I the last blog I was worried that we were going to hit another string of not great movies with Mr. Hanks. THANK GOD that is not true!
We get right back into gear with the 1992 A League of Their Own.
That film is a fictionalized version of the All Female Professional Baseball League that formed because most of the professional male baseball players volunteered to fight in World War II. The film follows two sister who both make the major leagues. It's shows their victories, and losses, and their struggles with the world trying to accept them as a true league and the constant worries of what the war has to bring.
You know I think when I first wrote that I was doing all of Mr. Hanks movies I think I said that I don't remember what the first film that I saw him in after Toy Story. However, sitting here watching this film I think I remember. I remember being like 10 or so and watching this movie and asking my dad who this guy was cause he sounded familiar. My dad told that it was the voice of Woody.
However, I don't remember him being this bad of a drunk from when I first watched this movie.
However, I think this film is a big breakthrough from Mr. Hanks. We have seen many different forms of him doing non comical pieces. I think this is the first film where the stars finally align and he is able to put on a performance that is so unforgettable that you can, ironically, almost forget all of the other movies he did before this. That this type of role was the only role he was meant to play.
The amazing part is that even though this is a dramatic role he is able to put some comedy into it. He is able to do this without going over the top and keeping beautifully simple. Just like in one of my favorite parts were he finally tries to be a manager and tell the team what to do.
And then you can't forget the most famous line to come out of this movie...
This is the first time that I can recall that I actually saw this movie from the very start to the very end. Even though I have seen the middle to the end a half dozen times I never thought watching the movie from the start was going to have a different effect on me. I have never cried to this film before. I have never felt the range of emotion with this film as I did this time. I think a lot of that has to do to the fact that I was paying attention to the film this time. I was also paying extra attention to Mr. Hanks' performance. Let me tell you he has many different sides to himself in this film.
I mean he plays a drunk, with a bad knee, who has some really great one lines, who goes from "I don't care about anyone" to taking the team under his wing. He even has to tell one of the girls that their husband died in battle. I mean you have to think about this film in when it came out. By today's standards this is version of Hanks that we have come to know and love. In 1992 this is a whole different ball field, yes the pun is intended.
I really have run out of words of how much I loved his performance in this film. It's really truly something special to watch him in this film.
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