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For Sunday July 26: A League of Their Own
Genre: Drama/Comedy/Inspirational Story

The Cover Reads...
A League of Their Own chronicles the men and women behind the All-American Girls' Professional Baseball League. Teammates Geena Davis, Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell travel a path through triumph and tribulation, and Tom Hanks (with a beer-belly) is hilarious as the team's dissipated wreck of a manager. Director Penny Marshall delivers a funny, sentimental crowd-pleaser that circles the bases.

The Ups
Man, do I love this cast. I think Jon Lovit's character is one of the funniest characters ever created. He plays the satirical baseball scout Ernie Capadino perfectly and the duo of Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell work really well. No, I'm serious. For me this was one of Madonna's best works. Of course, it would be a crime for me not to mention Tom Hanks and Geena Davis in this movie, who are simply stellar. Hanks really shines in this movie and if truth be told these are the comedic roles that I sometimes miss seeing Hanks playing. Not to say I don't like the drama that he does now, but there is something about seeing Hanks in a good comedic role that can just make you grin.

The story in this movie is one that keeps you involved through scenes of real life dilemmas and turmoil that women faced during the 40s. Such as following the progress of a woman who is discovered to be illiterate, or showing the pain suffered when a woman received one of the infamous "letters" from the war department. All those very important details are blended seamlessly into the movie while showing the struggles the AAGPBL dealt with in it's early stages of creation. From getting attendance up and selling tickets to getting Hanks to sober up and actually manage his team of girls, and giving us one of the most famous lines in movie history of, "There's no crying in baseball!" it all works beautifully in this film.

The Downs
There wasn't a whole lot that I didn't like about this film but if I did have to pick one area of improvement it would be that of Lori Petty's character, Kit Keller, younger sister to Geena Davis' character Dottie Hinson. I understand she's young but sometimes you get a confusing message of Keller just being a crybaby as opposed to her just needing to overcome her jealousy of Hinson.

This can create an odd feeling when there is supposed to be tension when Keller and Hinson are fighting because you really don't empathize or cheer for Keller when you're supposed to, just because she's a whinny crybaby. I think Petty does a good job playing the role, I think it's actually the script not giving us a defining understanding of the character.

The Wrap Up
I always love watching this movie, because it gives me such a variety of "feel good" emotions. It makes me laugh, makes me cheer and gives me a glimpse of the struggles and triumphs the women in the AAGPBL had. I really enjoy the story this movie has to tell and the great chemistry with the cast only enhances it.