Major League (1989)

Director:

David S. Ward

Writer (WGA):

David S. Ward (written by)

Release Date:

7 April 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

When these three oddballs try to play hardball, the result is totally screwball.

Plot:

The new owner of the Cleveland Indians puts together a purposely horrible team so they'll lose and she can move the team. But when the plot is uncovered, they start winning just to spite her.

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Showgirl | Voodoo | Sombrero | Bunk Bed

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Tom Berenger	...	Jake Taylor
Charlie Sheen	...	Ricky Vaughn
Corbin Bernsen	...	Roger Dorn
Margaret Whitton	...	Rachel Phelps
James Gammon	...	Lou Brown
Rene Russo	...	Lynn Wells
Wesley Snipes	...	Willie Mays Hayes
Charles Cyphers	...	Charlie Donovan
Chelcie Ross	...	Eddie Harris
Dennis Haysbert	...	Pedro Cerrano
Andy Romano	...	Pepper Leach
Bob Uecker	...	Harry Doyle
Steve Yeager	...	Duke Temple
Peter Vuckovich	...	Haywood
Stacy Carroll	...	Suzanne Dorn

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Finland:K-10 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Mirage Enterprises

Trivia:

In the final game, Willie Mays Hayes makes a great catch at the wall, in front of a Minnesota Twins banner. Hall-of-Famer Kirby Puckett (of the Twins) was legendary for his gravity-defying catches off the centerfield wall, especially in the 1991 World Series.

Goofs:

Continuity: The Stroh's and Old Milwaukee Beer signs on the back fence of the spring training camp are replaced by Miller signs in one shot.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Rachel Phelps: Good morning, gentlemen, and welcome to another season of Indians baseball.

Movie Connections:

References Dirty Harry (1971)

Soundtrack:

Wild Thing

Baseball comedy classic

"Major League" is nothing original... it borrows heavily from the "Bad News Bears" school of screen writing. What holds the movie together is the easy charm and camaraderie of the cast, which features some tried and true character actors: Bob Uecker, basically playing himself; Margaret Whitfield, playing her patented "bitch" role, and James Gammon, playing the wise old coot who has seen it all. Rounding out the cast are Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen and Rene Russo, who at the time was new to features. The plot is as follows: The owner of the Cleveland Indians marries a Vegas showgirl and dies on his honeymoon, leaving her the team. Cleveland (which the song being played over the main titles laughingly refers to as "city of light, city of magic"- perhaps they are referring to when the Cuyahuga River caught on fire?) doesn't agree with her, so she wants to exploit a loophole in her contract with the city which stipulates if attendance falls below a certain level, she can take the franchise out of Cleveland. So she goes out and gets herself the sorriest looking group of ballplayers you've ever seen... A Cuban defector (because his religion is voodoo) who can only hit fastballs (Dennis Haysbert), the worlds laziest third baseman (Think Bernsen as a clean shaven Wade Boggs), a catcher with shot-out knees (Berenger channeling Johnny Bench or Cartlton Fisk), a near-sighted pitcher who throws 100 MPH at everything but the plate (Sheen), and the lead-off hitter who thinks he is Rickey Henderson (Wesley Snipes). The movie has a lot of laughs and it's a fun way to waste 90 minutes. Directed by David S. Ward of "The Sting" fame. Interestingly enough, this movie did give the nickname "Wild Thing" to one-time Philadelphia pitcher Mitch whatshisname who threw a bad pitch to Joe Carter in the 9th inning to lose the '93 World Series to Toronto.