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The Sandlot

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The Sandlot
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid Mickey Evans
Written byDavid M. Evans
Robert Gunter
Produced byMark Burg
Chris Zsand lotarpas
StarringTom Guiry
Mike Vitar
Narrated byDavid M. Evans
CinematographyAnthony B. Richmond
Edited byMichael A. Stevenson
Music byDavid Newman
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dateApril 7, 1993
Running time101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$33,832,313

The Sandlot is a 1993 American comedy-drama sports film about a group of young baseball players during the summer of 1962. The film was directed by David Mickey Evans and was released with the title The Sandlot Kids in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Plot

The film is told through the perspective of Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry), who is reminiscing about the summer of 1962. Smalls moves with his mother and stepfather Bill to a new neighborhood outside Los Angeles and struggles to make new friends. One afternoon, he decides to follow a group of neighborhood boys, and he watches them play an improvised game of baseball at a small field, which they call the “sandlot.” Smalls is reluctant to join their game because he fears he will be ridiculed based on his inexperience. Nevertheless, he chooses to play with them, but fails to catch a simple fly ball and properly throw the ball back to his infielders. All the other players, except for Benny Rodriguez, begin to laugh at Smalls for committing defensive miscues, prompting him to leave the sandlot in embarrassment. Benny, who is the best player in the neighborhood, shields Smalls from the insults of his peers and invites him to rejoin their game. He proceeds to give Smalls advice and helps him earn the respect of the other players. In time, Smalls is accepted and becomes an integral part of the team.

As Smalls continues to play with the team, he begins to learn many of the customs of the sandlot, while experiencing many misadventures with his new friends. He learns that players avoid hitting home runs over the sandlot’s fences, as the property beyond them is guarded by a ferocious dog, called “the beast.” One day, Benny hits a ball so hard, that he ruptures its leather, causing the ball's entrails to come out. The group cannot afford to buy another baseball, and is forced to retire for the afternoon. However, Smalls runs to Bill’s trophy room, and steals his stepfather's autographed ball, in hopes of preserving the game. The team is impressed with Smalls’ gesture, and allows him to have the first at bat with the ball. He proceeds to hit the ball out of the sandlot, but is shortly enveloped by fear once he realizes that he has lost Bill’s ball. The situation is further worsened when Smalls realizes that the ball was autographed by Babe Ruth, and is almost irreplaceable.

Smalls and his friends begin engineering elaborate plans to recover the ball from the beast. After five failed rescue attempts, Smalls prepares to accept his fate. Around the same time, Benny has an enlightening dream, where he is visited by Babe Ruth, who encourages him to run into the sandlot, and use his speed to recover the ball and escape. Ruth leaves Benny with the words, “Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.” Benny rallies his friends the following morning at the sandlot, and prepares to recover Smalls’ baseball. Using his PF Flyers, he steals the ball from the Beast, and successfully manages to elude the dog as it chases him through town. At the end of the race, the Beast is injured after a fence collapses on it. Smalls feels responsible for the ordeal, and helps the Beast (whose real name is revealed to be "Hercules") escape the rubble. Benny and Smalls then decide to tell the dog’s owner, Mr. Mertle (James Earl Jones), about the ordeal. They eventually learn that Mr. Mertle was a professional baseball player with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1927 and was a friend of Babe Ruth. Mr. Mertle, whose career ended after a hit by a stray pitch blinded him, agrees to give Smalls a ball signed by Murderers' Row – several of the best Yankee hitters in the late 1920s. In exchange, the boys are to visit Mr. Mertle once a week to talk about baseball. Smalls proceeds to give his stepfather the ball that Mertle gave him.

While Bill is pleased with the Murderer's Row ball, he is still upset about the Babe Ruth ball, but he only grounds Smalls for one week, during which they share some bonding time, and things finally start coming together for everyone. Smalls goes on to explain what became of all his friends, and the future careers they pursued. The film then jumps 20 years into the future, where Smalls is a radio commentator for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez is one of the team’s star players. While he is in the twilight of his career, Benny manages to steal home in the movie’s final moments, before flashing a thumbs-up to Smalls in the press box.

Cast

The Sandlot baseball team
Other characters

Reception

The film has a 59% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 22 reviews by critics. Critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars, writing:

There was a moment in the film when Rodriguez hit a line drive directly at the pitcher's mound, and I ducked and held up my mitt, and then I realized I didn't have a mitt, and it was then I also realized how completely this movie had seduced me with its memories of what really matters when you are 12.

The film grossed $4 million in its opening weekend and a further $32 million through ticket sales. Figures for worldwide, VHS and DVD sales are estimated to be at $76 million. Since its release on both VHS and DVD, the film has become a cult favorite.

Sequels

  • The Sandlot 2 (2005) - A direct-to-video sequel in which a new Sandlot gang, complete with girls, is featured. The only returning cast member is James Earl Jones in his role of Mr. Mertle.
  • The Sandlot: Heading Home (2007) - Another direct-to-video sequel starring Luke Perry as Tommy "Santa" Santorelli who gets knocked back to 1976 from 2007 and relives his childhood. Chauncey Leopardi reprises his role as Squints.

The "sandlot" now

The ball field where the characters played in the film is now deserted, filled with weeds and piling up trash. The ball field is located at approximately 1388 West Glenrose Drive in Salt Lake City's Glendale neighborhood. The idea of enshrining the field in the manner of Iowa's Field of Dreams, or it becoming a neighborhood hangout, has been talked about, but the field is privately owned. The Utah Film Commission has considered rebuilding the field and holding a 20-year reunion.

Soundtrack

The film's original score was composed by David Newman, and was unreleased until 2006, when a limited edition was released as part of the Varése Sarabande CD Club.

Songs in order of appearance:

  1. "Finger Poppin' Time" - Hank Ballard and the Midnighters
  2. "Smokie Part II" - Bill Black's Combo
  3. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" - The Tokens
  4. "There Goes My Baby" - The Drifters
  5. "This Magic Moment" - The Drifters
  6. "America The Beautiful" - Ray Charles
  7. "Green Onions" - Booker T & The MG's
  8. "Tequila" - The Champs
  9. "Wipe Out" - The Surfaris

References

  1. "The Sandlot". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  2. The Sandlot @ RuinedEndings.com - Obtained March 29, 2010
  3. Synopsis from Allwatchers - Obtained March 29, 2010
  4. "The Sandlot (1993)". rogerebert.suntimes.com. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  5. "What happened to Utah's beloved 'Sandlot'?". sltrib.com. Retrieved August 15, 2010.

External links

Films directed by David Mickey Evans
Categories: