I’m a Disney-holic, but in recent years I have found the quality of
Disney features to be hit-or-miss, with an especially large number of
misses in the live action department. Luckily, this film – part sports,
part inspiration, all heart – knocks it out of the ballpark. We got this
movie for Easter when I was in ninth grade. It was one which I had
wanted to see and missed in the theaters, but I made up for it once it
reached our communal Easter basket.
Disney has a long
tradition of sports movies, most of which feature a disaster of a team
that somehow, by the end of the film, pulls itself together to win the
big game, or at least some self-respect. The formula has been used on
just about every sport imaginable, resulting in films that are
heartwarming and hilarious, if not terribly original. Angels is
in a league with other Disney sports films, but its incredible warmth
and inspirational qualities set it near the top of that long list.
(Unfortunately, Disney’s sequel factory decided to churn out two – or is
it three? – lower-quality follow-ups to this film; they fall towards
the bottom.)
Roger (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a kid with a
lousy lot in life. His mother is dead and his father drifts in and out
of his life, traveling cross-country and leaving the boy in foster care.
At the beginning of the film, we find him living with Maggie (Brenda
Fricker), a kindly middle-aged woman with a hint of an Irish brogue, and
two other boys. He is especially close to J.P. (Milton Davis Jr.), a
sweet, shy young boy who lived for several years in a car with his
mother. In Maggie’s care, the boys are well provided for, and they have
one another to lean on. Hard-luck cases themselves, they are intensely
loyal to the local baseball team, the Angels, which is on a miserable
losing streak. What Roger craves most is the permanent return of his
father. At the end of a brief visit, he asks his dad when they will be a
family again. The reply, “When the Angels win the pennant,” is intended
as a sarcastic remark indicating the futility of expecting a union of
father and son. Roger, however, takes the statement as a challenge: if
the Angels can manage to win the Pennant, he will have a family again.
That night, he prays with some uncertainty for this outcome to occur,
and the events of the film are set into motion…
At its core,
this is a film about faith and family. Both can be found in unlikely
places, and both can work miracles. Roger and J.P. become official team
mascots after an angel named Al (Christopher Lloyd) announces to Roger
that his favorite team is about to get a divine boost. George Knox
(Danny Glover), the manager of the Angels and possessor of an
extraordinary temper, recruit them as a last resort, seeing them as a
good luck charm. After all, with them in the stands, the Angels actually
won their first game. It’s up to Roger to clue George in on which
player has an angel with him, leading to some very unorthodox decisions
in who should play. But George learns to have faith in Roger, and as his
relationship with the boys blooms, so does his relationship with his
team.
The cast in the movie is outstanding. Gordon-Levitt
portrays Roger as a sensitive but tough kid who’s had a lot of tough
breaks but isn’t willing to give up the faith. The development of his
relationship with J.P. and George is especially heartwarming. Davis is
adorable as J.P., shy around strangers but full of zest and optimism,
which comes out in particular with his scenes with Roger. That toothy
grin and mantra of “Hey, it could happen!” make him the cuddliest
character in the film. Fricker brings tenderness and a certain detached
gruffness to the role of Maggie, a woman who has seen many children fall
through the cracks of society, and Glover takes George from
cantankerous and self-centered to warm and caring in the course of an
hour and a half. His is probably my favorite performance in the film,
though Lloyd’s zany, madcap Al is good for a lot of laughs. More minor
characters also are play an important role. Tony Danza turns in a great
performance as Mel Clark, the Angels’ ailing pitcher, while Jay O.
Sanders plays the obnoxious sports announcer Ranch Wilder to the hilt
and Taylor Negron shines as George’s long-suffering personal assistant
David. All of the Angels also carry their roles very well, creating a
team whose members are distinct but work together to form a congruent
whole.
The film has plenty of humor, most of which is
slapstick pulled into high gear when the angels, whom no one but Roger
can see, see to it that the Angels win each game. They also take the
opportunity to clean up the act of some of the Angels, most especially
their hot-headed manager. But the film’s real power is in the moments
when a little faith and love make a big difference. Especially powerful
is the moment when Roger leads an entire stadium of fans in his angel
signal (flapping his arms up and down) to convince Mel that he has the
strength to win the game. The sweeping cinematography, the swelling
music, the mass vote of confidence by a reverent crowd… it all adds up
to one of the most moving film scenes I have ever viewed.
You
don’t have to like baseball to love this movie, though you may find
yourself with an increased appreciation for the sport after viewing it. Angels in the Outfield
is a story of how a little faith can go a long way and how families can
be formed in the most unlikely of ways. Every element of this movie
adds up to a dazzling whole, making it one of my all-time favorite live
action Disney movies. Watch it with your family, and embrace the
possibilities…
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