A couple of movies on the horizon that until today I had not been aware of. Both are apparently based on true stories.
The Saint of Second Chances is a Netflix production premiering on September 19 that goes over the career of Mike Veeck, son of Bill and a second generation “hustler.” But of course, it’s more than just about the game.
I’m not a big fan of this style which mixes interviews with actual people with re-enactments. I get the feeling, especially with this subject matter, that the producers are trying to pull at viewers’ heart strings. The tag line is “This is the story of a guy who struggled to be a good son and accidentally became a great dad.” So you know it’s going to get sentimental.
The Saint of Second Chances premiers September 19 on Netflix.
Speaking of sentiment, another new film “based on the incredible true story” is The Hill in which we follow young Rickey Hill (get it?), a young crippled boy (degenerative spinal disease,) who only wants to play baseball. His father, played by Dennis Quaid (who never would take “no” for an answer in The Rookie), is a preacher who tries to save his son from pain and embarrassment. Even though Rickey makes great progress through his teens, the specter of permanent physical danger is always just around the corner (“He might never walk again!”).
Hill was actually signed by the Montreal Expos in 1975 and played four years in the minors where he did surprisingly well. In his last season, with Grays Harbor in the Northwest (Short Season A) League in 1978, he batted .286 with 51 RBI and a team-leading 15 home runs in 63 games. But the physical problems became too much to overcome and he was out of the game by the time he was 23.
Scott Glen plays the famed scout Red Murff. Country music singer Randy Houser also has a prominent role in this inspirational tearjerker (tag line, “Some dreams are unbreakable.”)
The Hill, which opens in theaters on Friday, is from the same writers who brought us a couple of other films about underdogs in Rudy and Hoosiers. It is not to be confused with the 1965 Sean Connery movie of the same name (“In a North African military prison during World War II, five new prisoners struggle to survive in the face of brutal punishment and sadistic guards.”)
If you want an even deeper dive, visit Rickey Hill’s website.
Finally, Amazon has cancelled the second season of their streaming TV series, A League of Their Own. Blame fell mostly on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, but ALOTO creator Abby Jacobson called bullsh*t on that.
Frankly, I’m not that broken up about it. This struck me as one of those shows you have to like, or else be branded a neanderthal. There was much more emphasis on the gay angle of the league, as well as the African-American pitcher (obliquely appearing in the movie version), who also happens to be a lesbian. From a baseball perspective, the on-field action was very poorly expressed, with too much CGI of very low quality.
is available on Amazon.com,
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