Angels in the Outfield

Starring: Danny Glover, Tony Danza, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Directed by William Dear
Year: 1994
IMDB / Wikipedia

Just as I was coming out of my childhood (my wife would argue this point, but whatever) I was discovering sports but also had a love for the family movies Disney was putting out. This was before the farcical tales of Air Bud and other insipid movies out there that challenged the intellect of the younger viewer, but I wasn’t falling for it. When all of my friends clamored over Rookie of the Year I found it trite and unamusing. Shit, I found Little Big League a bigger bang for my entertainment buck. However, this film had something in it that I found quite whimsical but also very touching.

This film is a remake of the 1951 film and tells the story of young orphan Roger (Gordon-Levitt) whose estranged father tells him the only way they would be a family again is if the last-place California Angels win the American League pennant. Roger takes this literally, prays to God one night for divine intervention, and it arrives from the heavens in the form of Al (Christopher Lloyd) and his band of ball-playing Seraphims. The Angels on the diamond are aided by the actual angels to a string of wins. This allows them to find their confidence and start winning as a team. Along the way, the grizzled coach (Glover) and a has-been pitching veteran (Danza) also find reason to believe as they stop taking things to seriously and begin to believe in themselves again.

The whimsy in this movie is easy to find, as are the touching moments, but what really stood out was Disney’s shot at people who put-down people of faith. The message of having faith in general as opposed to a specific faith is overshadowed by the opposing forces of the faithful and those who find it to be a crutch or, to an extreme degree, a mental disorder. These issues are taken on in a way that was very mature but was allowed to fully match the tone of the rest of the film. I find that in many child or family-focused movies that the big issues are dumbed-down and end up being painted in broad-strokes that do more to insult the intelligence of the audience than it does to deliver the message. This film didn’t resort to that and allowed an increasingly maturing young viewer to grasp and process the message.

But it’s still a family sports-comedy and it had it’s share of laughs. Plus, the supporting cast, which included a very young Matthew McConaughey, Neil McDonough, and Taylor Negron, was well-cast and played their roles in the fashion appropriate to the part. In all, it’s a family movie that’s well worth the watch for the entire family and may give you some hope that, no matter how bad your baseball team may be, they may receive some divine help next season. That’s part of the reason I’m still a Colorado Rockies fan.

Most Valuable Actor: Joseph Gordon-Levitt has cemented his rise in Hollywood by making his characters believable and it all started here. Before his turn on 3rd Rock from the Sun he played his role of a vulnerable foster-child with a power and emotion that he carries with him to every role since.

Trailer:

Goon

Starring Seann William Scott, Alison Pill, and Liev Schreiber
Directed by Michael Dowse
Year: 2011
IMDB / Wikipedia

Every now and then, I will find it necessary to break protocol to tend to my extremely large Netflix queue. This is one of those times. 

Rather than despair about the real possibility that professional hockey may not be back until Gary Bettman dies a slow, painful death in a Dumpster full of fire ants, I decided to bump up this movie in my Netflix queue. You may not have heard of this movie despite its great cast and stellar writing staff because, like many great movies, it wasn’t seen as marketable. Probably because American’s care about hockey as much as they care about the amount of truth in their political ads. It’s sad, but it’s true.

I first heard about this movie a while back when parallel stories about parallel movies about hockey goons: this one and another to be helmed by Kevin Smith that’s based upon the song “Hit Somebody,” penned by Mitch Albom and performed by the late-great Warren Zevon. I love the song so I started following these stories with great interest. As of right now, Goon got made while Smith’s Hit Somebody is stuck in development hell (it’s not even listed under his own IMDB page).

But, if only one of these movies got made, I’m glad it was Goon. Despite it’s low score on IMDB, this movie is a wonderfully funny and irreverent sports movie that scores because it’s not like every other sports movie out there. This isn’t like Slap Shot, though a comparison can be made with the adult themes; it’s not like Mystery, Alaska because the ending isn’t as obvious; and it’s not like The Mighty Ducks because there’s lots of blood, violence, and tons of swearing.

In short: it’s a real fuckin’ hockey movie!

The movie follows Doug (Scott), a simple-minded guy who is living in the shadow of his successful parents and brother until one night, while attending a small-town hockey game as a spectator, he fights a visiting player who jumps out of the penalty box and knocks him cold. From there, the movie develops into a very plausible tale of a guy taking a shot to do something he’s good at to try and achieve a better station in life.

Trust me, it’s not really as sappy as I made it seem, but to dive into every great plot detail would take too long.

One plot point that was good, but I wish they had expanded upon more, was the rivalry he had with another respected hockey fighter at the end of his career (Schreiber) and how the two of them came to a place of understanding and respect before their eventual face-off on the ice. The build up to that moment was so amazing and the crafting so good that I was out of my seat jumping around with excitement the way I do whenever there’s an actual hockey fight on TV.

But the best part of this film was the fact it didn’t center on the guy who scores a lot of goals or the coach or someone dying of cancer, it was on the guy who is villified in the media but glorified by the fans. The role of the hockey enforcer is trying to be toned down by the NHL and other leagues and it’s kind of a shame. Some may contend that fighting is the best part of hockey anymore but, as this film points out, the fighting is just a means to an end of keeping the peace on the ice among the civilized players. There’s a pile of respect to be won and lost with every fight and hard hit and that’s the part of hockey that is only understood by those who have played and those die-hard fans.

If I haven’t convinced you to see this film then go watch the Red Band trailer below (totally NSFW so don’t watch it at work) and if you’re not laughing or excited to see it then you are probably not a fan of sports, and it stinks to be you.

Most Valuable Actor: Seann William Scott gets this distinction again for the opposite reason he got it for his role as Stifler in the American Pie movies. He plays a great role that is opposite of the loud-mouth, raunchy persona he has trademarked for the past decade or so and brought a performance full of feeling and warmth. Not an Oscar contender but a lot of respect due for an actor that is truly more than meets the eye.

Trailer (Red Band):