A League of Their Own (1992)

Directed by Penny Marshall. Starring Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Lori Petty, Madonna, Megan Cavanagh, Rosie O’Donnell, Jon Lovitz, Bitty Schram, Freddie Simpson, David Strathairn, Garry Marshall, Tracy Reiner, Ann Cusack, Anne Ramsay, Renée Coleman, Eddie Jones, Bill Pullman. [PG-13]

With the boys away at war, MLB owner and candybar mogul Marshall decides to start the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League to fill the sports void. Fictional tale with a “true story” backdrop, centering on pitcher-catcher sisters (Davis, Petty) and a drunken former major leaguer acting as manager (Hanks). Endearingly likable and often entertaining, with a solid lead performance by Davis, though its feminine celebration could’ve been sold better if the scene-stealing work wasn’t done almost exclusively by the two funnymen (Hanks, plus Lovitz as a hysterically disparaging talent scout). The sibling rivalry stuff is overly familiar, but the interplay between all the players has a sweet and sentimental authenticity to it, and Hanks hitting a loudmouth brat in the face with a baseball glove will never not be great. Occasionally corny (the epilogue trying to tug on the ol’ heartstrings, the black woman throwing a ball back so hard that it hurts the catcher’s hand, etc.), but that comes with the territory.

72/100