Feature Friday: The Natural
Ah, Spring is here. The weather is warming up, pale children who haven't seen the sun in months are venturing, cautiously, out into the sun, and the crack of the bat can be heard far and wide.
When I was a kid, there was a kind of magic about it. Baseball meant that school would be out in just a couple short months. That my friends and I would find ourselves spending hours running around the bases. That I would get to do one of my favorite things in the world: play catch with my Dad.
It is a ritual. A rite of passage, I suppose. Father's and Son's. Dad taught me to throw. How to catch. How to be patient and clear my mind. How, if I thought too hard about it, I'd psyche myself out. He cheered me on during my Little League games, and taught me how to handle defeat as well as victory.
The Summer I was 10, a movie came out that Dad and I could relate to. Yeah, we had bonded over the Indiana Jones and Star Wars movies, but this one was different. This one was as timeless as Father's and Son's themselves. It was about Baseball the way it was supposed to be played. Back before professional sports was more than just a group of individuals out to better only themselves. Back when being loyal to a team meant something. Back before ballplayers got paid millions of dollars.
Back when guys played for love of the game.
Title: The Natural
Year: 1984
Director: Barry Levinson
Staring: Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley, Barbara Hershey, Robert Duvall, Robert Prosky, Richard Farnsworth, Joe Don Baker, John Finnegan, Michael Madsen
Welcome to small town America, circa 1915. We meet young Roy Hobbs, gifted athlete, trained under the watchful eye of his father. He perfects his natural talent, and with the support of the girl next door, Iris, Roy plans out the rest of his life.
Those plans are lost, however, when his father dies of a heart attack. During a thunderstorm, the tree his father died under is split apart by lightning. Roy cuts down the tree and carves a bat from it's trunk. He dubs the bat "Wonderboy," and burns a lightning bolt into the wood.
Flash forward a few years to 1923. 20 year old Roy (Redford) has just been called up to try out for the Chicago Cubs. He and his manager, Sam Simpson, are leaving in the morning. Roy spends his light night with Iris (Close), and promises to send for her once he's made the team.
The next day, Roy crosses paths with two very different people, people destined to change the course of his life. The Babe Ruth-inspired "Whammer" (Baker), and the mysterious Harriet Bird (Hershey). Along for the ride is sports writer Max Mercy (Duvall), acting as the Whammer's personal PR director. When their train stops to refuel near a county fair, old man Simpson can't help but take the opportunity to take Mercy and the Whammer down a couple of pegs. He challenges the Whammer to three pitches thrown by Roy. Powered by limitless ego and trying to win the affection of Harriet, the Whammer agrees. Besides, it'd help to give the town folk a chance to see their hero in action.
A large crowd gathers round to see Roy go head to head with the Whammer. Three pitches. Three strikes. The crowd goes nuts. And Harriet sees Roy in a new light.
When they reach Chicago, Roy receives an invitation to join Harriet at her hotel. But all is not well. Harriet is deranged and has been seeking out the "best" of every sport. She kills them all with a silver bullet. She attempts to do the same to Roy. After she shoots him, she jumps to her death.
16 years later.
It's now 1939, and things aren't looking too good for the down-on-their-luck New York Knights. Manager Pop Fisher (Brimley) is at the end of his contract, and is looking to buy out the club from a corrupt judge (Prosky). Problem is, the Knights are in the bottom of the cellar, with no hopes of making enough this season to help him. He and his partner, Red (Farnsworth), are quietly adjusting to the end of their careers when fate walks through the door.
35 year old Roy Hobbs has been sent by the Knights' talent scout for a try-out. Pop, understandably, is furious. "You don't start playing ball at your age, you retire." Red is willing to take a chance on the "kid." But, Pop is unsure about this "middle-aged rookie."
Unable to play, or even practice, for the first few games, Roy is agitated. After an outburst with Pop, he is reluctantly allowed to join batting practice. The results are outstanding. With Wonderboy in his hand, Roy can do no wrong. Pop wonders why someone with Roy's talent, he hasn't played anywhere before.
The following day, unhappy with outfielder Bartholomew 'Bump' Bailey (Madsen), Pop gives Roy a chance to prove himself. "Knock the cover off the ball," he jests to Roy as he makes his way to the plate. Roy does just that. He becomes an overnight success. Suddenly, the Knights are big news again, and Roy is leading the headlines.
The Judge is none too happy about the recent turn of events, and starts pulling the strings he's secretly put in place. Strings involving the Knights pitcher, an uncredited Tom Sizemore, and Bump Bailey. The Judge's cohorts also involve the gambler, Gus Sands, the late Darren McGavin, and his girl, Memo Paris (Basinger). With the Knights returning to true form, under Roy's lightning bolt banner, all bets are off when it comes to lengths the Judge will resort to.
