The Sandlot (1993) User Reviews

Who's the Great Bambino?

[vertigo_14 · 8/10 · 17 March 2004]

The Sandlot is one of the greatest kids movies ever. It is a refreshing break from the family movies of today that mostly concentrate on stories in that upperclass Reiner-esque suburbanite setting of husband and wife and two and a half obnoxious kids. Instead, The Sandlot falls into a line of memorable adventures like 'House Arrest' and 'The Wizard.'

Flashback to the 1960s. Scotty Smalls, newcomer to the neighborhood, narrates (in a Wonder Years way) the hilarious adventure of how he got he and his baseball playing buddies into the biggest pickle ever. Smalls is the shy brainy kid who makes friends with a bunch of baseball fanatics. While learning the sport of baseball, he learns of an exaggerated legend of something called 'The Beast,' otherwise known as Old Mr. Myrtle's junkyard dog, which is chained up in the fence just behind the ballpark. The kids like to play baseball. And the Beast likes to eat them. Not to give too much away, but, "the pickle" that Scotty gets his friends into, involves a pretty valuable baseball, one slobbering beast, and kids who try to do anything they can to save their buddy from being grounded for an eternity. The mess they get into and the junk they try to get themselves out is simply hilarious. That, and the subplots of a clever move on a lifeguard and the determination to show up some very obnoxious rival baseball players.

It's a funny, fantastic film that most kids will likely enjoy--the boys for baseball and the girls for those noteable teen stars like Mike Vitar, Tom Guiry, Chauncey Leopardi, and Will Horneff. It's loaded with laughs and good time adolescents, despite Tom Guiry hamming it up only slightly. Plus, it's got a good theme about friendship and drive and determination to do what you want to do. I highly recommend it, if for nothing else, then the part where Squints tells the story about the history of the beast.

I can see from the message boards as well as other viewer's comments that it still has a rather memorable following, despite it's age. Definitely a must see!

Capturing time on film.

[Peach-2 · 8/10 · 18 February 1999]

I thought The Sandlot captured the innocence and joy of being young and playing baseball in a small town neighborhood. The film isn't perfect but has great atmosphere. I enjoyed the sub-plot with the dog and James Earl Jones and I loved the scenes when the kids were just being kids and enjoying the summer. The film made me feel good and I sometimes think that's all a film is supposed to do. Check it out.

One of the greatest childhood films ever

[Quinoa1984 · 8/10 · 14 June 2000]

The Sandlot is a great childhood film because it examines changes and friendship among a group of pre-teens. It is really just good old fashioned fun (especially James Earl Jones' cameo) in the adventures of their baseball days. Denis leary makes one of his breakthrough films here. Entertainment supreme, and maybe adults will like it too. A

very enjoyable

[MichaelM24 · 2 July 2001]

Okay, I didn't grow up in the time this film is set (I was born in 1978). But after seeing the film, I've got a pretty good idea of what it was like. My dad likes the film because of how much it reminds him of his own childhood. The story is simple: a new kid moves with his mother and step-father to a brand new neighborhood where he knows no one. So imagine his surprise when he winds up meeting a kid who invites him to play baseball with him and his best friends. Naturally, the other kids don't take to him too well: he's not very good at baseball, and he can't even throw right. But eventually, the kids grow to like him and teach him the ways of the game, and before long they're having a lot of fun during the summer. THE SANDLOT is a great kids film, very family-friendly, unlike the majority of so-called "family" films that are made nowadays. Sure, there's a scene where the kids are throwing up on a carnival ride thanks to some chewing tobacco, but the scene is done more for laughs than as a gross-out. (You can imagine that the scene would be done the opposite way if the film was made more recently). The characters and the young kids playing them are all appealing, and it's nice to see Denis Leary playing a kind sensitive role instead of the over-the-top characters he's used to playing. He's very good, even though the part's not a big one. The few scenes between him and star Tom Guiry are very nice. THE SANDLOT is a very good film. Kids will like the humor, and adults will remember how fun it was to be a kid.

an all time classic movie.

