The Perfect Game

With the World Series happening this month, it’s a nice time to check out a baseball movie that’s good for the whole family.

Published: 10/06/2011

by Michael Berick

With the World Series happening this month, it’s a nice time to check out a baseball movie that’s good for the whole family. The Perfect Game is a film that sat on the sidelines for several years before a brief appearance in cinemas last year (co-star Jake T. Austin filmed this before he started on Wizard of Waverly Place). DVD, however, is a natural place for this sweet, inspirational movie. The Perfect Game follows a group of poor boys from Monterrey, Mexico who banded together under the leadership of a down-on-his-luck ex-St. Louis Cardinals locker-room attendant to win the 1957 Little League World Series.

It looks like a more serious version of the Bad News Bears, except this film is based on fact. The Monterrey team was the first non-U.S. team to win the Little League title, and they won it with the first – and only – Little League World Series perfect game. There are some obvious storytelling flaws in this David vs. Goliath film, but there also are several winning qualities: the baseball team’s charming performances, Clifton Collins Jr.’s gritty portrayal of the team’s manager, and the film’s uplifting, humanistic messages. It also nicely integrates archival footage of the actual games.

Although not a home run, this endearing film is an impressive extra base hit in the family movie field.

Michael also recommends …

• The Gruffalo, $9.99, NCircle Entertainment

• Marley & Me: The Puppy Years, $22.99, 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment

• Babar: The Classic Series: School Days & Best Friends Forever, $14.98 (each), Entertainment One

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