Though the casting was questionable in some cases (those
playing Berra and Dimaggio, for example), it was overall good,
especially the guy playing Maris, and having Tom Candiotti playing
Hoyt Wilhelm was inspired.
You do have to be a baseball fan to really enjoy this film, I believe.
I was 19 when Maris broke the record (and yes, purists, he DID
break the record) and I remember all the people who were rooting
for him not to do it. Most of their resistance was out of veneration
for Ruth, who from all reliable accounts made Mantle look like a
choirboy, but who was personable and quotable, so most people
liked him - and did not like Maris. Maris was essentially a modest
man who only wanted to be good at what he did, and he was. What
a lot of people do not know (and may not care) is that Maris was a
good enough high school football player to get offered a
scholarship to Oklahoma - the New York Yankees of college
football. He still holds the national high school record for most
kickoff returns for touchdowns in a single game (4) in 1951. This
record has stood even longer than his single season home run
record. I seem to recall that Maris' epitaph reads ,"Against all odds.
That pretty well sums it up.
Good job, Mr. Crystal...
playing Berra and Dimaggio, for example), it was overall good,
especially the guy playing Maris, and having Tom Candiotti playing
Hoyt Wilhelm was inspired.
You do have to be a baseball fan to really enjoy this film, I believe.
I was 19 when Maris broke the record (and yes, purists, he DID
break the record) and I remember all the people who were rooting
for him not to do it. Most of their resistance was out of veneration
for Ruth, who from all reliable accounts made Mantle look like a
choirboy, but who was personable and quotable, so most people
liked him - and did not like Maris. Maris was essentially a modest
man who only wanted to be good at what he did, and he was. What
a lot of people do not know (and may not care) is that Maris was a
good enough high school football player to get offered a
scholarship to Oklahoma - the New York Yankees of college
football. He still holds the national high school record for most
kickoff returns for touchdowns in a single game (4) in 1951. This
record has stood even longer than his single season home run
record. I seem to recall that Maris' epitaph reads ,"Against all odds.
That pretty well sums it up.
Good job, Mr. Crystal...