The Natural is a throw back to the magic of baseball in it's purest form. Of the feeling of standing on fresh grass under a "sky so blue you have to squint to look at it." Of your heart skipping a beat as the bat meets ball. And that indescribable feeling of sliding home with dust in the air and dirt in your cleats. One of the best feelings in the world.
Robert Redford is one of the greatest actors and directors of our time. More than the pretty boy and leading man of the late 60's and most of the 70's, he has a charisma and integrity that just seems to be lacking in most of today's actors. He has a quality about him that defies description. And gives such a real, dare I say "natural," performance, that you forget that he's playing a part. And while there are a lot to choose from, this is my favorite Redford role.
Wilford Brimley and Richard Farnsworth breathe new life into the paint-by-number roles of ball manager's Pop and Red. They have a wonderful chemistry on screen, and you can tell they had fun on the set. Their banter is loose and free and never forced. Two great character actors with fun characters to play.
The women of the Natural have as much diversity as the actresses playing them. Barbara Hershey is cold and intense. Her Harriet Bird is calculating and deadly. A very one-note character, yet Hersey allows us to see behind the veil a couple of times, and that just makes her even more creepy.
Basinger plays the fem fatale quite well, despite this being one of her first roles. Memo Paris wants to be bad, but can't quite pull it off. She has a weakness, Roy, and she's scared that she may jeopardize all that she's worked for if it she can't get past it. It makes her a dangerous character, one whose actions we're never sure will be.
And Glenn Close has the hardest part to play. Iris the "angel" of the story. Always there to lead Roy back on the right track. It's her strength and support that sends him out to Chicago in the first place. Her innocence that brings him back from his slump. And her love that helps him stand up again, when he thinks he's down for good.
The Natural is based on the novel by Bernard Malamud. And while the movie differs from the book, both are quite good.
This past Monday saw the opening of Baseball season, here in Texas. And, while I don't pay much attention to pro ball that much anymore, I still play softball with my church group. Now, we may not be the best, but we play with heart. And that's what matters.
It's also why I'll always play with #9 on my jersey.
-Jos
"You gotta be a man to play baseball for a living, but you gotta have a lot of little boy in you, too." ~Roy Campanella
When I was a kid, there was a kind of magic about it. Baseball meant that school would be out in just a couple short months. That my friends and I would find ourselves spending hours running around the bases. That I would get to do one of my favorite things in the world: play catch with my Dad.
It is a ritual. A rite of passage, I suppose. Father's and Son's. Dad taught me to throw. How to catch. How to be patient and clear my mind. How, if I thought too hard about it, I'd psyche myself out. He cheered me on during my Little League games, and taught me how to handle defeat as well as victory.
The Summer I was 10, a movie came out that Dad and I could relate to. Yeah, we had bonded over the Indiana Jones and Star Wars movies, but this one was different. This one was as timeless as Father's and Son's themselves. It was about Baseball the way it was supposed to be played. Back before professional sports was more than just a group of individuals out to better only themselves. Back when being loyal to a team meant something. Back before ballplayers got paid millions of dollars.
Back when guys played for love of the game.
Title: The Natural
Year: 1984
Director: Barry Levinson
Staring: Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley, Barbara Hershey, Robert Duvall, Robert Prosky, Richard Farnsworth, Joe Don Baker, John Finnegan, Michael Madsen
Welcome to small town America, circa 1915. We meet young Roy Hobbs, gifted athlete, trained under the watchful eye of his father. He perfects his natural talent, and with the support of the girl next door, Iris, Roy plans out the rest of his life.
Those plans are lost, however, when his father dies of a heart attack. During a thunderstorm, the tree his father died under is split apart by lightning. Roy cuts down the tree and carves a bat from it's trunk. He dubs the bat "Wonderboy," and burns a lightning bolt into the wood.
Flash forward a few years to 1923. 20 year old Roy (Redford) has just been called up to try out for the Chicago Cubs. He and his manager, Sam Simpson, are leaving in the morning. Roy spends his light night with Iris (Close), and promises to send for her once he's made the team.
The next day, Roy crosses paths with two very different people, people destined to change the course of his life. The Babe Ruth-inspired "Whammer" (Baker), and the mysterious Harriet Bird (Hershey). Along for the ride is sports writer Max Mercy (Duvall), acting as the Whammer's personal PR director. When their train stops to refuel near a county fair, old man Simpson can't help but take the opportunity to take Mercy and the Whammer down a couple of pegs. He challenges the Whammer to three pitches thrown by Roy. Powered by limitless ego and trying to win the affection of Harriet, the Whammer agrees. Besides, it'd help to give the town folk a chance to see their hero in action.
