Major League

Next up in my retrospective reviews is another movie near and dear to my heart. It is one of my favorite sports movies of all time, and one of the inspirations for my nickname within my family, “Major League.”

Directed by David S. Ward Major League is as much about the Jokes as it is about the Sports and I think that is what makes it work so well. Of course it has all the Major sports movie cliches; however they are surrounded by some incredible humor. This is the story of the sad sack Cleveland Indians, and how their new owner Rachel Phelps is trying to create a team so bad, that she can move the team to Miami. Hijinks ensue and the team rallies to try and become the first winning Indians team in a long time.

I always find it tough reviewing comedies because besides the fact that the movie is hilarious, there is just not much to say. So I guess i just gotta give this the ole Apple Juice Rundown with this incredible cast.

Charlie Sheen is so odd in this movie that if you watch this movie enough, you may actually think he’s good in it (character awesome, acting ehhhh). He plays Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn, a former inmate who cannot hit the strike zone with his heater until magically he gets glasses!

Apparently he pitched in college and was actually throwing serious heat on set. *Further research found that he admitted to taking steroids during the filming, to add zip to the fastball (I honestly could not respect this move more).

Wesley Snipes plays Willie Mays Hayes and there is no better way to describe the character other than the below gif. He is great in this role and it is a tragedy they could not get him back for the sequel. (Maybe because they made him slide so much, it destroyed his legs)

Tom Berenger plays Jake Taylor, an aging catcher who is looking for one last shot with the team. He sort of plays the father figure role to craziness around him, but he tosses in a one liner or two. He also has the most iconic moment of the movie.

Rene Russo plays Jake’s Love interest in the movie and is probably way overqualified for the role. She does not get a ton to do except date a guy that has an apartment with an elevator in it.
My man Corbin Bernsen (shoutout Psych) plays Roger Dorn, a third baseman who has become soft in his older age. He plays this part so well that they basically made the franchise around him moving forward (weird I know).

Dennis God Damn Haysbert (yes the Allstate guy) might be the sneaky MVP of this movie. He is Pedro Cerrano, an Aaron Judge type who cannot seem to hit a curveball. His prayer doll Jobu is the best recurring joke of the whole movie, and has become an incredibly popular item online.

ICONIC!

James Gammon plays manager Lou Brown formerly of the Toledo Mud Hens (Shoutout Romo). His voice is so good in this movie, he steals every scene he is in. I cannot tell you how many times my dad and I have gone back and forth with “give him the heater Ricky.”

Lastly, since they filmed this movie in Milwaukee, they had to get Bob Uecker to do the play by play for the movie. He is incredible in this and is as much an integral part of the movie as anyone on the team.