THE SANDLOT

In the movie THE SANDLOT, young Scott Smalls moves to a new California neighborhood and attempts to make friends with the eight boys who play sandlot baseball. Each of the boys, including their leader, Benny, takes baseball very seriously, so when Scott finally gets his opportunity to play with them, he finds himself humiliated because he can neither catch nor throw the ball. With help, he learns, but one day, after their ball is lost, Scott gets his stepfather’s cherished autographed “Babe Ruth” ball to finish the game. The ball is hit into an old, dilapidated warehouse that contains a mysterious “beast,” and Scott worries about how he can retrieve the ball and save face with his stepfather. The rest of the film hinges on the boys getting the ball back and uncovering an enormous surprise lurking in the old warehouse.

Although THE SANDLOT lags in a few places, overall, it maintains an even pace, builds suspense and intrigue, and humorously depicts the trials of growing up. Commendably, the film contains little objectionable save some mild (regrettably) obscenities and a couple of exclamatory profanities. Not wanting to divulge any further information about this delightful film, suffice to say that THE SANDLOT is good, wholesome family entertainment and will cause its viewers to laugh and to rejoice as they leave the theatre wishing that more just plain good movies would come along.