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Summer,1962.
Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry) is the new kid in town.
Awkward and shy, he fails at his first attempt to befriend a team of friends who play endless innings of baseball at an abandoned sandlot. His lack of social graces and baseball skills renders him friendless until Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez (Mike Vital) shows up. Benny (the leader of the local sandlot gang) looking for a ninth man for the team, takes Smalls under his wing and teaches him the essentials of the game.The rest of the guys (Timmy,Tommy, "Yeah Yeah", Ham, Bertram, DeNunez, and "Squints") however, think Smalls is a complete square and hopeless baseball player. But with Benny's guidance, Smalls is able to prove himself worthy of the team and their respect.
As the summer heats up, Smalls finds himself among friends and many zany escapades; getting kicked out of the town pool, playing ball under 4th of July fireworks, and finding out that chewing tobacco and The Tilt-OWhirl don't mix! With endless fun and unlimited baseball, everything seems to be going thier way...until Smalls hits his first Home-Run. After Smalls hits it over the park, he decides to help the guys and keep the game going with his Step-Dad's (Denis Leary) baseball...that just happens to be autographed by the one and only Babe Ruth (No biggie, right?). But after that ball goes over the fence, Smalls discovers that he still has a lot to learn about "The Great Bambino", "The Beast", and "Mean" Ol' Mr. Mertle (James Earl Jones).
The Sandlot is one of my all-time favorite films. My parents took my sisters and I to see it at the dollar theatre when we were kid. After that, we watched the heck out of it on VHS! It was always fun to watch (and one the reasons I got into period films). It's one of those movies that is still near and dear to my heart and it's just not Summer without it! One of my favorite scenes has to be "the 4th of July " scene. They all gather for a night game under the stars and just pause as they are captivated by the fireworks. With Ray Charles' version of "America The Beautiful" playing in the background, it just creates such a beautifully memorable moment. It captures the effect that simple summer magic has on us all. I hope that if you haven't seen this movie, you will make a point to watch it this Summer. And if you have....PLAAAAYYY BAAAALLLL!!!!
Love,
Neah B
Image Credits:
http://www.matttrailer.com/the_sandlot_1993
http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20483133_20501604_20974712,00.html