A large crowd gathers round to see Roy go head to head with the Whammer. Three pitches. Three strikes. The crowd goes nuts. And Harriet sees Roy in a new light.
When they reach Chicago, Roy receives an invitation to join Harriet at her hotel. But all is not well. Harriet is deranged and has been seeking out the "best" of every sport. She kills them all with a silver bullet. She attempts to do the same to Roy. After she shoots him, she jumps to her death.
16 years later.
It's now 1939, and things aren't looking too good for the down-on-their-luck New York Knights. Manager Pop Fisher (Brimley) is at the end of his contract, and is looking to buy out the club from a corrupt judge (Prosky). Problem is, the Knights are in the bottom of the cellar, with no hopes of making enough this season to help him. He and his partner, Red (Farnsworth), are quietly adjusting to the end of their careers when fate walks through the door.
35 year old Roy Hobbs has been sent by the Knights' talent scout for a try-out. Pop, understandably, is furious. "You don't start playing ball at your age, you retire." Red is willing to take a chance on the "kid." But, Pop is unsure about this "middle-aged rookie."
Unable to play, or even practice, for the first few games, Roy is agitated. After an outburst with Pop, he is reluctantly allowed to join batting practice. The results are outstanding. With Wonderboy in his hand, Roy can do no wrong. Pop wonders why someone with Roy's talent, he hasn't played anywhere before.
The following day, unhappy with outfielder Bartholomew 'Bump' Bailey (Madsen), Pop gives Roy a chance to prove himself. "Knock the cover off the ball," he jests to Roy as he makes his way to the plate. Roy does just that. He becomes an overnight success. Suddenly, the Knights are big news again, and Roy is leading the headlines.
The Judge is none too happy about the recent turn of events, and starts pulling the strings he's secretly put in place. Strings involving the Knights pitcher, an uncredited Tom Sizemore, and Bump Bailey. The Judge's cohorts also involve the gambler, Gus Sands, the late Darren McGavin, and his girl, Memo Paris (Basinger). With the Knights returning to true form, under Roy's lightning bolt banner, all bets are off when it comes to lengths the Judge will resort to.
The Natural is a throw back to the magic of baseball in it's purest form. Of the feeling of standing on fresh grass under a "sky so blue you have to squint to look at it." Of your heart skipping a beat as the bat meets ball. And that indescribable feeling of sliding home with dust in the air and dirt in your cleats. One of the best feelings in the world.
Robert Redford is one of the greatest actors and directors of our time. More than the pretty boy and leading man of the late 60's and most of the 70's, he has a charisma and integrity that just seems to be lacking in most of today's actors. He has a quality about him that defies description. And gives such a real, dare I say "natural," performance, that you forget that he's playing a part. And while there are a lot to choose from, this is my favorite Redford role.
Wilford Brimley and Richard Farnsworth breathe new life into the paint-by-number roles of ball manager's Pop and Red. They have a wonderful chemistry on screen, and you can tell they had fun on the set. Their banter is loose and free and never forced. Two great character actors with fun characters to play.
The women of the Natural have as much diversity as the actresses playing them. Barbara Hershey is cold and intense. Her Harriet Bird is calculating and deadly. A very one-note character, yet Hersey allows us to see behind the veil a couple of times, and that just makes her even more creepy.
Basinger plays the fem fatale quite well, despite this being one of her first roles. Memo Paris wants to be bad, but can't quite pull it off. She has a weakness, Roy, and she's scared that she may jeopardize all that she's worked for if it she can't get past it. It makes her a dangerous character, one whose actions we're never sure will be.
And Glenn Close has the hardest part to play. Iris the "angel" of the story. Always there to lead Roy back on the right track. It's her strength and support that sends him out to Chicago in the first place. Her innocence that brings him back from his slump. And her love that helps him stand up again, when he thinks he's down for good.
The Natural is based on the novel by Bernard Malamud. And while the movie differs from the book, both are quite good.
This past Monday saw the opening of Baseball season, here in Texas. And, while I don't pay much attention to pro ball that much anymore, I still play softball with my church group. Now, we may not be the best, but we play with heart. And that's what matters.
It's also why I'll always play with #9 on my jersey.
-Jos
"You gotta be a man to play baseball for a living, but you gotta have a lot of little boy in you, too." ~Roy Campanella
posted by Josh at
10:12 AM
1 Comments:
Yeah, some girls can throw and hit much better than some of you guys!! Father and son thing, come on! Let the girls play, some of them are better anyway....
The Princess
By
Anonymous, At
12:02 PM
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home