Major League (1989)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

David S. Ward

Writer (WGA):

David S. Ward (written by)

Release Date:

7 April 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

When these three oddballs try to play hardball, the result is totally screwball.

Plot:

The new owner of the Cleveland Indians puts together a purposely horrible team so they'll lose and she can move the team. But when the plot is uncovered, they start winning just to spite her.

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Showgirl | Voodoo | Sports Team | Training

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Tom Berenger	...	Jake Taylor
Charlie Sheen	...	Ricky Vaughn
Corbin Bernsen	...	Roger Dorn
Margaret Whitton	...	Rachel Phelps
James Gammon	...	Lou Brown
Rene Russo	...	Lynn Wells
Wesley Snipes	...	Willie Mays Hayes
Charles Cyphers	...	Charlie Donovan
Chelcie Ross	...	Eddie Harris
Dennis Haysbert	...	Pedro Cerrano
Andy Romano	...	Pepper Leach
Bob Uecker	...	Harry Doyle
Steve Yeager	...	Duke Temple
Peter Vuckovich	...	Haywood
Stacy Carroll	...	Suzanne Dorn

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Finland:K-10 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Mirage

Trivia:

In the seasonal opener game, a sign on the outfield wall displaying the Milwaukee Brewers classic ball and mitt logo can be clearly seen. Bernie Brewer's house and beer mug was dismantled for the shooting of the movie, as to not give the identity of the interior shots of the stadium.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Harris gives up a double in the top of the 9th inning, which represents the 8th hit of the game for the Yankees. He walks the next hitter and relieved by Vaughn who throws three straight heaters to end the inning. When the Indians are up in the bottom of the ninth, the scoreboard shows that the Yankees have nine hits when, in fact, they only have eight.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Rachel Phelps: Good morning, gentlemen, and welcome to another season of Indians baseball.

Movie Connections:

References Dirty Harry (1971)

Soundtrack:

Wild Thing

Can baseball be any funnier?

There have been some excellent baseball movies made from Field of Dreams to The Pride of the Yankees, but no movie based on the national pastime can ever claim to be as hysterically funny as Major League. Granted, the value of the original was hurt by the second and third attempts at re-creating the atmosphere. Those two films were an embarrassment to all involved.

Major League, however, personified the attitude of "Nothing to lose". Aside from the easily identified woes of the Cleveland franchise of the late-eighties, there were several actors in this film that had yet to hit big or had started to fall from grace. The incredibly strong language of the movie only made it seem that much more realistic.