A film that on the surface looked like just another family sports comedy has since transcended into legendary cult status. Is it the laughs? The memorable lines? The memorable characters? All the above to be sure, but upon further viewing, it might just be a little bit more than that.
Taking place in the summer of 1962, the film follows Scott Smalls as he moves with his mother and stepdad to the suburbs in LA. Scott is still getting used to his stepdad and struggles at first to make friends. He meets Benny Rodriquez who takes him to the local Sandlot and introduces him to his fellow ballplayers. Benny teaches Scott how to play Baseball and Scott is eventually accepted into the team. Throughout the film, the boys get into various hijinx and situations that eventually lead to "The Biggest Pickle" Scott has ever found himself in.
What's unique about this film that sets it apart from other sports films of its era is its pacing. The film takes a very episodic approach to tell its story. The film's main driving points with the ball signed by Babe Ruth and "The Beast" are set up in the first 25 to 30 minutes of the film and aren't brought up again till the last third of the film. In between that, there are individual story pieces that while separate are just as entertaining. These segments include getting kicked out of the pool after one of the boys attempts to put the moves on the lifeguard, getting into an insult contest with the local "Jerks", etc. This all works in the context of the film because one of the main themes of the film is nostalgia and looking back at the past. When you're an adult looking back at your childhood, you tend to remember it in individual moments, not as a whole. From that perspective, the film brilliantly succeeds in capturing that nostalgic feeling of when you were a kid and the various antics your and your friends got into. It also helps that the kids act like kids, they aren't dumbed down like a lot of other family films tend to do with their characters. The kids swear frequently, they pull off stupid stunts in public, etc. This creates further relatability with the kids rather your a kid or an adult as chances are, there is a character or situation that we can all relate to in some way.
Speaking of nostalgia and looking back at your innocence, the film also brilliantly captures the youth's classic perspective of false perceptions and creating larger-than-life things over things they don't fully understand. It works well as a coming-of-age film in that regard as some of the major plot points of the movie center on that idea. When Scott thinks of his stepdad, he covers him in a mysterious aura that makes it hard for him to form a connection at first. When Benny introduces Scott to the other kids, both Scott and the kids believe he is incapable of learning the game. Most importantly though is the "Legend of the Beast". Behind the Sandlot, a wall of junk separates the field from the backyard of Mr. Meartle and his vicious dog known as The Beast. When Squints tells Scott the story of The Beast it's presented in Black and white resembling a horror film at times, which makes sense as that is probably how a kid would see that story if it was told to them. All these false perceptions are shattered throughout the film. Benny successfully teaches Scott to play Baseball much to the surprise of Scott and the other kids. Scott eventually sees past the self-made barrier between him and his stepdad and can have no problem calling him dad after that. But most importantly after getting the ball back from Mr. Meartle's backyard, the illusion of that story is completely toppled (Literally and metaphorically). The boys learn that The Beast is just a regular dog with no monstrous characteristics, and learn that Mr. Meartle is not only a nice man but is also a baseball fanatic, Mr. Meartle even asks them why they didn't just come to his door and ask for it. This process of creating false legends over things you don't understand and then having it be replaced with a reality check is all part of growing up. It's a message to kids from the world that instead of making up legends, why not try to create your own. This makes the film an effective coming-of-age story.
The Sandlot is a film that so many think so fondly of. That love has continued growing throughout the years earning its cult status, and the more generations it is shown to, the greater its legacy will live on.
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