There's No Crying In Baseball: A League Of Their Own (1992)

I am an open fan of Penny Marshall almost entirely for her brilliant and constantly underrated film Big, one that deserves its own acknowledgement in this month of women oriented film reflection, particularly because she, undoubtedly, paved the way for women in filmmaking, at least as it relates to American cinema.  A League of Their Own, a film I decided on a whim to add to the list for this month, much to my surprise was a film directed by Marshall, although to be honest, the heavy sentimentality and concern for a traditionalist aesthetic certainly reflects the stylings of one of Hollywood's most iconic behind the scenes women.  A League of Their Own does get caught up in its own concern for cinematic fluidity and a desire to promote normalcy and tradition filmically, reflected in its use of spatially linear composition and highly stylized imagery to reflect historical groundedness.  I say these things not to discredit this film by any means, what Marshall offers with A League of Their Own is nothing short of brilliant and the perfect combination of cult classic and legitimate cinematic classic that this film has obtained is worth noting, not only because the film reflects sound classicist filmmaking, but that it also decidedly places non-patriarchal bodies within the forefront, even going so far as to choose a decidedly relegated group within history and push them to the center of a narrative.  One could spend hours discussing the ways in which A League of Their Own fails miserably in its acknowledgement of intersectionality, yet it is a period piece and to embrace some sort of sound racial unity would be to betray the very unfortunate realities of the era, something a film like The Help seems more than willing to embrace, even if it means betraying the historical realities faced by women of color during the era.  As I navigate through this month of women oriented films I am certain I will be opened up to new venues within filmmaking, notably within the experimental, with that in mind it is great to see a film like A League of Their Own exist as a counterpoint to the traditional filmic narrative, while also perfectly existing within its aspects.

So it is fairly well established that people know what A League of Their Own is about, even if they have never managed to view the film.  It is simple to describe it as a film about women playing baseball, when, in fact, it focus so much more on the gender complexities related to such an occurrence, particularly as it related to the realm of World War II America.  The narrative specifically focuses on two sisters who are hired to play in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the decidedly  attractive slugger and expert catcher Dottie (Geena Davis) and her much more tomboyish, but equally adept sister Kit (Lori Petty).  In fact, it is a direct result of the scouting of Ernie (Jon Lovitz) that the two make it to tryouts, where they meet other equally skilled women, most notably the sultry "All The Way" Mae (Madonna) and the boisterous firecracker of a slugger Doris Murphy (Rosie O'Donnell).  If it were not enough of an expectation to assume that a bunch of women from various parts of the country could merge together to make a solid baseball team, the addition of their manager, former star baseball player turned raging alcoholic Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) certainly problematizes the situation.  As Dottie and Kit's team, the Rockford Peaches begin their career it is clear that they are not initially welcomed by society, in so much as various members of the crowd mock their gendered inability to play sports, yet through the brilliant leadership of Dottie they are able to attain respect and eventually a large fan base.  Yet success for the team does not result in a lessening of the very real existence of war occurring, particularly as it relates to Dottie whose husband has been fighting in the war, making each letter delivered during their season a moment of tension.  In the end, the Rockford Peaches make it to the playoffs, although not before the relocation of Kit to another team, resulting in an intense moment of sibling rivalry and while it is negative at the moment, the closing scenes clearly suggest that over time both would come to realize that they were engaging within a larger cultural revolution.

For the most part, A League of Their Own is an essentially positive consideration of women in film, in fact, one would be hard pressed to find a means by which women are outright degraded within the narrative, as long as class and race are excluded from the discourse.  However, while the film clearly mocks the bodied/sexual element emergent within the All-America Girls Baseball League existing, within in a cinematic sense it does very little to directly undermine it within the abilities of temporal distancing so key to filmmaking.  Where A League of Their Own does go absolutely right is in their depiction of the multiple bodies, particularly those that do not necessarily adhere to ideal beauty norms.  Sure the narrative depicts women like Mae and Dottie as "ideals," yet the other women, whose bodies are decidedly non-normative are able to obtain romantic relationships and become more self-empowered in the process.  A cynical reading of this film could criticize the emphasis on heteronormativity, but that would be a bit ungrounded, firstly in the overlooking of A League of Their Own very much existing as a period piece and second in the problematic association with women is sports and an automatic lesbian identity.  A League of Their Own certainly has moment in which lesbianism can be read into the scene, overall sexuality factors in very minimally, aside from the decided heterosexual relationships pursued by a distinct handful of the group.  Perhaps the most revolutionary moment of gender interactions occurs with the relationship of the girls to Jimmy who begins his role as manager with a heavy degree of patriarchal pride, only to dismiss it when he realizes its negative effects on his team, not to mention its problematic entrenchment within oppression.  By the way, I just returned from a Women's Studies conference, so my preoccupation with these terms is somewhat understandable, but no less important.

