for a first time director, billy crystal doesn't do too bad a job in presenting the story of the race to beat babe ruth's single season homerun record between teammates mickey mantle and roger maris. following a yankee victory in the world series and maris being named american league mvp, the year promised to be something, but no one had an inkling that the two yankees would both be on a course to break the record.
the story contrasts the two players. mantle, the rakish and charismatic star of the team is the almost polar opposite of the quiet family man maris. the only thing they seem to have in common are blond hair and rural roots. oh, and they can both hit the long ball. a rivalry is purported to be between them in the papers while the two develop an unlikely friendship.
the two are also linked by burdens put upon them by the press and public. mantle, the man of the people and the darling of all new york city and its reporters, is shouldering the expectations of an entire city and baseball franchise. while maris bears the black mark of not being personable to the reporters who scald him in the papers as a surly hick from the sticks of fargo, north dakota.
barry pepper turns in a fabulous performance as maris, subtly portraying the taciturn and worried, earnest and humble demeanor which put maris on the wrong side of a demanding publicity machine. thomas jane puts forth a truly charming mantle. and crystal is perhaps too sympathetic to the all-but unknown sports legend and his underappreciated accomplishment in breaking the babe's mark.
the story is bracketed in the 1998 homerun race between sammy sosa and the man who made the new single-season record, mark mcgwire and this may be the only weakness to the story. the intentional poignancy of this backdrop for the story as remembered by mrs. pat maris, the yankee's widow, (played by pat crowley), is a bit heavy-handed and tale of the "m&m boys" and their race for the record in the summer of 1961 could have stood on its own without ms. crowley tearfully watching mcgwire break the record and make his press conference on the television screen from her hospital bed. but overall, the story and portrayals are strong and i enjoyed learning, albeit rosy-coloredly, the story of that exceptional summer.
juiced August 8, 2003 05:35 PM | pokes (0)