The Sandlot (1993)
August 4, 2015 7:37 AM - Subscribe
A new kid in town is taken under the wing of a young baseball prodigy and his team. Together, they get themselves into many adventures involving rival teams, lifeguards, and a vicious dog.
Come for: Wendy Peffercorn.
Stay for: legends that never die.
Come for: Wendy Peffercorn.
Stay for: legends that never die.
Seven year old me watching this movie.
posted by phunniemee at 7:54 AM on August 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by phunniemee at 7:54 AM on August 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
We wore out more than one VHS copy of this movie as kids.
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:55 AM on August 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:55 AM on August 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
My kids had never seen this and we all watched it a few months back. They all loved it and have seen it a few times since. When it ended my youngest said to me "That's why you and mom are always saying those things." Of course now "You're killin me Smalls!" and "Foreeeevvvvvvver" come out of his mouth all the time.
We have the same carnival ride at our local amusement park and my boys will not go on it for fear of chew vomit.
There is some magical combination of things in this movie that just works for me. I could watch it over and over again. James Earl Jones, Dennis Leary and Karen Allen are a big part of that. Their parts were so well done even though they had so little screen time. The ending is just the right kind of sappy that works on me. I sit there knowing it's sappy and goofy and movie-perfect and I just don't care. It gets me every time when older Benny "The Jet" (played by real-life older brother of young Benny) looks up at the booth.
They have nine kids.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 10:15 AM on August 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
We have the same carnival ride at our local amusement park and my boys will not go on it for fear of chew vomit.
There is some magical combination of things in this movie that just works for me. I could watch it over and over again. James Earl Jones, Dennis Leary and Karen Allen are a big part of that. Their parts were so well done even though they had so little screen time. The ending is just the right kind of sappy that works on me. I sit there knowing it's sappy and goofy and movie-perfect and I just don't care. It gets me every time when older Benny "The Jet" (played by real-life older brother of young Benny) looks up at the booth.
They have nine kids.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 10:15 AM on August 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
I don't know, this was one of my favorite movies as a kid (a girl kid), and I always interpreted that line as hilarious. Not because haha girls suck at sports, but haha, the worst insult these boys can come up with is comparing each other to girls, gee, boys can be pretty dumb sometimes. Which, let me tell you, is a pretty good lesson for young girls to learn.
I suppose there might be some girls who might hear that line and think "wow I suck" but I certainly didn't, and I'm not some special snowflake. I'm not defending the line, I'm simply saying it's hardly sending a life-ruining message to girls. The Sandlot got watched dozens and dozens of times during my formative years, and I'm pretty capably feminist.
If anything what this movie taught me was that I could objectify boys just as hard as they objectified Wendy Peffercorn.
posted by phunniemee at 12:18 PM on August 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
I suppose there might be some girls who might hear that line and think "wow I suck" but I certainly didn't, and I'm not some special snowflake. I'm not defending the line, I'm simply saying it's hardly sending a life-ruining message to girls. The Sandlot got watched dozens and dozens of times during my formative years, and I'm pretty capably feminist.
If anything what this movie taught me was that I could objectify boys just as hard as they objectified Wendy Peffercorn.
posted by phunniemee at 12:18 PM on August 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Baby Pete Campbell!!!
posted by dry white toast at 9:27 PM on August 4, 2015
posted by dry white toast at 9:27 PM on August 4, 2015
I missed this one as a kid (though somehow at the time I did manage to see David Mickey Evans' previous, far less popular, and arguably much more socially problematic movie Radio Flyer). But even seeing The Sandlot for the first time near the end of college and pretty much past the age of the target audience, I kind of fell in love with it. What a great set of young actors, it's surprising that no real stars emerged from this cast. I do see Smalls here and there (most notably in Mystic River), and of course Squints was the bully on Freaks & Geeks...But overall not a whole lot of visibility for any of them since it came out.
posted by doctornecessiter at 6:17 AM on August 5, 2015
posted by doctornecessiter at 6:17 AM on August 5, 2015
I want to second the praise for the adult actors.
posted by Monochrome at 9:17 AM on August 5, 2015
posted by Monochrome at 9:17 AM on August 5, 2015
P.S. Can you imagine the shit those parents would get nowadays for not monitoring their kids?
posted by Monochrome at 9:19 AM on August 5, 2015
posted by Monochrome at 9:19 AM on August 5, 2015
I feel like kids of our generation are either Sandlot kids or Goonies kids. I grew up with the Sandlot, and it is one of my favorite movies to this day. I didn't see the Goonies until college and it seemed kinda . . . meh? After asking around most of my friends are the same way - heavily watched one as a kid and loved it, don't really get the other.
posted by chainsofreedom at 10:22 AM on August 5, 2015
posted by chainsofreedom at 10:22 AM on August 5, 2015
chainsofreedom, I'm not sure how old you are but for me and my peers, the Goonies/Sandlot divide broke down pretty clearly between kids with older siblings and only kids/kids with younger siblings.
posted by phunniemee at 10:27 AM on August 5, 2015
posted by phunniemee at 10:27 AM on August 5, 2015
Baby Pete Campbell??? Damn you; I went through IMDB and Google Image Search, but there's no Vincent Kartheiser in there.
posted by St. Hubbins at 12:42 PM on August 5, 2015
posted by St. Hubbins at 12:42 PM on August 5, 2015
Interesting! Holds true for me - I have a younger sibling.
posted by chainsofreedom at 5:40 PM on August 5, 2015
posted by chainsofreedom at 5:40 PM on August 5, 2015
I always forget that Denis Leary and Karen Allen are the parents.
posted by Pope Guilty at 12:11 PM on August 6, 2015
posted by Pope Guilty at 12:11 PM on August 6, 2015
Baby Pete Campbell???
Yeah, I'm still trying to figure that one out.
posted by doctornecessiter at 7:29 AM on August 7, 2015
Yeah, I'm still trying to figure that one out.
posted by doctornecessiter at 7:29 AM on August 7, 2015
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posted by Etrigan at 7:51 AM on August 4, 2015 [7 favorites]