THE SANDLOT (Theatrical Release USA 1993)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.9|5.0 Stars ììì

The Sandlot—living childhood fully to include the once-in-awhile bloodied knee—creates a classic kids’ film that uses child actors to their maximum potential. The script even includes the evil, boy-eating neighborhood dog that nearly every child remembers from his youth. 

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry) moves into a neighborhood after his mom (Karen Allen) and his step-dad Bill (Denis Leary) marry. Scotty meets Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez (Mike Vitar) and his crew of baseball players who play on a sandlot after school. At first, Scotty watches and then Ben calls Scotty to make the 9th player for a no-show. Scotty gains confidence and over time becomes a valuable part of the team. Along their journey they befriend Mr. Mertle (James Earl Jones), owner of a dog who has kept every baseball ever hit into its yard, and they manage to survive Scotty’s ill-advised use of his step-father’s Babe Ruth-signed baseball. The film comes to nice closure by showing how the sandlot adventures impact the boys’ adult lives.

Additional Thanks

Really Good Work for Director David M. Evans. Thank you to Executive Producers Mark Burg, Cathleen Summers, and Chris Zarpas for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: The Babe (Art LeFleur), Hamilton ‘Ham’ Porter (Patrick Renna), Michael ‘Squints’ Palledorous (Chauncey Leopardi), Alan ‘Yeah-Yeah’ McClennan (Marty York), Kenny DeNunez (Brandon Quintin Adams), Bertram Grover Weeks (Grant Gelt), Tommy ‘Repeat’ Timmons (Shane Obedzinski), Timmy Timmons (Victor DiMattia), and Wendy Peffercorn (Marley Shelton).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. This is a good sports movie about growing up and making friends.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers