Year Released: 1993
Directed by: David Mickey Evans
Starring: Tom Guiry Mike Vitar, Patrick Renna, Chauncey Leopardi, James Earl Jones
(PG, 101 min.)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Kids and Family

“Fortune favors the bold.” – Terrence

Laugh out loud with this minor classic that stirs up a cocktail of Goonies, Stand by Me, Breaking Away, and The Christmas Story, with a little Cujo as our cherry on the top.

The new nerdy kid in town doesn’t even want to try to fit in with his California digs, let alone get close to his aloof stepdad, until he becomes a reluctant member of an amateur sandlot baseball team. And the reluctance is on both sides, too. Scott Smalls (Tom Guiry) is shy, and the team, even though they are now one man short, sees the nerd as pathetic, which he is. He cannot even catch a ball. Just a few tries of catch with his stepdad has landed him a black eye.

You would think that the real cool guy, the best player, Benny “the jet” Rodriquez (Mike Vitar), would be the worst, but he’s the one who takes Smalls under his wing, or into his glove, so to speak. He is such a great batter that he just lets Smalls hold his glove in the air and he hits it precisely into it.

Before long he is out each day with the crazy gang of brothers Timmy and Tommy Timmons, Michael "Squints" Palledorous, Alan "Yeah-Yeah" McClennan, Bertram Grover Weeks, pitcher Kenny DeNunez, catcher Hamilton "Ham" Porter, and of course, Benny Rodriquez.

As the weather swelters, they even have time to head to the pool. And that’s where the real fun begins. Squints (Chauncy Leopardi) looks the nerd, but he doesn’t seem to care. And his dark horned rimmed glasses are all the better to see the apple of his eye, the glorious and somewhat imperious Wendy, (Marlon Shelton) the beautiful lifeguard who seems to taunt them as she slithers herself with oil from her perch far above them. Here the voice over narration, like that in The Christmas Story, lets us see the world through the pre teen’s candid perspectives.

Squint is an outrageous cad here, but we love every moment of his bold plan.

And who doesn’t love a good puke scene? AKA the fake vomit dumped from a movie balcony in Goonies or the Pie Eating contest blueberry barf-0-rama in Stand by Me.

Here it involves that baseball standby, chewing tobacco, and a carnival ride that puts a roller coaster to shame – kind of a giant double Mixmaster that reminded me of one I once rode with Janie McHugh when I was about that age. We screamed so much they had to stop the ride. At least we hadn’t stuffed our mouths with wads of tobacco, so the crowd beneath us was safe.

But the real fun involves the glorious junk yard dog, the Beast, part dog, part legend. He lives chained up in the yard right next to their sandlot, and any baseballs that land in his yard are dead meat! And so is Smalls when he loses one very precious ball there – one he has “borrowed” from his stepdad that happens to have been signed by none other than Babe Ruth himself.

The Sandlot’s Cujo is named Hercules, and like him, he is also a demi-god.

What happens next is Hollywood at its best. Frightening fun and magnificent mayhem. And then a coda that makes it all worthwhile.

Summer is just beginning, an end to our daily routines. Savor this taste of sunshine, dreams, and outrageous fun as you relive those halcyon days once again.

And relive it with some of your favorite tunes cheering our sandlot boys on!

· Finger Poppin' Time. Written and Performed by Hank Ballard. ...

· Smokie Pt. Written by Bill Black. ...

· The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Original Music and Lyrics by Solomon Linda. ...

· There Goes My Baby. Written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Ben E. ...

· This Magic Moment. ...

· America the Beautiful. ...

· Green Onions. ...

· Tequila.

“Youth, youth. What a wonderful thing. What a shame to waste it on children.” – George Bernard Shaw

–Kathy Borich
🥁🥁🥁🥁

Trailer

Film-Loving Foodie

Different Drummerwill let Two Crumbs Up take it away, but I have simpler recipe than the great ones she suggests.

The Sandlot– a perfect movie for when it’s too hot to go outside and all you want is baseball themed junk food. If I can’t be as active as I was when I was a kid, at least I can still eat like one?

I always think of The Sandlot as the 1993 “middle child” between Stand By Me and Now and Then. And the “parents” are Field of Dreams and A League of Her Own. It works right? Set in early 1960’s California, the film follows puny goofus Scotty Smalls as he awkwardly acclimates to a new town and a new dad. Luckily, local kid hero Benny “the Jet” Rodriguez takes Scotty under his wing and intros him to his teammates– a motley crew of smack talking boys obsessed with all things baseball and the neighborhood sandlot on which they play. Fun times are had and, aside from projectile vomiting and the face rape of Wendy Peffercorn, everything seems to go swimmingly. That is, until Scotty gets the group into a real big pickle. What follows is an epic “quest” to secure a priceless baseball taken by the BEAST (that is, COLOSSAL dog) next door. And then, of course, there’s a really cool cameo at the end… but I won’t spoil it.

All this to say, if you’re over 30 and you haven’t seen The Sandlot, YOU’RE KILLIN’ ME SMALLS! You probably mix your wheaties with your mamas toe jam! Either way, welcome– you’re going to laugh a lot, maybe shed a happy tear, and definitely start craving s’mores. We’ll see if you have any room though after the massive hot dog and shoestring fries…

PLAY BALL! -Anna

Follow the link for Smoky Tequila Margaritas and The Beast with PF Flyer Shoestring Fries (Extra Dirty) some special Babe-Y Ruth S’Mores if you want some great but involved recipes.

Different Drummer remembers her Brownie Days around the campfire as well as toasting them with all five grandchildren, so I am opting for the old simple standard here.