So it's not a hi-brow film. It didn't win any awards. It's still funny. A great ensemble cast - Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Wesley Snipes, Rene Russo and even some - or especially some - great one-liners from Mr. Baseball Himself, Bob Uecker, make this one a peach.
The Cleveland Indians are in the pits. They haven't won the pennant for decades. The long-time owner recently died, leaving the time to his ex-showgirl wife Rachel Phelps (played by Margaret Whitton). The widow Phelps, however, doesn't hold Cleveland in high esteem, and wants the team to fall below attendance minimums so she can accept an offer from Miami to move the team there, get a mansion in Boca Raton and a membership in the country club.
So the 'grieving' widow does what anyone would do - she assembles a team of 'has beens and never-will-bes' who will be so bad that no one will show up to the games. The only problem is that they start winning. With her plans going down the tubes, team owner Ms. Phelps takes away luxury after luxury - the jet plane is replaced by a prop plane, then by a bus. The equipment is replaced slowly, then not at all. Even the hot water is shut off.
Finally the compassionate manager goes to the autoshop owner-turned-coach and tells him of the plan, who passes it along to the players, who in turn use the plan to use them and dump them as a rallying cry to tough it out and stick it to the man. Or the woman.
Meanwhile, player interactions highlight the season with high-priced veterans (Bernsen) and ex-convict rookies (Sheen) clashing in one battle, while religious sides take another fight and an over-the-hill catcher (Berenger) tries to rekindle the fire with an old flame (Russo) before it's too late.
Definitely not for kids. The movie is Rated R. There is some content dealing with religious beliefs that may be awkward for some, some sexual content (though no nudity), a small amount of drinking and a huge amount of adult language. But it's a lot of fun.
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