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The Sandlot



If you're looking for something a little different in the way of a sports-oriented film, take a look at The Sandlot, a 1993 slice of Americana that evokes small town sentimentality during the 1950's and provides a realistic journey into pre-teen angst that we can all identify with.

Writer/director Mickey David Evans has constructed a layered story that initially introduces us to Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry), a brainy but awkward 5th grader who desperately wants to be part of a local sandlot baseball team and once the leader of the team (Mike Vitar) takes Scotty under his wing, the story evolves into a more episodic comedy revolving around the team as a whole and their adventures with rival teams, a "dipping" incident an amusement park, and a junkyard dog that would make Cujo run for the hills.

Evans really scored here with a warm period atmosphere with loving detail in producing the 1950's and a screenplay that taps into all the pains of being a pre-teen, particularly peer pressure and I'm pretty sure that there is at least one scene in this movie that will have the viewer squirm, maybe in a positive way, maybe in a negative, but childhood memories will definitely be triggered here for anyone watching.

I also love that Evans didn't overpopulate the cast with a lot of stars, allowing the story to be the star of the film, as it should be. The biggest stars in the film are Denis Leary and Karen Allen as Scotty's parents.

A lovely little sports film for people who really don't like sports.