Sports - Page 46

Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Brand: Tom Hanks Model: 4955988

Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, and Madonna star in this major-league comedy from the team that brought you Big. Hanks stars as Jimmy Dugan, a washed-up ballplayer whose big league days are over. Hired to coach in the All-American Girls Baseball League of 1943, while the male pros are at war, Dugan finds himself drawn back into the game by the heart and heroics of his all-girl team. Jon Lovitz adds a scene-stealing cameo as the sarcastic scout who recruits Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis), the baseball dolly with a Babe Ruth swing. Teammates Madonna, Lori Petty and Rosie O'Donnell round out the roster, taking the team to the World Series. Based on the true story of the pioneering women who blazed the trail, on the fields and off, for generations of athletes. Penny Marshall's popular 1992 comedy sheds light on a little-known chapter of American sports history with its story of a struggling team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The league was formed when the recruiting of soldiers during World War II resulted in a shortage of men's baseball teams. The AAGPBL continued after the war (until 1954), and Marshall's movie depicts the league in full swing, beginning when a savvy baseball scout (Jon Lovitz) finds a pair of promising new players in small-town Oregonian sisters (Geena Davis, Lori Petty). The sisters are signed to play for the Rockford Peaches near Chicago, whose new manager (Tom Hanks) is a former home-run king who wrecked his career with alcoholism. They're all a bunch of underdogs, and Marshall (with a witty script by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel) does a fine job of establishing a colorful team of supporting players including Madonna and (in her movie debut) Rosie O'Donnell. It's a conventional Hollywood sports story (Marshall's never been one to take dramatic risks), but the stellar cast is delightful, and the movie's filled with memorable moments, witty dialogue, and agreeable sentiment. And just remember: there's no crying in baseball! --Jeff Shannon

Manufacturer: Universal Studios Home Entertainment Brand: UNI DIST CORP. (MCA) Model: 4942813 Color: Multi

Legendary Detroit Tigers pitcher Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) has always been better at baseball than at love. Just ask Jane (Kelly Preston), his on-again, off-again girlfriend. At the end of a disappointing season, just before what may be the last professional game of his life, Jane tells Billy she's leaving him. Now, with his career and his love life in the balance, Billy battles against his physical and emotional limits as he plays the game of his life. And now with every pitch, Billy comes closer to making the most important decision of his life. The suspense doesn't end until the last ball is thrown in this heartwarming drama about love, life and the perfect game. Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) is having a bad day. His girlfriend Jane (Kelly Preston, stunning as ever) says she's leaving, and his boss (Brian Cox) says he's selling the business and ace employee Billy may be out of job. Sounds like business as usual for an old-fashioned veteran. However, the business is baseball and for Billy Chapel, the 40-year old former all-star for the Detroit Tigers, it means his career--and his life--is at a crossroads. Although it is no Bull Durham, For Love of the Game finds a solid and very believable role for Costner. The film is based on Michael Shaara's (The Killer Angels) stream-of-consciousness novel (the rough manuscript was found after his death 1988). The entire film takes place on Billy's day on the mound against the Yankees, a meaningless late-season game for the Tigers, but everything for Billy. In flashbacks, he lingers over his long relationship with Jane and his baseball career (from World Series heroism to a career-threatening injury). His one viable link to the game at hand is his catcher, played winningly by John C. Reilly. Costner, like Chapel, is looking for one more great performance, but the film is too simplistic and loopy at times to resonate. The love story has an extra helping of cuteness, and legendary baseball announcer Vin Scully nearly takes on a leading role, waxing grandiloquent. It's no gr...

Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD) Brand: TCFHE/MGM Model: 4927854

The heartwarming adventure about a boy who forges a special friendship with a wild stallion after both are shipwrecked on a deserted island. Adapted from the beloved novel by Walter Farley, this 1979 family classic was hailed by no less than hard-to-please critic Pauline Kael, who wrote that "it may be the greatest children's movie ever made." A visual feast from start to finish, the timeless tale of The Black Stallion plays out on almost mythic terms. A young boy survives a shipwreck and is stranded on a deserted island with a graceful black stallion, with whom the boy develops an almost empathic friendship. After being rescued and returning home, the two make a winning team as jockey and lightning-fast racehorse under the tutelage of a passionate trainer, played by Mickey Rooney in an Oscar-nominated role. From its serenely hypnotic island sequence to the breathtaking race scenes, this delightful film is guaranteed to enthrall any viewer, regardless of age. The Black Stallion is a genuine masterpiece of family entertainment. --Jeff Shannon

Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Brand: Team Marketing Color: Multi

Tom Cruise gives his best performance to date (Neil Rosen, NY-1) as a sports agent who suddenly discovers his scruples and promptly loses his job. But with the help of one loyal colleague and one outrageous client, JERRY MAGUIRE learns that loving well is the best revenge. A sweetheart of a romantic comedy (Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE) co-starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Renee Zellweger, Regina King and Bonnie Hunt. One of the best romantic comedies of the 1990s, this box-office hit cemented writer-director Cameron Crowe's reputation as "the voice of a generation." Crowe could probably do without that label, but he's definitely in sync with the times with this savvy story about a sports agent (Tom Cruise) whose fall from grace motivates his quest for professional recovery, and the slow-dawning realization that he needs the love and respect of the single mom (Renée Zellweger in her breakthrough role) who has supported him through the worst of times. This is one of Cruise's best, most underrated performances, and in an Oscar-winning role, Cuba Gooding Jr. plays the football star who remains Jerry Maguire's only loyal client on a hard road to redemption and personal growth. If that sounds touchy-feely, it is only because Crowe has combined sharp entertainment with a depth of character that is rarely found in mainstream comedy. --Jeff Shannon