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msennel1 — 14 years ago(February 29, 2012 03:38 PM)
I HATE trolling trolls, but I've GOT to do it with this one.
So the key point you missed (no offense, it's easy to miss) is that this is a story being told by an adult who is nostalgic about his childhood. It is, for all intents and purposes, a "fish tale".
"The idea of the supernatural dog was annoying in itself. How was a dog supposed to outsmart a large group of kids over and over? Once it escaped, why did it only chase down Benjamin Rodrguez and not the rest of the kids? How was it able to jump through a pane of glass and walk out unharmed? Once the boys freed the dog from under the fence, how could it have just taken a liking to them? Why was the dog hoarding kids' baseballs anyways?"
^That's because that's how Smalls remembers it. Obviously in a fish tale things get exaggerated, magic runs abound, and some parts are - to put it bluntly - outright lies. Remember the flashback scene where Ham tells about how the beast got its fame? Yeah that was Smalls the adult remembering that kid in town that told the best (albeit FAR from true) tale about the beast, the one that at that age everyone just barely believed, despite the fact that an objective observer would be able to spot the BS from a mile away. We all grew up with that kid, we all remember believing his BS despite how obviously false it is to us now. Relatability is one of the most important parts of what makes a good movie.
"Stand by Me definitely had NOTHING supernaturalIt was this that made Stand by Me so believable."
King Lear had the supernatural. For all intents and purposes, that "poison" that knocked out Juliet only momentarily was - at the time - non-existent and - therefore - supernatural. The greatest story ever told (as it is proverbially called) contained the supernatural. Just like Aladdin, which you admitted in another posting you liked. Not to say one was better than the other, but you have to remember this is a fish tale, not a documentary.
"[T]he movie could have pretty much taken place during any time period."
Yup. That's what makes it such a great movie: relatability. Anyone who ever played baseball as a kid should be able to relate to this movie, regardless of the time period their youth fell into. Although the cloths, cars, musical score, "Henry Aaron" reference, their failure to mention Roger Marris in their obsession with Babe Ruth, and their apparent complete and total lack of parental supervision isn't a dead-give away.
"Perhaps one of the more major annoyances was the fact that the kids never really matured."
Well they didn't physically mature in "Stand By Me" either, so I'm assuming you're referring to the dynamicy of the protagonist. In this case, Smalls' dynamic is that he leaps from a totally repressed, friendless, depressed child, to one of the local boys, playing ball, getting into trouble, making and losing friendsthe "coming of age" that happens at a younger time than most coming of age tales. Don't forget that Smalls went through a lot: death of his father, a big move, the remarriage of his mother. You have to picture this as an interview where Smalls recounts the summer that changed his life and made him who he is today (a ball-game radio announcer). The way you can see this is through the evolution of both the beast and Benny. The beast starts out as this iconic Goliath, and is progressively brought into a more realistic roll as Smalls' view of the beast and - more importantly - the world around him evolves. The same can be said of Benny: in the beginning he's able to hit a pop-fly RIGHT into Smalls' glove; in the end he's an aging, near-retirement professional ball-player who - in all likelihood - won't make the hall of fame, and didn't break any records, but pleased his fans nevertheless. Both become more believable characters as the story progresses and as Smalls' memory of his surroundings and general view on the world matures. That is his dynamic.
"If anyone remembers Stand by Me, there are several scenes when the kids start opening up to each other about their broken homes, their hopes, and their dreams."
Once again, you've missed the point of the story. Not every tale is "Hamlet". In fact, "Romeo and Juliet" is not "Hamlet". If you want to see kids growing up in the school of hard knocks, see "Boyz n the Hood" or "Fresh". Both came out around the same time as "Stand By Me" and "The Sandlot". In the case of "Boyz n the Hood", I think there was a lot more "breaking down" and "broken home" stuff than "Stand By Me"; frankly I think it was a better movie. You be the judge. The point is not every movie needs its characters to spend 25% of the movie crying.
