and Cobb knows it and exposes that fact as well. But the telling moment comes when this symbiotic pair suddenly reverse roles. Stump has been doing his best to stick with Cobb and keep him out of trouble through most of the film to this point. But then a process server knocks on the door of their motel with a divorce summons for Stump. A very drunk Stump then brandishes Cobb's ever-present Luger and threatens to kill the process server... and it's Ty Cobb who plays the sane one, and calms down the situation. It's a very telling moment in a film that otherwise fails to explain the man as the bastard, all the while depicting him with a savage intensity. As to the accuracy... I never met Ty Cobb, and I doubt anyone reviewing this film ever did, nor did Tommy Lee Jones I'm sure. So the real mystery of Ty Cobb died with him, as I'm sure was his intent... was it all an act? Or was the man truly psychotic? That mystery is left more or less untouched by this film, which I can recommend for anyone who has ever known anger, felt it, or been subjugated to it - but if you are prone to flashbacks of "Daddy Dearest", or you just aren't comfortable with harsh, angry, domineering behavior onscreen or otherwise, it's best avoided.

If this movie exaggerates the nastiness of Ty Cobb, his descendants could sue. Then again if the movie is accurate, his descendants clearly despise him as much as anyone else. The weirdly symbiotic relationship between Cobb and his hapless biographer Aaron Stump is engrossing to watch, but it is Tommy Lee Jones' performance that makes the movie. The performance borders on chewing up the scenery, but it's mesmerizing.

In bio-pics and other movies claiming to possess an historical basis, reviewers should stick to evaluating movies as movies and not as history, unless they happen to have a fair bit of grounding on the subject and/or events. Sad that so many here obviously hold an image of a a man on the basis of having read-or at least believing themselves familiar with the subject-a single work, and that, a book that has been utterly debunked a number of times (most recently in "War on the Basepaths" (Tim Horbaker-2015) and "Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty" (Charles Leerhsen-2015). Knowing what the screenplay was based upon, I went expecting a fictional portrayal of Cobb's last years and, my only reason for going, an accomplished and powerful performance by Tommy Lee Jones; both expectations were entirely met.

I normally would have absolutely no interest in seeing a Baseball movie. But this is no normal Baseball movie. This is a movie with Tommy Lee Jones in it. He portrays a vicious, nasty, evil, abusive, racist, violent, rage-filled man. And his fans know, Tommy Lee Jones does this type of man as no other can. Although he is perhaps too young for the role, he was unfairly absent from the Oscar ballot that year. He made me laugh during his insane moments (of which there were many), he scared me during a particular brutal moment, and he made me cry during his weak moments. Side-kick Robert Wuhl seems a bit toady, but you eventually realize he loves Cobb <Jones as Cobb, at least> as much as you do. This is a wonderful movie. Worth renting, absolutely. For those of you whom doubt Tommy Lee Jones ability, rent Cobb, The Fugitive, and Heaven and Earth or Men in Black. This man is fantastic; he makes Cobb great.

This film is one of my all time favorites. There are some things in the film that I am less than happy about, such as the attempted rape in the hotel room in Reno. I don't believe it actually happened. I have read a few biographical books on Cobb and even though few people ever liked him, there were some things he would not do. Its strange, but many people will see somebody who is detestable, in most respects, and that person is therefore guilty of anything that can be said about him. Ty Cobb was a "son of the south" who never got over his father's murder, and he also never, ever, got over the Civil War. As I recall, he entered the major's in 1904 or 1905.

As I said above, the movie "Cobb" is best viewed as a comedy; and I think it was intended to be seen as such by the film makers. I compare it to the film, "A Clockwork Orange." In A Clockwork Orange you had a story of a guy name Alex who had things happen to him, often humorous, because of who he was. At the end of A Clockwork Orange, in the last scene, you have to admit that you could only snicker at what was on Alex's mind listening to his beloved 9th once again, since he had now been "cured." I also remember the scene in the film that you see from the Bible where Jesus is carrying the cross and is being flogged. The camera pans back to the Roman who is doing the whipping, and it is Alex.

In Cobb, the first part of the movie is one of the funniest I have ever seen; especially the ride down the hill in the snow to Reno. The film has a lot of truth in it but it actually leaves out a lot. The Scene in which you see Cobb beating up the fan who is crippled is true. But what is not said is that the whole team put itself on the line in backing Cobb in what he did; they went on strike against Cobb's suspension. So, Cobb was not hated quite like he was shown to be in the film, and the film did a discredit to Cobb in some areas. Oh, by the way, that fan that was beatup in the film was Jimmy Buffet from "Lost in Margaritaville" music fame. Jimmy is a good friend of Tommy Lee Jones.

Actually, I rather doubt that you could make a real true film about Ty Cobb that could be saleable at the box-office. Ty Cobb was not funny, and he had little sense of humor; he absolutely had no sense of humor about himself. He was a bigot. You did not dare make fun of him to his face. He could explode into a life threatening altercation at the drop of a hat. However, I do believe he was courteous to women for the most part, and that is another area I have problem with what is depicted in the film. Cobb was a Redneck and a great deal like many other Rednecks from the south at that time. In his time there was a great deal of KKK activity going on in the South and the rest of the country for that matter. Cobb reflected his times, and never changed.

Also, baseball was a lot different then than it is today. It was a completely different time. Baseball was the ticket for the poor and exploited to get out of the coal mines, the iron mills, or the farm fields. It was much more of a dog eat dog world than it is today. The average player today can move into some other endeavor if he didn't make it. In Cobb's time, it was back to the coal mines and an early death. To quote Ty Cobb: "It's no pink tea, and mollycoddler's had better stay out." Baseball was a do or die affair and there were no holds barred as long as you could get away with it.

Cobb, in many ways was not that different than many, but he was the best baseball player of his time, and quite possibly the greatest that ever lived. And, he played baseball with a fury that nobody else, before or since, has played with. Unfortunately, he could not turn off that fury when he wasn't playing the game. For Ty Cobb, baseball was absolute war and he devoted himself 100-percent to playing it that way and he also devoted his mental capacities 100-percent to the study of getting the edge on his opponents. He would do or say anything to get you out of your game. Cobb could also circle the bases faster than anyone who has ever played the game, with his spikes sharpened. He was rather big for his time and was about the same height as Babe Ruth. Couple that size with that speed and the grit in his demeanor and nobody ever enjoyed or looked forward to playing against him. "What a ballplayer."