MAJOR LEAGUE: BACK TO THE MINORS
Release Date: April 17, 1998 Starring: Scott Bakula, Corbin Bernsen, Thom Barry, Ted McGinley Jensen Daggett, Eric Bruskotter, Walt Goggins, Dennis Haysbert, Takaaki Ishibashi, Bob Uecker Directed by: John Warren Distributed by: Warner Brothers MPAA Rating: PG-13 (brief language) URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1998/major.htm
People who think Hollywood should stay away from sequels are most definitely going to use MAJOR LEAGUE: BACK TO THE MINORS as ammunition for their case. There are very few movies that can survive the sophomore jinx, let alone become franchises that sprawl out to three or four or even five movies. ROCKY, BATMAN, ALIEN, and LETHAL WEAPON are all enjoyable movies that have now spawned at least three less-than- enjoyable follow-ups, and in the case of ROCKY, we did have to sit through Stallone's stinker of a fifth episode (although the point might be made that it capped the series off). Hopefully, though, MAJOR LEAGUE 3's dismal appearance will warrant a cut-off for the series, as an outing like this does not deserve to be repeated.
There is little to like about the bad humor and dismal cast that cultivates MAJOR LEAGUE 3. Only three members of the original cast haven't nixed the franchise by this episode, and the title character is fresh meat. Scott Bakula (from a more enjoyable sports comedy, Necessary Roughness) plays Gus Cantrell, a minor league baseball player who, on the verge of retirement, takes the option from Roger Dorn (Corbin Bernsen) to manage a triple-A team in the Minnesota Twins' organization called the Buzz. Predictably, at the movie's outset, the group is a bumbling gaggle of klutzes that fight amongst themselves and boggle routine plays. And predictably, with Gus' help, they become a top-notch farm team. The climax of the movie comes with a bet between Gus and Leonard Huff (Ted McGinley), the manager of the Twins, that pits the Buzz against the Twins.
Bob Uecker as Harry Doyle, the vulgar announcer, and Dennis Haysbert as the intimdating Cuban batsman Pedro Cerrano, are the other two cast members (along with Bernsen) to make it back. Also returning from the second movie is Takaaki Ishibashi, although those three characters have lost their novelty and don't lend much to the movie's story. Even Uecker, usually funny, has lost a lot of his idiosyncrasies for the sake of a PG-13 rating: his drunken abandon is replaced with dry humor that loses appeal quickly. Bakula is decent as Buzz manager Cantrell, although his attempt at middle-aged wisdom doesn't lend itself to the audience the way Tom Berringer's did for the first movie. Bernsen, too, as Dorn, has lost his appeal, and Jensen Daggett (from FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VIII - now that's sequel overkill), who plays Gus' fiancee Maggie, is good-looking onscreen but either underused in the script or just pointless.
Sports comedies are drastically in decline, and that may correlate to the declining stability of professional sports. Laughable gems like MAJOR LEAGUE don't deserve to be ruined by poor sequels, and even though Warner Brothers may not have realized it prior to their distribution of the third episode, they may after it brings in poor box office receipts. Although CITY OF ANGELS was a diamond in the rough for the film company, they haven't had a box-office smash in seven months. MAJOR LEAGUE: BACK TO THE MINORS is definitely missable, for just about every person and for just about any other movie.
FINAL AWARD FOR "MAJOR LEAGUE 3": 0.5 stars - a very poor movie.
-- Craig Roush kinnopio@execpc.com -- Kinnopio's Movie Reviews http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio
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