Billy Crystal is a baseball fan of the New York Yankees, and this is his tribute to the 1961 home run race between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in pursuit of Babe Ruth's record.
Roger Maris (Barry Pepper) is in his second year with the Yankees; he won the Most Valuable Player award the previous year. He's from Fargo, North Dakota, and an introvert, uncomfortable with being in the spotlight. On the other hand, Mickey Mantle (Thomas Jane) has been the team star for 10 years and is comfortable in the role. He's from small-town Oklahoma. Mantle is exceptionally talented and extroverted but abuses alcohol and is promiscuous, foul-mouthed, and expecting to die before the age of 40 because his father and grandfather had.
The film opens and closes with Mark McGuire's breaking of the home run record in 1998. But it focuses on Maris and Mantle in the 1961 season, along with left fielder Bob Cerv (Chris Bauer). Most of the other players are almost invisible except for pitcher Whitey Ford (Anthony Michael Hall) and catcher Yogi Berra (Paul Borghese) who gets one opportunity to provide one of his famous sayings.
The movie portrays the increasing stress on Maris, including the hate mail he received and the objects thrown at him on the field. The New York sportswriters particularly get drubbed for their intrusion on Maris's efforts to cope with the pressure. Mantle's lifestyle is also in clear view. The asterisk is also explained because 1961 was the first year the schedule expanded from 154 games to 162 games.
There is no drama in the movie for baseball fans since we know how the season turned out. But it was still entertaining for a guy who in 1961 was a Yankee fan because his third-grade teacher has been Miss Mantle (no relation). I was in grade 10 in the fall of 1961 and followed the homerun race closely, hoping that Mantle would be the one to succeed.
The actors portraying Maris and Mantle look remarkably like the players. Most of the other actors, not so much. The film is relatively superficial and certainly is not a balanced look at that 1961 Yankees team that included many stars. But diehard fans of my vintage might well enjoy it.
Roger Maris (Barry Pepper) is in his second year with the Yankees; he won the Most Valuable Player award the previous year. He's from Fargo, North Dakota, and an introvert, uncomfortable with being in the spotlight. On the other hand, Mickey Mantle (Thomas Jane) has been the team star for 10 years and is comfortable in the role. He's from small-town Oklahoma. Mantle is exceptionally talented and extroverted but abuses alcohol and is promiscuous, foul-mouthed, and expecting to die before the age of 40 because his father and grandfather had.
The film opens and closes with Mark McGuire's breaking of the home run record in 1998. But it focuses on Maris and Mantle in the 1961 season, along with left fielder Bob Cerv (Chris Bauer). Most of the other players are almost invisible except for pitcher Whitey Ford (Anthony Michael Hall) and catcher Yogi Berra (Paul Borghese) who gets one opportunity to provide one of his famous sayings.
The movie portrays the increasing stress on Maris, including the hate mail he received and the objects thrown at him on the field. The New York sportswriters particularly get drubbed for their intrusion on Maris's efforts to cope with the pressure. Mantle's lifestyle is also in clear view. The asterisk is also explained because 1961 was the first year the schedule expanded from 154 games to 162 games.
There is no drama in the movie for baseball fans since we know how the season turned out. But it was still entertaining for a guy who in 1961 was a Yankee fan because his third-grade teacher has been Miss Mantle (no relation). I was in grade 10 in the fall of 1961 and followed the homerun race closely, hoping that Mantle would be the one to succeed.
The actors portraying Maris and Mantle look remarkably like the players. Most of the other actors, not so much. The film is relatively superficial and certainly is not a balanced look at that 1961 Yankees team that included many stars. But diehard fans of my vintage might well enjoy it.