Redemption Rewatch: The Sandlot

Year: 1993

Genre: Comedy

Directed: David Mickey Evans

Stars: Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Patrick Renna, Chauncey Leopardi, Marty York, Brandon Quintin Adams, Grant Gelt, Shane Obedzinski, Victor DiMattia, Denis Leary, Karen Allen, James Earl Jones, Art LaFleur

Production: 20^th Century Fox

By the time I got around to watching The Sandlot, I was already in high school. I don’t know why that is exactly – It’s considered an early nineties touchstone in much the way Pogs, Game Boys and The Mighty Ducks (1992) were back in the day. By the time it was widely available on VHS, the movie was laser-focused on kids my age. To whit snippet of dialogue like “you’re killing me Smalls,” had actually managed to sneak into my vocabulary without me even realizing it. So by the time I sat down to watch this ode to summer and eye-fluttering nostalgia, I was already at a point in my life where I was knee-jerkingly against everything that everyone else liked.

That is the legacy of The Sandlot that in my mind before setting out for a redemption rewatch. A clichéd, cloying, and unrelentingly sweet kid’s movie that had neither the sense of wonder that E.T. (1982) had nor the propensity to revel in its silliness the way something like The Little Giants (1994) did. To top it off it was about baseball, a sport I had failed miserably in, two years in a row. I even had the distinction of being the only kid on my team to never hit the ball when up to bat. Hearing the collective sighs of parents in the stands and seeing the encroaching outfielders strolling closer as I came to the plate was excruciating.

My team uniform

Now that I am older, The Sandlot is more of a silly, good-natured summer movie than a vessel for childhood frustration. It’s cute and quotable, liable to give anyone who watches it the same warm feeling when watching A Christmas Story (1983). It’s a kid’s film from the perspective of kids. Not exactly a rarity but by taking place in 1962, a lack of grounding could’ve turned out as un-engaging as Newsies (1992).

Stock characters beat writing something original

This doesn’t stop the film from loading up the plot with a gaggle of stock characters. There’s the leader (Vitar), the fat kid (Renna), the ham (Leopardi), the nerd (Gelt) et al. with Tom Guiry rounding out the cast as our fish-out-of-water and de facto narrator. The fact that Sandlot didn’t see fit to add “the girl” is unfortunate but then Renna’s “you throw like a girl,” line wouldn’t have been as funny and Leopardi’s graft at the pool would have actually had consequence.

What strikes me the most about The Sandlot the third time around (I think) is it’s not really about baseball. In fact, other than a late junkyard dog inspired action boost, the movie basically sits there like a summer heat wave. It’s not really about anything other than chasing that feeling of no school, no work. None of the characters really change all that much, and inclusion of James Earl Jones feels like a lesson falling on deaf ears at best. At worst, it’s a non-sequitor. If we’re honest the only thing holding this thing together are a couple of loosely chronological hijinks.

I'm in this movie less than Coca-Cola

But the hijinks are arguably the best part of the movie and coincidentally what everyone remembers so fondly. The whirlybird scene, the rival team standoff, the extended chase through the neighborhood, it’s all so effective in a broad, shameless kind of way. It’s during these moments our patience is rewarded with light-hearted, un-cynical entertainment in what otherwise feels like a Skippy’s Peanut Butter commercial.

Gee, I with Denis Leary was my stepdad

Nevertheless, The Sandlot appeal remains hidden under oh so many layers of quaintness. Even a casual observer will notice the camerawork is sloppy, the acting amateurish and the story lacks urgency. If you grew up with it, watching it a second time isn’t likely to change your mind on its merits. Since I technically didn’t grow up with it, I can’t really see anything other than nostalgia propping it up.

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