I adore the 1992 film. The tape often went into the VCR next to classics like Star Wars, Freaky Friday, Alien or The Goonies. Sports movies with teambuilding and heartfelt character moments are fun to watch and that one had a stellar cast and so many amazing character beats. And now I have a tv show that takes all the strength from that movie (granted, minus a certain type of starpower) and elevates everything.
A tv show has a longer runtime than a movie and thus can dig deeper. There are main characters and side characters, but everybody has at least a scene or two to fully shine. The one thing the women have in common is their love for the sport, but from there we get a great variety.
And yes, everybody is talking about it, this is for the queers specifically. The one thing that could not have been part of the film and is now front and center. (And for anybody crying about how this is only woke-pandering, maybe look up Maybelle Blair.) The way the queer community is portrayed is excellent. To throw in a quote without spoilers "Not everybody's a butch." They find time enough to present a diverse diversity. That's what happens when a show is allowed to have more than two gay people on.
But they didn't stop there, no, A League of Their Own even catches the racism of the time. Women playing baseball? Well, yes, okay. Black women? Hell no! And so we get a great addition by looking to the side, where Max Chapman dreams, breathes and lives baseball, but is denied even a chance at tryouts, because of the color of her skin. That part would have deserved its own film a long time ago, but at long last... The show manages to marry the plotlines via a chance encounter and everything about it feels organic and natural. Like something that could - or rather should - have happened.
Yes, this is not a documentary. It's a fictionalized version of a part in history. But it never said otherwise. What it did promise was humour and there is LOADS of that. With the racism and homophobia there are some heavy hitters, but overall the tone of the show stays light. It's fun entertainment first, a reminder of how things were and how far we've come since second.
And third there is also baseball.
I was surprised that the first episode dives right into things and there is no explanation about how this League came to be. They also don't dwell on winning the crowd over like the film does. There are more important things to get to.
The love for the film is felt within this with a lot of scenes (and some quotes) lifted from it, but most often with a tiny new spin. Respectful, not blatantly stolen.
A tv show has a longer runtime than a movie and thus can dig deeper. There are main characters and side characters, but everybody has at least a scene or two to fully shine. The one thing the women have in common is their love for the sport, but from there we get a great variety.
And yes, everybody is talking about it, this is for the queers specifically. The one thing that could not have been part of the film and is now front and center. (And for anybody crying about how this is only woke-pandering, maybe look up Maybelle Blair.) The way the queer community is portrayed is excellent. To throw in a quote without spoilers "Not everybody's a butch." They find time enough to present a diverse diversity. That's what happens when a show is allowed to have more than two gay people on.
But they didn't stop there, no, A League of Their Own even catches the racism of the time. Women playing baseball? Well, yes, okay. Black women? Hell no! And so we get a great addition by looking to the side, where Max Chapman dreams, breathes and lives baseball, but is denied even a chance at tryouts, because of the color of her skin. That part would have deserved its own film a long time ago, but at long last... The show manages to marry the plotlines via a chance encounter and everything about it feels organic and natural. Like something that could - or rather should - have happened.
Yes, this is not a documentary. It's a fictionalized version of a part in history. But it never said otherwise. What it did promise was humour and there is LOADS of that. With the racism and homophobia there are some heavy hitters, but overall the tone of the show stays light. It's fun entertainment first, a reminder of how things were and how far we've come since second.
And third there is also baseball.
I was surprised that the first episode dives right into things and there is no explanation about how this League came to be. They also don't dwell on winning the crowd over like the film does. There are more important things to get to.
The love for the film is felt within this with a lot of scenes (and some quotes) lifted from it, but most often with a tiny new spin. Respectful, not blatantly stolen.
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