Amazon.com Essentials:
Penny Marshall's popular 1992 comedy sheds light on a
little-known chapter of American sports history with its story of a
struggling team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball
League. The league was formed when the recruiting of soldiers during
World War II resulted in a shortage of men's baseball teams. The
AAGPBL continued after the war (until 1954), and Marshall's movie
depicts the league in full swing, beginning when a savvy baseball
scout (Jon Lovitz) finds a pair of promising new players in small-town
Oregonian sisters (Geena Davis, Lori Petty). The sisters are signed to
play for the Rockford Peaches near Chicago, whose new manager (Tom
Hanks) is a former home-run king who wrecked his career with
alcoholism. They're all a bunch of underdogs, and Marshall (with a
witty script by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel) does a fine job of
establishing a colorful team of supporting players including Madonna
and (in her movie debut) Rosie O'Donnell. It's a conventional
Hollywood sports story (Marshall's never been one to take dramatic
risks), but the stellar cast is delightful, and the movie's filled
with memorable moments, witty dialogue, and agreeable sentiment. And
just remember: there's no crying in baseball! --Jeff Shannon
