Home Run Showdown DVD Review

I love the game of baseball. Love it.  Unfortunately, the Red Sox are having a horrible season. So I'll take my baseball where I can get it. I'm a big fan of baseball movies. My favorites are Eight Men Out, Bull Durham, For Love Of The Game and Fear Strikes Out, but I tend to find a certain joy in all baseball films.  Baseball movies always bring me back to what's best about childhood - the innocence and excitement, and the feeling that it's separate from everything else, and so untainted - and so it makes sense that there would be a number of baseball movies aimed at children.  Home Run Showdown, though at times falling back on cliches of the genre, has enough of that good baseball magic in it. Plus, it has some actors that I love - particularly Matthew Lillard as Joey Deluca, and Barry Bostwick as his father, Big Al.  And it has a good message for kids, about not giving up, but also about teamwork.

Lori (Kyle Kirk) is the new boy in town (staying with his aunt because his mother is deceased and his father is in prison) and he clearly loves baseball. He runs into Joey (Matthew Lillard), a guy who briefly played in the minors and who now wants nothing to do with the game. Lori is on his way to try-outs, and asks Joey to toss him a couple of balls.  Yes, it's a contrived way to begin the relationship, but it works.  The boys' teams are all named after Major League Baseball teams.  And, guess what, the team to beat is the Red Sox, coached by Rico (Dean Cain), Joey's brother.  Yes, in this movie the Red Sox are undefeated. 

The top three teams in this league get to field balls in the outfield during the home run showdown. Lori is determined to get there, so that his father can see him on television in prison. But when he misses a fly ball, Lori is cut from the group.  So are several other kids, including a girl named Fassi (Emma-Lee Hess), who might be the best athlete of the bunch (I like that she plays softball, but hates it because her teammates and coaches aren't serious enough).  The league is short one coach, so if these kids can find a coach, they'll have a team.  One guess as to the man they ask. 

There is some serious sibling rivalry in this film - not among any of the children - but between Joey and Rico.  And it's their father, Big Al, who tells Joey to coach this team.

The team that Joey coaches, by the way, is The Cubs. (Hey, remember when it looked like there was going to be a Cubs/Red Sox World Series several years ago?)  I love the argument about whether the kids should play by the same rules as the major leaguers. Rico says, "Kids should learn to play just like in the bigs." Joey counters, "Right, so that means they should probably start playing only in September and play for contracts and play for money."  That scene, when the kids ask Joey to be their coach, is one of the best in the film. The kids learn that Joey was kicked out of the minors for punching a teammate, and Rico says that it was for no reason, "So imagine what he's going to do to you guys the first time you miss a tag."  One of the reasons this scene is so good is Barry Bostwick, who turns in a somewhat understated and yet truly funny performance.

Unfortunately the film then goes into that overused routine where the coach doesn't really care about the team, and sleeps on the bench during practice. It's a shame the film falls back on that tired plot point, because up until then it had an original feel to it. But then the kids are in Bad News Bears territory, suddenly unable to play well, missing routine balls and so on.  But at least the film doesn't spend too much time going down that road.

There are some other elements that don't quite work.  I could do without the two kids calling the game. At first it's unclear if they are actually on the radio or just pretending to be. Later we learn they're on the internet. It's not explained how these two very young children are hired to announce the games in this league.  But they should just be cut from the film anyway.

Another moment that doesn't seem believable is during a game between the Red Sox and the Cubs. Rico tells his pitcher to deliberately hit Tanker since first base is open, and then they can get a force out at any base. But why hit him? Why not give him an intentional walk?  When Rico seems like an evil character is when the film is weakest.  And in the fight between the two brothers afterward, the kid who was hit is momentarily forgotten. Instead it's an argument to see which of the two brothers will inherit their father's bar.  I don't entirely believe the animosity that Rico has for Joey (even though later we do learn the reason for it).

And Rico convinces Lori to switch teams, which is odd.  I played Little League when I was a kid, and I don't remember that ever happening.  I don't think it was even possible.  And the Channel 7 News coverage is completely ridiculous and should have been cut.  It is a shame that small moments like that are allowed to pull the film down. Because at its core, this is a decent film with a positive message for kids, and with some good performances.  And it is enjoyable as long as you can overlook those moments.

The love interest in this film, by the way, is Annabeth Gish, who plays Tanker's somewhat overprotective mother. She's not given all that much to do, but makes the most of it.  By the way, Annabeth Gish and Matthew Lillard worked together before on SLC Punk! (1998). (She is also in one of my favorite films, Beautiful Girls.)

Home Run Showdown was written by John Bella and Tim Cavanaugh, and was directed by Oz Scott.  It is scheduled to be released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 21, 2012 through Image Entertainment.