‘Baseball is what gets inside you. It’s what lights you up, you can’t deny that...’
Despite being another collaboration with Big director Penny Marshall, I’ve never really considered watching A League of Their Own. In truth, when scanning through Hanks’ IMDB page, the title has just never popped out at me. But now, as I approach the end of a lifelong journey to watch every Hanks film, the time has come…
With the men away fighting WWII, the suits decide that women’s baseball will fill the void left by the men’s game. Led by the belligerent and drunken former pro ball player Jimmy Duggan (Hanks), the Rockford Peaches are formed. Geena Davis heads up an eclectic cast as reluctant star Dottie Hinson, and she is joined by Lori Petty, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, Jon Lovitz and Bill Pullman in what is a true ensemble cast.
There aren’t enough movies celebrating women’s sports, and the success of last year’s King Richard was heartening, but A League of Their Own dropped in the ’90s – a decade replete with great men’s sports films – and so, it has kind of dropped out of the cultural conversation, despite an Amazon-produced reboot in 2022. This is a shame because there is a lot to admire here. Hanks is wonderful in a rare supporting role, allowing the incendiary female cast to shine. Davis carries the whole thing, but Madonna and O’Donnell are both great in supporting roles, being as they are, two actors who work best in small doses.
The wartime aesthetic is clearly what attracted Hanks to the role in the first place, it’s no secret that he loves that era, and Marshall ensures that A League of Their Own genuinely looks great – helped out by a majestically sweeping score provided by Hans Zimmer – no less. The effect is a likeable film with an affable nostalgic feel that makes the whole thing irresistible. A film that deserves a better reputation.