[departed07 · 10/10 · 2 April 2004]

I grew up watching The Sandlot and what i realized about this movie is that this film doesn't have the players winning or losing, but this is about friendship and how a big dog can make your worst dreams come true. The Sandlot is about a gawky kid named Smalls(Tom Guiry) who just moves into the neighborhood and tries to blend in with the crowd, until he fails. Mike Vitar who plays the neighborhood baseball hero Benny, helps Smalls play baseball and fit him in with the crowd. The team accepts Smalls and what makes the film interesting like i written above is that this film isn't about winning or losing, but about living your days in the summer when you are ten to twelve and realize that there is more to life than winning.

Overall a great movie.

wonderful family film that will also entertain the parents

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 12 May 2006]

This is a truly amazing film. It's a very good family film that can be enjoyed by BOTH your kids and yourself! That's rare, as often "family films" have too much smutty language or sexual situations for kids OR are so saccharine sweet that sane adults would prefer suicide over watching the films (think Disney in the 1960s).

The film isn't quite a comedy, though there are really funny moments in it (such as the evil dog that eats baseballs). And, it's not exactly a drama. It's more like an occasionally surreal slice of life film about the good old days of the late 50s-early 60s. It's about a group of kids that live to play baseball--and that's all they ever seem to want to do! Despite this very simple plot, somehow the excellent acting, direction and writing make you really care about the kids and it engages you from start to finish.

Cute and Nostalgic

[evanston_dad · 7/10 · 21 January 2021]

A cute and nostalgic movie about kids and baseball.

I can see why this film has developed a cult following. It's got kind of a "Stand by Me" vibe, and if you're not into baseball, there's still much to be enjoyed through the childhood memories the movie is sure to evoke in many. It's not as funny as I thought it would be. That's not a criticism of the movie, because it doesn't try to be super funny. It's just not the kind of comedy I was led to believe it would be, so my expectations were a bit disappointed. But it's still worth watching.

I imagine a certain age group (those who were kids around the same time as the movie is set) will enjoy this more than others. I'm too young to relate specifically to this time period.

Grade: B+

I grew up with gorgeous summers and this movie...

[stephane_decker · 9/10 · 4 April 2008]

The Sandlot was my favorite kid movie when I was a kid myself.

I was about 8 when I saw it the first time on German TV, so a couple o' years after the movie's release and man, I loved this one. I saw it during summer and after watching it I felt the energy for new adventures! The best thing is, years after that I saw the movie again during another summer and it reminded me so hard on the good times one can have as a youngster outside... I went for adventures again.

As many other reviewers have noticed, this movie reminds us of what it was like to be a kid, and when dogs were dangerous monsters, and playing outside was just a huge adventure. Everybody of us felt like an Indiana Jones. It felt damn good.

This is one of the movies I will carefully hold on and keep it, lets say to watch it all couple of 6 years just to remind me how cool life can be. The movie captures all our youth so well and packs it in one huge summer so watch and love this one.

An absolute 10/10 for being THE kid movie of my life and guess what? I am an adult but I love watching this one. Your turn now.

Kid Movie For Adults Who Are Young At Heart

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 3 February 2008]

Growing up as a nerd can be hard, especially when you're trying to make friends with the local kids at the sandlot (where day in and day out it's nothing but baseball). But you do what you can, which means learning the game. Things are going smoothly until the one day, when you find yourself in the world's biggest pickle -- sending your father's baseball (signed by Babe Ruth) into the neighbor's yard, which is guarded by a creature known simply as "The Beast".

I watched this film on my birthday with my best friend Chelsea, not really knowing what to expect. I figured that not unlike her other preferred films lately ("Mighty Ducks", "Little Giants"), it would be a sports underdog film. Well, it's not. Sure, it features kids who come from less-than-wealthy upbringings, but it doesn't have anything to do with them facing off against another "superior" team. Just kids, a baseball and a beast.

This film will appeal to kids and to adults who wan to be kids. It's a good, clean film with no nudity or violence and only a small amount of cursing. Good for the whole family. The father, who appears only briefly, is played by Denis Leary, but it's not the stand-up Leary or the Leary from "Judgment Night" -- it's the one from "Operation Dumbo Drop". So expect foul language and you'll be gravely disappointed.

