-What if at a key moment in the game my, my uniform bursts open and, uh, oops., my bosoms come flying out? That, that might draw a crowd, right?
-You think there are men in this country who ain't seen your bosoms?
I just finished my fourth complete season coaching female athletics (one year of soccer and three years of tennis). Although I have sometimes compared it to playing a videogame where there is an electrical short in your controller (i.e. doesn't quite respond like you want or expect it to), there is a charm and cheeriness to coaching girls that one just doesn't see in the generally more competitive sex. It is easier to keep girls positive, they are better at focusing on the point at hand (instead of letting the last point get them to high or low), and they develop a team comradarie that is not matched with guys. With that being said, there are many times where I feel just like Coach Jimmy Dugan holding back from arguing at a player with ever ounce of effort so as not to make her cry (because, of course, "there is no crying in baseball").
With all due respect to softball (especially the cut-throat, fast-pitch version played by teen girls today), this movie is about women playing REAL (small-ball, fast-pitch, base-stealing, home-plate-colliding) baseball. Geena Davis is the perfect choice to take the viewer on this trip back in time because she has little problem pulling off the tough, but beautiful demeanor of Dottie, the catcher. Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell are great as teammates, and Tom Hanks is downright perfect as the limping, alcoholic, washed up Coach Jimmy Dugan. I challenge anyone with working lacrimal glands to maintain dry eyes during the grand finale where the viewer is fast-forwarded to a "present-day" reunion of real-life professional girls baseball leaguers.
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