A League of their Own

Official Rating: PG

It's 1943. The men of the country are off fighting the Axis, so the women have to step up and substitute for them in factories, business, and baseball! Candy bar and baseball baron Walter Harvey recruits promoter Ira Lowenstein to make a girl's baseball league, recruiter Ernie Capadino to scout the hottest talent, and washed-up(and ill-bred and alcoholic) former pro player James "Jimmy" Dugan to coach them into their top form. While preserving a wholesome, feminine ideal and instructing in the ladylike arts, the girls still create quite a controversy as they enter a field usually reserved for the boys currently "over there." Even those invested in the league's success can be dismissive of the ladies' abilities, and the interpersonal conflicts that arise almost eat the league from the inside out.

Enter Dottie Hinson and Kit Keller, sisters and ballplayers, one happily married and basically perfect, the other an enthusiastic athlete and desperate to get out and find opportunity to shine outside her sister's shadow. Will they manage to get what they really want—or find what they really need?

Kids, ask your parents or another trusted adult to tell you the meanings of some things described below!

Good Parts: 

A League of Their Own is wonderful on so many levels. Firstly, it's hilarious; everyone will find something to laugh at. Secondly, there are many testaments to the importance of good relationships. One girl, Marla, has a father that taught her the game and defends her right to play. Once they get to know each other, the girls become very nice and get along beautifully. When one of them, Shirley Baker, can't read, they teach her. Most importantly, they all support each other in their career choice and femininity, proving the capability of everyone to be great at anything they work hard to achieve. Doris eventually concludes, "There's a lot of us, I think we're all all right." An umpire advises the initially boorish Dugan to "treat each of these girls as you would treat your mother." He does learn. Thirdly, there are many great story arcs of reconciliation and redemption. Stylistically, the casting was phenomenal, and so was the set design, especially if you love the wartime aesthetic of the 40's. Although it takes some fictionalizing liberties, it narrates the history of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in an engaging and unforgettable way. There's also a courteous nod to the African-American ladies that couldn't participate because of the segregation laws. Lastly, it contains points of cultural literacy that should not pass unknown.

Religion: 

The girls are all at least culturally Christian. They go to a Catholic confessional and to church, a thing Dugan tries to dismiss but can't. Before the World Series game, he offers a prayer. God's name is invoked respectfully.

Violence: 

Two threats of killing occur, once figuratively in the context of Dottie's grandsons' basketball game and once to Stillwell, the annoying son of one of the players. Fisticuffs occur once between Doris and Kit, which is accompanied by mild surrounding shoving. Dugan knocks Stillwell over by throwing a baseball mitt at him. The main body of the film takes place during World War II, but it's more of a background phenomenon without any fighting footage shown.

Sexual Content: 

At the tryouts, the girls see their uniforms and want to refuse to wear them because they are too short (and for all the derivative reasons). During their first games, some of the crowd heckle suggestively. As they grow more successful, they use some feminine tricks to promote the league, including a "catch a foul, get a kiss" incentive. In some locker room scenes, some girls are in their underwear putting their uniforms on.

Dugan can be rather a licentious chap, declaring that "girls are what you sleep with after the game. " When their bus driver quits and the chaperone tries to wake him up, he passionately kisses her in a case of mistaken identity (neither are amused by this). Later, jokingly, he gooses her before a game.

During their time on the road, the girls sneak out to the Suds Bucket, a swing dancing-and-drinking club, where they do a lot of flirting. When Dottie takes a car there to pick everyone up, her young driver calls her "doll-body" and suggests that they "slip in the backseat and [she] make a man" out of him. She fittingly threatens to smack him around awhile instead.

And of course, there's "All the Way" Mae. She's played by Madonna. Need we say more? Actually, yes. Compared to other things she is known for, her character keeps all on-screen action PG (but still pretty racy). She teaches Shirley to read a steamy novel, suggests having her "uniform burst open and my bosoms come out" as a promotional (prompting Doris to retaliate, "You think there's any man in America that hasn't seen your bosoms?") and goes on a date in a tight dress that she says she doesn't intend to wear very long anyway. Additionally, she unhappily describes her former career as a taxi dancer1 as "ten cents so some slob can sweat gin all over me."

Language:

Quite a lot of bad words, which is surprising for the time period. Several instances of h---, g--d---, s---, a---, and p--- can be heard. In the insults department, the sisters call each other "mule" and "nag." Dugan calls an umpire a...certain male appendage with a little hat on and uses other colorful terms throughout. Also, the b--- word is spoken. As well as being occasionally off-color, the crowds' heckling is also just plain mean. Ernie the talent scout is a very brusque type, speaking in constant sarcasm. It's amusing, but grating.

Supernatural:

The girls harbor a superstition about passing a boneyard/cemetery. You have to cross your fingers while traveling by them or you never get another hit.

Other:

As stated before, Ernie is a caustic individual who also has some strict (read: prejudiced) criteria for players. He almost doesn't hire a VERY talented girl, Marla Hooch, because he doesn't think she has much in the looks department. The girls are a little unwelcoming at the beginning, especially to Kit. Some traditional types interpret the introduction of female sports as the "masculinization of women" and a "confusion of the sexes", with higher education being blamed. Drinking is both brought up in conversation and depicted, but not positively. It killed Dugan's playing career and causes irrational behavior. On the topic of Dugan, it bears mentioning that in addition to his other infractions above, he starts out being very crude in general. Not only is he an alcoholic, but he spits, scratches, is dismissive of the girls, and...goes to the bathroom for a LONG time. Stillwell is the traditional annoying and spoiled type of child, causing much irritation among the team. Mae poisons their chaperone's dinner in order for the girls to sneak out to the above-mentioned Suds Bucket. Doris has a boyfriend who is described as "stupid, out of work, and treats [her] bad"; she puts up with him because everyone else treated her weirdly for playing ball. Someone's husband gets killed in battle. Sisterly rivalry, namely the classic perfect big sister/ frustrated little sister dynamic, is a main point of the story. It's bittersweet at the end when everyone is old.

Summary:

What a terrific movie! Balancing the importance of equal opportunity and the value each gender brings to life while also telling a glorious and universal story, A League of Their Own is a valuable time capsule, harkening back to the successes and mistakes of the past and leading the way with enthusiasm towards the future. With a healthy helping of nostalgia, this American national treasure will have you laughing, cheering, and maybe even doing the thing most forbidden: crying in baseball. Score 9/10

Footnotes:

1. A taxi dancer was someone you paid to be your dance partner at dance halls. The profession was not inherently bad, but people probably found ways to make it so.