I really enjoyed the surreal quality of the beast, how it was played up to be a dinosaur or some other mythical creature. I also liked the Rube Goldberg methods to retrieve the ball. I was a little doubtful that anyone wouldn't know who Babe Ruth was, as the main character doesn't. Sure, you might spend all day reading Popular Science, but it's Babe Ruth. The name itself far surpasses what anyone knows of him.

I loved this film. It helped that I watched it with one of my favorite people, but at the same time it was just enjoyable in general. It's nice to have a film that's not raunchy or too cerebral -- just a relaxing trip back to the days of our childhoods (like the protagonist, I also spend more time reading than anything physical). Share my enthusiasm!

Nostalgia

[pennilessp0et · 9/10 · 21 October 2007]

I rate my films in terms of context. This film never aspired to be an Oscar nominated movie of a lifetime. But it did aspire to be a good family film, and that it is. For me, I'll admit nostalgia has a lot to do with it. This is a movie from my childhood, and yes as a girl I had a huge crush on Mike Vitar. But at the same time this reminds me of my childhood because my brother played baseball with all the neighborhood kids in our side yard and we always spent our summers outside or at the neighborhood pool just as the kids in the movie did.

Besides, the nostalgia I'd say this movie is right up there with "A Christmas Story" or "Ferris Buller's Day Off" as far as extremely recognizable quotes go. Nearly anyone will know what movie you're talking about when you say them.

"You're Killing me Smalls!" --- "FOR-EV-ER" --- "THE BEAST" --- "The great Bambino? Oh, I thought you said the great... Bambi." --- "You play ball like a GIRL" --- "Yeah-Yeah the kids a square" --- "Benny 'THE JET' Rodriguez"

I could go on, but I won't. This is a great movie to watch with your kids and to reminisce of your own summers spent as a kid. ENJOY!

Life is baseball and baseball is life.

[michaelRokeefe · 7/10 · 23 September 2005]

Heartwarming and enjoyable family movie about a young boy(Tom Guidry)that moves into a new town and desperately wanting to fit in with the rest of the neighborhood boys. In the summer of 1962, a bat and a ball is like life's blood. The sandlot is like a home away from home; a place for a young boy to exercise his fantasy and spend the best hours of summer. A good smack will send the ball sailing over the fence to never be seen again for it lands in Mr. Mertle's(James Earl Jones)backyard, which is guarded by a humongous dog...a super slobbering dog that devours just about anything and everything. The high drama and dilemma of the summer is trying to retrieve a Babe Ruth autographed ball from the territory of the big ass junkyard dog, Goliath. Other cast members of note: Patrick Renna, Mike Vitar, Chauncey Leopardi, Denis Leary and Karen Allen. THE SANDLOT is nostalgic, sentimental and stuffed full of innocence and humor. Worth watching again...and again.

Likable family film with plenty of amusing moments and the young cast are appealing.

[hu675 · 8/10 · 7 November 2007]

Tommy Smalls (Tom Guiry) is the new kid, who moved with his mother (Karen Allen) and his stepfather (Denis Leary) is a suburbans area of Salt Lake City in the summertime. When Smalls becomes curious with a group of kids (Mike Vitar, Patrick Renna, Chauncey Leopardi, Marty York, Brandon Quintin Adams, Grant Gelt, Shane Obedzinski and Victor DiMattia), who plays Baseball all day long in a old baseball field. Smalls is hoping to play with them but he knows nothing about the game. When he tries to play, he's quite bad at all. He can't even throw a ball to the catchers. When he becomes friend with the leader of the game and Smalls starting to like the game. But when his stepfather goes away for business, Smalls take a baseball from his stepfather trophy room. Which without realizing that the ball, he took from the room is actually signed by the Baseball Legend "Babe Ruth". Smalls hits his first home run, the ball went over the fence of a old house. But that old house, it has an mean-spirited junkyard dog. Which the kids called him "The Beast". Now the kids have to help Smalls to get the ball back before his stepfather comes back from the business trip.

