The SandlotThere's little not to love about this childhood classic. This little gem brings back so many fond memories of my youth so readily that it's almost uncanny. These children are so familiar that I related to them almost immediately. I feel that the script writers must have tapped into a collective shared memory, because although we never really get to know any of these kids, save for the protagonist Smalls, I'm sure most of us can easily relate to them. It's also a really funny movie in parts. When Squids tells the boys the story of the Beast in the treehouse at night, with as much drama he can muster, his story is so ludricrous that it's almost impossible that any of his seemingly rational friends could believe it, let alone with such ferocity. But somehow they never question the validity of his asinine, yet hilarious, statements...such as "Soon, the police started getting phone calls about the missing thieves," and "The Beast killed and ate 120. . 173 people. It's true." Okay, wait a second here. .. how's that go? Someone calls the police department and says, choking back their tears, "My thief is missing!" And how the heck did the number of people the Beast killed jump fifty whole people in the same sentence??
The silliness is abated by a considerable amount of drama in the form of the huge 'pickle' that these boys get into. It's truly one of the craziest, most horrible situations any young man could face, outside of accidentally killing someone. I really can't imagine a more dire dilemma, but how they go about getting the autographed Babe Ruth baseball away from the clutches of the neighbors killer dog is undeniably entertaining. I've never had more fun watching a group of kids try to resolve such a terrible predicament. And the chase between Benny and Hercules at the end of the film is absolutely riveting, fomenting in me the desire to never be faced with the premise of having to run away from a massive beast who's intent on eating me alive. The players in this movie are all absolutely spot-on, from the children to Karen Allen and Dennis Leary as Scotty Smalls parents. Also, this is probably the finest James Earl Jones cameo in the history of film.
The Sandlot is effortlessly enjoyable, an innocent, playful romp into the very heart of nostalgia.
Rating: B+
The music that plays at the end of this film is somewhat saddening and yet touching in a way. Somehow reminds me of reflecting back on what could have been.