Major League (1989)

These guys don't look to f**king good! Cleveland Indian's owner Rachel Phelps puts together the worst baseball team she can find, the hope is that they finish plum last and she can then relocate the franchise to sunny Florida. However, once the assortment of oddball players get wind of the plan they find a collective goal to achieve, with hilarious results. Goofy? Well yes it is of course, but Major League has charm in abundance and with a pretty smart cast having fun, the result is a truly enjoyable and laugh filled piece of fluff. Refreshingly you don't have to have any knowledge or a love of baseball to enjoy this movie, it thrives on locker room mentality and crowd demented loyalty for the laughs, to which the pic delivers them at almost every turn. The assorted team members comprise such characters like a religious voodoo nutter and a wild child parolee - and those are the sane ones! The cast is made up of big names, Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Rene Russo and Wesley Snipes are in tune and in it for laughs, and hopefully you will be as well. Upon its theatrical release it proved to be a popular crowd winner, so much so that (unfortunately) two desperately bad sequels were spawned, so do avoid those at all costs. Instead just settle for this one especially if you are in need of a pick me up. Wild Thing you make my heart sing, indeed. 7/10

**Major League proves anything can be fun and hilarious with the right collection of zany outlandish characters.** Major League just makes me happy. It’s packed with quirky, eccentric characters, lots of ridiculous moments, sincere character development, and that iconic song, Wild Thing! This crazy team of misfit baseball players makes Major League as wonderful as it is. Tom Berenger’s weary veteran catcher balances a young Charlie Sheen and Wesley Snipes. Add in All-State Insurance’s own Dennis Haysbert as the volatile voodoo power hitter, Pedro Cerrano, and strong performances from Rene Russo, James Gammon, and Corbin Bernson, and Major League becomes one of the most iconic and hilarious sports movies of all time. Major League made me start to enjoy watching baseball at a young age and fills me with nostalgia and joy. Ok, I need to go watch it again right now.

It came out when I was 9 and, honestly, all 9 year old boys love baseball movies. It's a law that transcends race, religion, and country of origin. Even in backwards countries like France, when they value soccer as a national popular sport, the 9 year old boys still love baseball movies. Even if they don't play it. Anyway, this was a love story to the Cleveland Indians. It stinks of it. You know, you just know that someone wrote the movie, directed it, whatever, just so that they could sit back and watch the Indians win. It's like baseball fan fiction, only unlike normal fan fiction, it's a pleasure to watch because baseball fan fiction is about the team winning and not about a Mary Sue taking all the glory. And then, to cover up the fact that it's baseball fan fiction, they made it into a comedy as if to tell the audience not to worry, they aren't going to take it seriously anyway. And I get where they are coming from, I had the exact same fantasies about the Cubs, most of my life, at least until I went to Europe and saw a soccer riot and got worried about what would happen if they did actually win... but it went off without a hitch didn't it? And now, honestly, it doesn't feel right. A part of me, the masochist in me, would almost rather have a movie like this made about my team, instead of seeing the real thing. Anyways, what it is, is baseball fan fiction, and base ball fan fiction is a lot better than most other things. Baseball period is a lot better than most other things. Its almost like a romantic comedy in a very weird way. So sit back, grab a beer, and enjoy. It's like watching a funny version of the real thing.