Directed by David M. Evans (First Kid) made an likable family comedy that plenty of funny moments, a good cast and a lot of imagination. The narration of the film will certainly make you remember of the late Bob Clark film "A Christmas Story", although the narration of "The Sandlot" is sightly heavy-handed at times. This film has a surprise hit, when it was release in the spring of 1993. Fox had another fantasy film about Baseball, which it was "Rookie of the Year". James Earl Jones, Art LaFleur and a young Marley Shelton have memorable bit parts in this pleasant comedy as well.

DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer (Also in Pan & Scan) and an good Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD also includes an featurette, trailer and TV spots. This film went on to be an modest classic over the year. All the kids have their moments, especially Renna and Leopardi have their comedic moments. The movie slows down a bit during the second act. But it's well made and this picture pleases everyone as well. It's one of the better family movies of the 1990's. Don't miss it. Co-Written by the director. Arliss Howard appears Unbilled. Followed by Two Direct to DVD's. Joe-Dunton-Camera Scope (J-D-C Scope). (****/*****).

For baseball fans and dog-lovers of all ages.

[Ddey65 · 6/10 · 4 September 2011]

***POSSIBLE SPOILERS!***

Somebody on this board wondered if there has been anything else said about it that hasn't been said before. To their surprise, I can. I've actually thought of this as a dog-loving movie, as well as a baseball movie or a movie that's nostalgic for baby-boomer childhoods. The only dog-loving move that tops this one is the remake of "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey" from the same year, but then again, the presence of Sassy also makes this a cat-loving movie.

Tom Guiry plays "Scotty" Smalls, a somewhat nerdy kid who just moved into a suburb of Los Angeles with his mother and stepfather(Karen Allen and Denis Leary, respectively). His mother isn't so pleased with the idea of Scotty spending so much of his summertime indoors, so she sends him out into the neighborhood hoping he'll make friends. Along the way, he sees these kids playing baseball in some cheap old sandlot. They need another kid, so the leader of this gang, Benjamin Franklin "The Jet" Rodriguez invites him over. Most of the kids reject him, but not Benny.

The movie show the kid's antics throughout their neighborhood, and surprisingly very few of them are baseball related. Though they do defeat a junior-high team, it's not treated as the big deal most baseball-related movies tend to be. Other antics include Squints' lust for teenage lifeguard Wendy Peffercorn, a huge mishap with chewing tobacco and carnival rides, and most importantly a local junkyard dog on the other side of the fence hyped up as a monster. This dog has a habit of stealing any ball that comes near his yard. After running out of balls, Smalls borrows his step-father's autographed Babe Ruth baseball, and you guessed it; The Beast grabs that one too. From then on, it's an endless montage of failed attempts to get the ball back, until Benny has a dream where he's visited by the ghost of Babe Ruth(Art LaFleur), who encourages him to go take the ball back himself. And once he does, you can be sure that chaos is inevitable throughout the neighborhood.

When "The Beast" is finally defeated. it's a bittersweet victory, like the sinking of the Bismarck, or the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Unlike those three events, there are no casualties, unless you count the death of a local urban legend, which is further solidified when the kids finally confront the dog's owner(James Earl Jones), and explain what they've been doing.

Having said all that, it's not without flaws. The flashback scenes where Squints hypes up the legend of The Beast were supposed to take place 20 years earlier, but feature cars made as late as 1966. There's also the issue of how an African-American like Mr. Mertle would've been allowed to play baseball with the greats of 30 years earlier at a time when Major League Baseball was all-white. Nitpicks like this though shouldn't keep anybody from enjoying what can now be called a classic.

I'm Sorry Guys, This Just Isn't Good

[joshuafagan-64214 · 3/10 · 8 November 2015]

Oh... I'm almost afraid to do a review like this because so many people like this movie. But on my integrity as a film reviewer, here I go. Please try to remember that the opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone. If you don't agree with them... so be it.

I... do not like this movie. I do not like it at all. I would not have liked it as a kid and I certainly do not like it now. I get why some people like it. If you were a kid when this film came out, or you are just a sucker for cheesy coming-of-age movies, or you just really want a movie like this and you have not watched Stand By Me, I can understand it. I, on the other hand, are none of these things, and I hate this film.

