EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

FrogGlace In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

Matt Greene A so-corny-it-had-to-be-intentional story of boyhood, America, summer, imagination, truth, fantasy, and baseball, that I will love forever and for always so get over it.

Mike LeMar When Benny's in the outfield talking to Smalls, he tells him, "Man, ya gotta stop thinking. Just have fun. I mean, if you were having fun, you would've caught that ball." Later, after Smalls is pulled down from the fence, the boys try to knock some sense into him, with Squints telling him, "If you were thinking, you wouldn't've thought that." Even moreover, Smalls had already gotten intimated by the wonderment of what's on the other side of the fence multiple times, so when Porter knocks one over, why would he suddenly not know what everybody's problem is? Also, why the opposite reactions to different boys knocking one over? Porter gets loaded with grief, then Smalls gets compliments all around. How is Porter an "idiot", anyway, for hitting it over? It's baseball; it's going to happen and isn't that the whole point? And it's not like you can control exactly how far (or short) you smack it.

Hitchcoc I remember that for most of my childhood, all the way to graduation, I played baseball. I was never a varsity player, but my friends and I spent our whole summers doing pickup games. This movie captures a time that doesn't exist any more. Adults have organized so much of the fun out of sports that kids don't get to just play for fun any more. League. League. League. Here we have a ragtag bunch of kids who are all over the place talent- wise. One is fantastic. The rest just love the game. But there is more than the game. There is a mysterious place where balls disappear and a dog the size of a walrus holds forth. There are stories and bragging and all kinds of kid things. There's James Earl Jones, who is feared by the kids through most of the movie until..... See this. It will delight you.

Thomas Drufke No film better encapsulates the fear and wonder of the unknown, summer fun, and most of all; the everlasting bond of friendship and the love for the great game of baseball. The Sandlot is simply a classic.Being that I spent a good amount of my youth playing sports and particularly baseball outside, The Sandlot holds a special place in my heart. There's something about the relation between the characters in the film and the people who I grew up playing sports with that resonates with me. Luckily, the film holds up extremely well since I first saw it in the 90's. Taking place in the 1960's, the film definitely takes advantage of the history of baseball. Not only is Babe Ruth the MacGuffin of the film, but he ends up making a small cameo (played by Art LaFleur). But it's also fun to hear all of the references to various events to the history of the MLB and other pop culture phenomena. As a baseball lifer, the film still gets quoted in our dugout to this day.Besides having some great cameos by LaFleur and the legendary James Earl Jones, what I love most about the film is the comradery between all of the main cast. They all have their nicknames and unique quirks, which gives the group a broad appeal. But I think we all relate to Smalls, who just wants to make some friends and ends up finding a love for baseball that lasts a lifetime. It's not like a film like The Sandlot deserves a ton of critique. It's a perfect film for what it sets out to be, and that's a fun baseball flick about the power of friendship and how a common interest of baseball can change the summer and life of 9 boys from the same neighborhood forever.+Great cameos+Powerful story of friendship+Perfect baseball flick9.5/10