I like this movie because it PRESENTS nostalgia, not because it IS NOSTALGIC. Nostalgic movies were those that you liked because you remembered them coming out at a time in your life about which you are nostalgic. Not the case for me. I love this movie as an adult because in my youth in some way or another I experienced almost every scene in this movie just th -
beawslaiw — 13 years ago(April 06, 2012 12:45 PM)
Well"grim"your name says it all! Sandlot was a wonderful and funny movie for adults and kids. Rememberit's a CHILDHOOD RECOLLECTION! As if any grown-ups didn't exaggerate when telling stories of his or her childhood. Things like big dogs and the history of a scary house become monsters and haunted houses! Your comparison to Stand by Me is ridiculusit's apples and oranges. You also must be a glutton for punishment it you continued to watch a movie that was "painful" to you. Your "argument" against this movie was not even semi-plausible. Lighten upenjoy a variety of movies for what they are meant to be. Try not to analyze a story to reality. I just pulled out my DVD and watched Sandlot again. You inspired me to. Great movie! Thanks for reminding me!
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nfldpunk — 13 years ago(April 08, 2012 09:13 PM)
You can't compare Sandlot to Stand By Me. They aren't even the same type of film. Sandlot is better compared to Angels in the Outfield or Mighty Ducks. Stand By Me is targetting a much older audience.
If you ever read the Novella that Stand by Me is based on, you realize how much more of an older audience it was aiming for. Though it is extremely close to the written version, they still cut out some very heavy material -
grindcoredrums — 13 years ago(April 10, 2012 10:12 AM)
The Sandlot captures classic Americana. It is the embodiment of patriotism and nostalgia. Every part of the movie is purely American: baseball, bubblegum, carnivals, block parties, fireworks and the 4th of July, baseball trading cards, the music, joking on each other, the PF Flyers, the humor, the scenarios, the toys (erector set etc.), smores etc. pretty much everything. It might not be a movie that could win an Oscar or the like, but it's enjoyable because it's so relate-able and American at heart. I actually don't personally know anyone that doesn't like this movie.
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Finerfilms — 13 years ago(May 11, 2012 12:06 PM)
You are right, this movie was horrible. I couldn't even watch the whole thing as it's endlessly insulting my basic movie watching intelligence. Poor directing is the fault here. The whole idea was flawed though. It is a poor copy of several other films done by real professionals. The voice over work was the key in its failure. Poor casting.
-Pi "FAITH IN CHAOS"
"Someday we'll fall down and weep and understand it all, all things." -
J_Jammer — 13 years ago(July 04, 2012 09:22 PM)
Stand By Me is a great film. It is not done in the same light as this film. It's more angry. I don't believe everyone's childhood was angry like the ones in Stand by Me. Some people actually had a wholesome childhood. Therefore acting as if Stand By Me fits for all is mistake.
Goodness is always better than anger. And in goodness films can have the ability to make people feel better about a crappy time. One cannot watch Stand by me and feel better. One can watch Sandlot and feel better. That is if you like Sandlot.
Stand By Me is drinking to get drunk.
Sandlot is drinking to feel light hearted. -
tomfern — 13 years ago(October 21, 2012 01:18 AM)
One thing nobody seems to have mentioned here is..'The Sandlot' is more of a C O M E D YOne of those exaggerated, narrated nostalgia films like 'A Christmas Story'. It's nothing at all like 'Stand By Me'.
I loved the movie, and watch at least part of it whenever it comes on. It is a stand alone film..it doesn't need to be compared to any other film. Why would you even do that?! -
Sam_Hain — 13 years ago(October 21, 2012 07:16 AM)
One thing that nobody has mentioned yet is that one big similarity between "Stand By Me" and "The Sandlot" though they really shouldn't be compared to one another, is Hercules and Chopper.
Both films had a buildup to a big bad dog that all kids feared. But once the kids finally meet the dog they find out he's not so bad at all. -
grimacy — 13 years ago(March 21, 2013 08:42 PM)
Pfff, the Sandlot is fantastic. It stands the test of time for me - it was my favorite movie when I was a kid, next to The Goonies, and it is awful that they made those horrendous sequels to both movies. But those are other directors, other screenwriters, etc. The people involved in the original most likely had little to do with the sequels.