It is not cute or sweet or relatable or well-acted or well-paced or smart or funny or clever. Instead, it is clichéd and crude and energyless and boring and lifeless and limp and pandering. Pretty much everything about this film is pretty much everything I hate about movie. At times, it feels like it was designed to anger me and me alone.

Some people have called this film a kid's version of Stand By Me, which is wrong for two reasons. First, it is impossible to have 'a kid's version' of Stand By Me; that movie works because the audience is reliving their childhoods along with the narrator. Making it for kids makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. But I could forgive that except for reason two; all of Stand By Me's energy and realness is nowhere to be found.

That movie worked because the characters had real hopes and dreams and highs and lows and flaws. They seemed like real kids; not the corporate movie versions of kids. That movie reminded me how much I hated the kids around me when I was in elementary school. This movie reminds me how much I hated the kids in the movies they made us watch in elementary school. It is as manufactured as films get.

The cinematography is terrible. I, someone who has never shot a movie in my whole life, would probably not be that much worse at it than the group who made this film. It is minor grip, yes, but it represents how little effort went into making this movie artistic. There are a few shots of California. That is all. Stand By Me is a gorgeous movie, with its sweeping shots and careful framing. It envelops you and takes you on a journey. This film just stays put.

The characters don't go on much of a journey either. Stand By Me was a coming of age film, and an effective one at that. This film tries to do that, but it forgot to actually do the coming of age. Not much changes from the beginning of the film to the end. Don't let the ending monologue and its sweeping music fool you; not much of importance happened during the duration of the film. Even a film like Kiki's Delivery Service, where next to nothing happened plotwise, made the viewer feel like the characters had grown, like the hour and a half that they put into the film were actually worthwhile. This film? I'm terrible at baseball and my time would still be better spent on an actual sandlot.

There are so many holes in the plot. What if Smalls didn't drop the ball when he was dropping down from above? You'd be out of the last twenty minutes of the story. Normally, plot holes do not bother me at all, certainly not on a first viewing. But when the world fails to draw you in, everything falls apart; the veil of artistry is lifted.

I could go on ranting and raving for way too long. So I'll just issue one last complaint- the characterization is nonexistent. How hard is it to make the characters in a film interesting on at least a banal level; seriously? Make them stereotypes or overgeneralizations; just do something. How trite everything feels could be somewhat excused if you were actually seeing the film through the characters' eyes. But the characters are so two-dimensional that you can't.

Overall, everything in the film falls apart. It is as if someone took Stand By Me and hired some random joe to make something like it; and the random joe had no clue why SBM was great in the first place. I will never understand why this movie is so beloved. Nothing stands out; it is bad and boring. Except for the music, which is exceptional.

Again, I do not care if you like this movie. Everyone has their own opinion. But I have the right to voice mine. So there it is.

How can you not love this movie?

[Adriane · 17 August 1999]

One of the best "kid" movies that I have ever seen. A story about friendship and baseball, and the people in our lives. Great one to watch with your friends to reminisce about the old days. Look for a great cameo by James Earl Jones. Recommended for those of us who had great friends growing up, and never wanted the good times to end.

Very enjoyable feel-good movie.

[sublime501 · 8/10 · 23 June 2004]

THE SANDLOT is quite possibly one of the best "family films" ever made. In it, a young, studious, unpopular boy named Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry) moves to a suburb just before school lets out for the summer, and concurrently has a hard time making friends. He frequently sees kids playing baseball in a sandlot in his neighborhood, and wants to make friends with them. He figures the best way to do this is to join in on their baseball games--but alas, Scotty has almost no baseball skills, while the other kids are very experienced and good at the game. One day, the neighborhood hero Benny (Mike Vitar) approaches Scotty and asks if he'd like some pointers and to join in on their game. Scotty agrees, and slowly improves, while making friends with the other boys in the neighborhood.

But one day, Scotty foolishly takes his stepfather's baseball autographed by Babe Ruth and knocks it into the adjacent backyard. This backyard, as Scotty is informed, is home to The Beast, a monstrous dog that, as legend has it, ate the only other boy who was daring enough to go after a baseball in that yard. The boys devise a plan to get the ball back, one way or another.

