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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! -
jucrew1 — 11 years ago(May 14, 2014 04:31 PM)
Grim, do you or did you ever play sports as a child? If so, which?
The Sandlot is one of my all time favorite movies, even now as an adult, i have trouble changing the channel when it's on TV. However i would never claim it to be an award winning film, nor would i compare it to Stand By me. As others have already said, it's all about nostalgia. maybe you had to be an active kid growing up to appreciate it, or maybe where you grew up matters. i relate to the block parties they throw, to the town pool, the heat, local legends etc.add on a great score (for the movie that it is, ie Ray Charles' "America the Beautiful") and it just keeps a smile on my face.
My assumption is that your childhood does not relate to this movie at all, and if that is the case i understand why you didn't care for it. Either way it's too bad for you. The Sandlot is one of the best kids movies of all time! -
zdiddy7 — 11 years ago(October 07, 2014 09:51 PM)
I think Stand by Me needs to get a restraining order against you. If I were Stand by Me, I'd be worried everytime I was alone in a dark alley, parking garage etc.. I'd fear that it was you and you were in the same creepy, "I love you so much that I can't help raping you" mood you were in when you wrote the original post!! If Stand by Me suddenly disappears or gets murdered Im sending the police immediately your way you weird ass creeper.
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HowYaLikeDemApplesWill — 11 years ago(December 13, 2014 08:45 AM)
"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?"
The idea that "The Beast".aka "Hercules"and that name alone should give you a cluewas some supernatural and super-aware dog, was all done
from
the kids' perspective. That is why the dog was always filmed with some surreal, dreamlike lens quality.
The fact you took any of this in literal terms that somehow ruined the enjoyment and believability of this coming-to-age movie, is pretty laughable.
Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?