A League of Their Own

Photo of DVD cover taken by Kate Dorsey
    Even though I own this movie, I have not watched A League of Their Own in a very long time. When I came across it on TV I remembered how much I like it. I also remembered there is one part I have a really hard time with. This part lasts maybe two minutes, but I still find it difficult to watch. That is why it is good the rest of the movie is so enjoyable.

    Dottie (Geena Davis) and Kit (Lori Petty) are two sisters recruited to try out for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) during World War II. Actually, Dottie is the only one recruited and she does not want to go. Kit convinces the recruiter (Jon Lovitz) to take her, but there is a condition. The only way Kit can come to the tryouts is if Dottie comes too. Kit manages to convince Dottie to go to the tryouts and they both make it onto the Rockford Peaches. They befriend the other women on the team, and settle in, but tensions between Kit and Dottie get to be too much. Kit has always been in Dottie’s shadow and being on the same team with so much time together makes it worse. Dottie requests to be traded, or else she quits, to change the situation, but Kit is traded instead. Kit leaves the team angry and with unresolved issues. They do not face each other again until the final game of the World Series. This is where the part I have a hard time with comes in. The last couple of minutes of the game are really difficult for me as I so want both teams to win. Of course this cannot happen, which is why I walked out of the room when it was on TV so I did not have to see that part.

    Other than those two minutes the movie is filled with great scenes. Tom Hanks plays the reluctant drunk coach Jimmy Dugan. A former baseball player, Jimmy is really funny as he tries to figure out how to resurrect his career by being a coach for women ballplayers. Dealing with a team of women is not his forte. Then there are the players themselves. They each have their own unique personality and get into some interesting antics. I especially like when they sneak out to go dancing, the newsreel, and their efforts to get more fans in the stands. At the end there is the exhibit opening in the Baseball Hall of Fame where everyone comes together again. I could go on and on about parts of this movie I like. The actors are great (I love Mr. Lovitz on the farm) and they all work very well together. There are so many well-known people in the cast. Other than the ones I have already mentioned there is Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, Bitty Schram, David Strathairn, Garry Marshall, and Bill Pullman.

    After watching this movie again, I wanted to go to the library and get books about the real life women who played in the AAGPBL. I would also like to go to Cooperstown to see the exhibit. These are strong, determined women and I am happy to see them honored in such a great film.

Image added 11/4/2021.

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