I watched THE SANDLOT several times growing up, and remember always loving it. When I watched it again recently, I realized exactly why--it's a great movie. Just the right balance of childhood innocence and experience is captured, and this movie is bound to make any adult remember his childhood and all the different aspects of it. The summertime atmosphere and almost all of the scenes are terrifically nostalgic. Some of the scenes involving The Beast are hilarious, and everything has a nice familiar feel to it. It's a wonderful feel-good film.

All of the actors put in at least average performances. Most of the child actors are just okay, with a few exceptions. Tom Guiry is good as the awkward and naive Scotty, as is Patrick Renna as the outspoken and witty Hamilton. I think the real standout of the actors, though, is Mike Vitar as Benny. He was excellent as the kindhearted, but still very cool hero of the neighborhood, the guy that everyone loved. He showed real promise, and it's a shame that he didn't continue with his acting career. The cameos from James Earl Jones and Denis Leary are also nice.

I always loved watching THE SANDLOT growing up, and now I remember why. It's a great family film that is very entertaining and enjoyable to watch. I'm sure I'll watch it again years from now and remember just why I loved it. 8/10.

Awesome movie!!!!

[clever_girl3 · 10/10 · 1 January 2005]

This Movie is the best ever!!!!! It truly is a classic, and I know that because every time I mention the name "The Sandlot", people constantly rave about it.

Also, when it first came out it was my favorite movie, and then I never saw it again until I bought it 2 weeks ago and have watched it approx. 7 times since I got it!!!

"The Sandlot" is a movie I will never get tired of and can literally watch over and over again for sure!!!! This movie keeps me laughing every time and the more you watch it, the more you'll love it!! Definitely one to see!!

even for someone not interested in sports

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 20 June 2005]

"The Sandlot" may just look like it's about baseball, but moreover, it's about friendship, with some nostalgia thrown in. Set in 1962, Scotty Smalls moves into a new neighborhood. Uncertain of the area at first, he becomes friends with some boys in a baseball field known as the Sandlot. Over the summer, they try to get girls, battle a rival team, and do a few things that they shouldn't have. All the while, they have to remember about a dog known as "The Beast".

As someone who has never been interested in sports, I seemingly wouldn't take any stock in this movie. But I did. I admit that Karen Allen, as Scotty's mom, and Denis Leary, as her boyfriend, are the only cast members whom I recognize, but it's a really interesting movie.

Not just a kids movie. It's a great movie.

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 1 October 2013]

Scotty Smalls is the new kid in the idyllic small town with his mom and stepdad. He's an awkward kid who wants to play baseball with neighborhood kids. There were 8 of them, and he hoped to be the ninth. Their best player Benny Rodriquez takes Smalls under his wing. Over the summer, the group has great childhood adventures together. It all culminates to a story of a lost baseball signed by Babe Ruth and a feared dog named the Beast.

This is more than just a kids movie. You can easily overdose on the innocence of it all. There is the group of kids. They are perfectly casted with amazing chemistry. Each one is an iconic child type. As a period piece, they picked an era just before the world goes into revulsion. In the sport of baseball, they have accentuated the childhood love of the game.

This is a kids movie for the whole family. That's not a cliché. It has the feel of a timeless classic.

Great baseball movie or great kid's movie: you decide

[Agent10 · 7/10 · 24 June 2002]

This film proved to be one of the few kid-based stories which I still watch today. Films about growing up always make me misty, simply because of the moments of innocence which most seek to display. One of the funniest moments in film history is the guys using chew for the first time, then proceeding to through up on themselves and everyone else. Sure, it was a bit crass, but that's what happens when one tries chew for the first time. I especially loved the attitudes of the players, all defining themselves in some shape or fashion, modeling themselves after the common baseball player. Great fun, and the cameo performance with James Earl Jones was awesome.

Fun for everyone

[crash21 · 10/10 · 30 July 2008]

"The Sandlot" has to be one of, if not the best kids movie ever made. Because this is one of the very few movies that is equally entertaining whether your a kid or an adult. Simply because the movie relates to situations that everyone has at some time in their life; problems making friends, and accidentally getting yourself in a big trouble situation.

