Joe Torre: Curveballs Along the Way (1997) (TV)

Director:

Sturla Gunnarsson

Writer (WGA):

Philip Rosenberg (written by)

Release Date:

17 October 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Sport

Plot Keywords:

Pitcher | New York Yankees | Baseball

Cast

Paul Sorvino	...	Joe Torre
Robert Loggia	...	Frank Torre
Barbara Williams	...	Ali Torre
Isaiah Washington	...	Dwight Gooden
Gailard Sartain	...	Don Zimmer
Marilyn Chris	...	Rae Torre
Eugene Clark	...	Bob Watson
Kenneth Welsh	...	George Steinbrenner
Andrew Jackson	...	Paul O'Neill
Barry Flatman	...	Mel Stottlemyre
Dean McDermott	...	David Cone
Diego Fuentes	...	Mariano Duncan
Aidan Devine	...	Wade Boggs
Rummy Bishop	...	Rocco Torre
Victoria Mitchell	...	Sister Marguerite

MPAA:

Rated PG for language.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

British American Entertainment

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the brawl in Seattle, the game is being played outdoors on a sunny day upon a grass field with dirt base paths. In 1996, the Seattle Mariners played in the Kingdome, an indoor dome with artificial turf, and with no dirt base paths.

Has too much of a low budget look and feel to it to be taken seriously.

Paul Sorvino does a decent job playing Joe Torre, but his performance cannot overcome the low budget look and feel the movie had.

The movie re-enacted a fight scene in a game that the Yankees played on the road in Seattle. Up until a week ago (6/27/99) the Mariners played their home games at the Kingdome, inside and on artificial turf. The fight scene in Seattle takes place outdoors with sunlight and on grass!

In scenes that took place during games, different filming techniques were used to make these scenes appear as though they were taken from televised footage. It looks like the intent was to seamlessly integrate that with actual game footage to give the appearance that the combination of the two came from the same broadcast. It wasn't effective; the end result being that the package was more "seamy" than it would have been otherwise.

The actors who depicted actual ballplayers were overall not very authentic. Only the actor who played Dwight Gooden and the actor who played Mariano Duncan were even halfway convincing. The actor playing David Cone looked like a person that had never played baseball who was trying to act like a baseball player.

Baseball fans are sticklers for details. To make a successful baseball movie, you have to take the time to make sure the details are right. Use authentic jerseys and at least try to duplicate the appearance of a game venue accurately if you can't use the actual venue itself. Get actors who know how to act and talk like baseball players.