Key Scene:  The tryouts really set the stage for the remainder of the film and help to show the magic of a film helmed by Penny Marshall.

Yet again, one benefits from having Netflix Watch Instantly should they want to watch A League of Their Own.  I highly recommend doing so, if, at the very least, for the history lesson.

How Can You Not Get Romantic About Baseball: Moneyball (2011)

I enjoy sports movies, mostly for their underdog narrative and quotability.  I will staunchly defend a film like Remember The Titans or Hoosiers as sound pieces of narrative cinema that are both enjoyable and relevant.  However, I am less apt to hone in on sports movies about professional baseball teams with the same kind of support.  This was the case at least until I watched Moneyball.  Perhaps it was the always impressive acting of Brad Pitt or the keen yet accessible dialogue of Aaron Sorkin, but Moneyball was everything I was looking for from a mainstream movie in 2011 and was elated to close out a year of movie going with such a respectable piece of cinema.  Moneyball certainly does not top the art house magic of Tree of Life or the nostalgic beauty of Midnight In Paris, but Bennett Miller's follow up to Capote is what a biopic should be honest, engaging and unbiased.  Moneyball has villains and heroes, yet as a great film reminds its viewers, both sides are fighting a battle that is often much larger then their seemingly petty problems.


As advertisements made clear, Moneyball is based on a true story, that story being of the player turned general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) and his attempt to redeem the 2002 Oakland Athletics from baseball obscurity.  However, his task is rather burdensome because he must do so in the opposition of losing his teams best players to financially powerful teams while also dealing with his own team's relatively miniscule budget.  Believing all to be lost, Beane attempts to make a friendly trade in Cleveland only to discover that the Indian's have hired a wunderkind statistician named Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) to make their trading decisions.  Intrigued by the general manager's willingness to listen to such a young guy, Beane approaches Brand and asks how he makes his decisions.  Brand explains at great length that he has created various mathematical equations about on base percentage and other factors which help to point out that many teams overlook excellent players simply for their appearances, off field antics or assumed aging issues.   Impressed by Brand's attempts to change the face of baseball, Beane hires on Brand and they proceed to change the entire Athletics roster.  This change faces opposition from the teams coach Art Howe (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and head scout Grady Fuson (Ken Medlock).  Furthermore, Beane faces his own issues of the field, which include accepting his own failed attempt at baseball glory, dealing with his life post divorce and keeping a close relationship with his daughter.  Although Beane faces the same end of season loss, Brand's suggestions and Beane's headstrong attitude about baseball lead to the team winning twenty consecutive games thus breaking the MLB record and a new found respect for how baseball could be played.  Beane, however, remained disillusioned by the fact that he still lost and accepts an interview with the Boston Red Sox.  Despite being offered a startling sum of 12.5 million dollars Beane decides to remain at Oakland.  The film closes with a subtle yet poetic image of Beane riding through the decaying landscape of Oakland while listening to a song recorded by his daughter, a statement about the truths of baseball and life, one that reminds viewers that some quests in life cannot be accomplished by statistical analysis and bargaining, but simply must be learned through trial and error.

In classic Sorkin fashion, the narrative seems straightforward and free of social criticism at first glance, however, by the end of the film it is apparent that Moneyball is a blatant critique of corporate oppression in the United States with baseball serving as the venue.   It is blatantly a film about capitalist domination whether it is the ability of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees to buy out any hopes of a winning chance or his ex-wives change of spouse to someone more financially stable.  However, Sorkin is careful to show how expansive this oppression is through the character of Art Howe who is the villain throughout the film for his refusal to partake in what he believes to be an absurd approach to baseball management.  Howe, though, as Sorkin shows through dialogue is concerned with his own job in the future and would ideally support Beane's decision if it meant his own financial safety.  In a capitalist structure, Howe represents a white male who thinks his power comes from financial security and thus adheres to the structure for what he believes to be his own security when in fact it is a falsely created sense of safety for the capitalist oppressors who care little for his place in the structure.  To the oppressors, in this case teams like Boston and New York, Howe is dispensable and replaceable with a quick signing of a check.  For a team like Oakland, Howe is absolutely necessary, however, they have no ability to financially back this notion.  The rebellion to this aforementioned oppression comes then from Brand who realizes the illogical nature of baseball theory which places its heaviest pride in image and financial revenue as opposed to practicality and functionality.  Thus, the ironically named practice of "moneyball" is about frugality as much as it is about dismissing the need for obstinate amounts of money, a liberal critique of capitalism if ever one existed and an obvious exertion of Aaron Sorkin's power as a respected screenwriter.

Moneyball is one of the films to see from 2011.  It should fair nicely at the Oscar's and might even garner Pitt an Oscar for best actor, even if it should go to him for Tree of Life.  Regardless, go see this film in theaters while you still can, it will be well worth your time and money.