This is beautiful proof that the quality of a movie doesn't depend on how many celebrities star in the movie, but how good the story really is. Because "The Sandlot" came out around the same time as the movie "Rookie of the Year". While "Rookie of the Year" got all of the media hype and had all of the big celebrities staring in it, but after you saw both of the movies, you realized that "Rookie of the Year" was nothing but the lame over-hyped move, and "The Sandlot" was the worthwhile movie.

As far as I'm concerned, this movie will most likely remain in the #1 spot of kids movies for all eternity.

Remember your childhood?

[russem31 · 7/10 · 31 August 2006]

"The Sandlot" (1993) is a heartfelt family film for all ages. Expertly directed by David M. Evans whose love for baseball and his own childhood nostalgia shows here, this film is just a pleasure to watch, seeing what the world looks like through a child's eyes. Told in flashback for the whole film, you get to see how a new kid's future is changed by a summer baseball team who befriends him, playing on a field called "the sandlot". The children are for the most part believable in their roles, which is hard to do since children are more difficult to direct than actors. Though the story is simple and somewhat predictable, it's this predictability that makes it fun to watch - you want what happens in the film to happen. A sporty 7 out of 10.

Beautifully Constructed Movie About Childhood

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 28 December 2016]

I remember that for most of my childhood, all the way to graduation, I played baseball. I was never a varsity player, but my friends and I spent our whole summers doing pickup games. This movie captures a time that doesn't exist any more. Adults have organized so much of the fun out of sports that kids don't get to just play for fun any more. League. League. League. Here we have a ragtag bunch of kids who are all over the place talent- wise. One is fantastic. The rest just love the game. But there is more than the game. There is a mysterious place where balls disappear and a dog the size of a walrus holds forth. There are stories and bragging and all kinds of kid things. There's James Earl Jones, who is feared by the kids through most of the movie until..... See this. It will delight you.

Enjoyed this.

[gazzo-2 · 7/10 · 18 April 2010]

Never'd watched it 'til today. It's kinda 'Stand By Me' but baseball-centered and w/out all that melancholy 'end of era' stuff that permeates that one from '86.

Here you have: disparate, recognizably normal type kids playing baseball in the early sixties in southern California, doing normal kid things. You know- bonding, fighting, being scared of the Monster Dog next door, ogling the lifeguard, insulting each other, making things up about themselves that they've never done, trying tobacco, getting sick.

The Monster dog turns out to be a rather large, aggressive mastiff, the owner is a blind James Earl Jones, the McGuffin of the Ruth signed baseball the device that brings all of this together.

I liked the kids-Smalls, Benny, the Twins, Nunez, Squints, Hamilton esp. I thought their reactions to each other and the world around them to be refreshingly normal. We all did these sorts of things at that age and saw other kids doing them later on. The movie is nostalgic w/out drowning you inside it-the soundtrack does toss in 'Finger Popping Time', a couple of Drifters tunes and Wipeout, but it's all kinda well timed and doesn't feel forced.

You get to see Karen Allen and Denis Leary as the parents twice in the movie ala Charlie Brown's adults--which makes sense, really, this is the kids' world, not that of the folks'. I thought both were okay if somewhat under-used.

It all wraps up rather entertainingly though you do need to put your mind on hold a bit during the varied Rube Goldberg attempts at getting the ball back(thing pulleys, erector sets, long sticks, vaccuum cleaners, etc) and that marathon chase thru the cinema, fair and what not.

Check it out, you will like it and so will your kids. *** outta ****

But is it a good movie?

[jtdunlop · 5/10 · 16 April 2000]

Hey, I played little league baseball too, and I played catch endlessly with my best friend. But memories of little league notwithstanding, this simply is not a good film. It's obvious, and cliche, and stretches belief beyond the breaking point. If you want to see a reminiscence-type film well done, rent Bronx Tale sometime. Even the television-based Wonder Years was better, on probably 1/10 the budget. Go play catch with your kids and leave this on the shelf, guys.