I love this film because it shows a summer through a kids eyes. It's relatable. There was always that one neighbor on your block that had a bunch of ridiculous stories about them. There was always that one dog you were TERRIFIED of in your neighborhood (for me it was Baloo, a monstrous and not very nice Chow-Chow). I didn't have a problem figuring out the time period of the movie - the houses, the clothes, the cars, and the entire music score made it rather obvious for me at least.
As for why was the dog hoarding baseballswhy not? He's a dog. A ball flies over his fence, he's PROBABLY gonna play with it, chew on it, and dogs are pretty possessive of their toys, so he would most likely bring it under the house with him as he did in the movie. And, due to their possessive natures, he would be very hard pressed to bring it back. All the schemes the kids devised to try and get his toys either made him defend the baseball (he'd claimed it) when they sent in Yeah-Yeah, and if you were a dog, you'd probably be curious and end up destroying a robotic moving catapult too. The way the kids saw things happen though is the way we all saw stuff happen when we were little - dramatically.
I do not think a Bull Mastiff would be able to chase someone as long and far as The Beast chased Benny, but the entire sequence is still entertaining to me.
I dunno. Think what you want - it's your opinion after all, but this movie, for me, was my childhood, and it represented every summer break adventure I had. It's very nostalgic for those of us who grew up with this film. Even if it isn't Casablanca, it's still something I'll always have on my movie shelf. -
osubuckeye420 — 12 years ago(April 09, 2013 11:34 AM)
The OP is 19 now
The reason he didn't like this movie is probably because he spent his childhood playing video games and didn't go outside and have adventures in his neighborhood.
He can't relate to this movie because he probably didn't have many of those types of experiences.
Before anyone thinks I'm making fun of him, I'm really not.
I have a younger brother who hated this movie. I could never figure it out, but thinking back on it it's probably because while I was outside playing sports with my friends in the neighborhood, he was inside with the same 2-3 friends playing NES or SNES.
It wasn't that my brother was weird, it was just the eras we grew up in. NES came out when I was in 2nd grade, all of my friends and I were used to playing sports outside so we only played video games when it rained.
My brother and his friends would be inside all the time (even on beautiful days) playing Mario Bros/Duck Hunt/Final Fantasy.
I'm not saying I'm better or worse than him, it was just the way it was. Kids his age played video games. Kids my age played sports. The cut off was about 1984.
I would guess that if you polled people who were born prior to 1984, they would love this movie. If you poll people who were born after 1984, you're going to get many more negative reviews. Just a theory. -
tmice2000 — 12 years ago(February 21, 2014 08:21 PM)
Grim, I'm with you. I finally sat down to watch and I had to force my self to finish. I had heard how good it was, how people couldn't believe I didn't see it. It was average at best. 7.8 rating blows my mind. This is coming from a man who loves baseball, and loves to reminisce about days past as a boy. It just didn't have the magic I was told it had.
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ajheinrich59 — 11 years ago(April 25, 2014 04:45 PM)
Thanks for your review.
Had a few points of my own to make:
I was a child of the 60s, lived in a small town and played baseball as a kid (organized and scrub). So, this one struck a chord with me.
To your point that it wasn't period enough for you. How many cars did you see from the 90s or later? The U-Haul trailer was spot on. The costumes, spot on (particularly the baseball uniforms and safety equipment used by the rich kids). The music track.fits perfectly. Even Squints' homemade spy telescope is made from a period Wheaties box.
From what you wrote you either didn't play ball, or didn't enjoy playing it. The references to baseball lore and history are too numerous to list and the manner in which they are presented brought back many a memory for me.
Sure, the acting is second rate. They weren't shooting for an Oscar here. It's more like a live action Sunday comic. Even so, they hit all the marks for those who enjoy baseball and life as a young boy, learning to play the gameof baseball, and life.
I think you simply were over-thinking this one, and missed out on a simple, fun time of movie viewing. Try watching it again, but, this time, set your expectation meter to that of "Sunday Comics". I think then, you'll enjoy it much more.
Take care!