Today, I heard the sad news of the passing of Penny Marshall. As a kid, I watched Laverne And Shirley reruns and was enjoying every bit of the zaniness those two can create. Marshall directed many movies throughout her life ("Big" is a personal favorite of mine). But one movie stands out above the rest in Marshall's directing resume.
"A League Of Their Own" is not just a baseball movie, it's a movie that serves as a history lesson about how these women loved the game and played it with heart, but were shunned and criticized by the public because of it during that time. It's a film that chronicles the journey these women went through with happiness and sadness along the way. The actors portraying the characters in the movie are top notch. Madonna, who at the time was just cutting her teeth in the acting world while being the most controversial female performer in the music world, was good in her role. I was actually impressed by her performance. Tom Hanks as the drunken, malcontent manager Jimmy Duggan was superb and this has to be his most underrated performances as an actor. He also utters one of the most ironic phases not only in movie history, but in sports history, "THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!" Geena Davis and Lori Petty portray the competitive sisters in the league. Rosie O'Donnell and Jon Lovitz are great in their roles also, especially Lovitz as the malcontent scout of the league. Gerry Marshall, Penny's brother, portrayed the founder of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League and is good at his role. David Straithan portrayed Gerry's right hand man who wants to keep the league going.
If you noticed during this, I haven't put any spoilers in this "review", because I suggest that people view this film. The significance of the film is tied in to current events, where the WNBA players are arguing about getting equal pay as the NBA players. It also can be seen as a trip down memory lane as the cinematography is apparently spot on. So the question has to be asked: What does "A League Of Their Own" mean to me? It's simple. It's a candid flashback on a group of women trying to keep baseball alive where their significant others were in the war, and it makes me sympathetic to them, because they were trying their best to play the game as well as the men do while wearing outfits not designed for baseball purposes. If you are a baseball nut, this is a must see. I consider it one of the best sports movies of all time.
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