MovieChat Forums > The Sandlot (1993) Discussion > This movie was painful to watch

This movie was painful to watch

posted 14 years ago by grim107
86 replies | jump to latest

I can't believe I'm writing this, as it's only a matter of time until I'll be flamed. First off, I'm not going to write one of those mindless posts with little to no punctuation saying that this movie sucks and giving little to no reasons. I watched this movie after seeing Stand by Me. While looking on the IMDB forums as well as Google for similar movies, I kept coming back over and over to The Sandlot. I decided to watch it, and amazingly, struggled through every moment of it. I'd viewed different posts asking which people like more: The Sandlot or Stand by Me. Just about everyone said it was a really close call, as they are both classics. Obviously, I began watching with pretty high expectations.

The acting was extremely flat. Yes, I'm aware that these kids were obviously very young, but so was Jerry O'Connell of Stand by Me (not saying he was the best of the four, but he WAS the youngest).

The idea of the supernatural dog was annoying in itself. How was a dog supposed to outsmart a large group of kids over and over? Once it escaped, why did it only chase down Benjamin Rodrguez and not the rest of the kids? How was it able to jump through a pane of glass and walk out unharmed? Once the boys freed the dog from under the fence, how could it have just taken a liking to them? Why was the dog hoarding kids' baseballs anyways? Stand by Me definitely had NOTHING supernatural, and it was written by Stephen King! It was this that made Stand by Me so believable.

What was up with those annoying sound effect that was played whenever a pop-fly started to drop? I groaned every time I heard that. There was little in the movie to let us know that it took place in 1962. Had it not been for the drugstore, the movie could have pretty much taken place during any time period. Perhaps one of the more major annoyances was the fact that the kids never really matured. If anyone remembers Stand by Me, there are several scenes when the kids start opening up to each other about their broken homes, their hopes, and their dreams. There were also several powerful scenes which featured the kids breaking down.

If I had more time to think, I'm sure I can find many more annoyances with this movie. The only redeeming thing about watching it was hearing the song Green Onions. Overall, I'm giving this movie a 3/10.

I'm aware that I've only compared this movie to Stand by Me, but that is because Stand by Me is definitely the best example of a coming-of-age tale and was magnificently put together. It had great acting, great script, and great direction. Also, many people on these forums compare the two movies together. Stand by Me was a kids movie made for adults. The Sandlot was a kids movie made for kids. I'm guessing that the only reason this movie is viewed at as a classic is because many people saw it when they were young, and it brings back sentimental memories. Even if I'd had far lower standards (for example, if I hadn't seen Stand by Me), I still would have hated this movie. So here is my challenge: explain to me why you think this movie was so good. Also, I ask that because I've actually taken the time to write a thoughtful response, you do the same. No one will take you seriously if you don't. Thank you all for reading.

[–] Rsnyd978 14 years ago

Ok so clearly your not a child judging by the fact that you put together a semi-good argument on what you didn't like about the movie. However, you compared it to Stand by Me. The difference between the two is the target audience it attracts, Stand by Me is geared more toward adults where as this is a mindless kid's movies bringing back nostalgia of playing baseball growing up without a care in the world. So if your going to spend time trashing kids movies i look forward to your analytical views on Fantasia, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.

[–] grim107 14 years ago

I have nothing against kids' movies. Frankly, Aladdin was pretty good. The problem wasn't the fact that this was a kid's movie. It's that it was a bad movie. I just recently saw the movie "Secondhand Lions" starring Haley Joel Osment. This was clearly a kids'/family movie, and at many parts, it showed a little too much. However, It was a pretty descent movie, and while by no means was it a masterpiece, I plan to watch it again some time in the future. So why did I like one movie but not the other? "Secondhand Lions" was all around well acted and had a fine storyline. "The Sandlot" wasn't well acted and had a pretty crappy storyline.

I knew before I started watching "The Sandlot" that it was a kids' movie. However, I felt that it's 7.5 rating and hundreds of posts and websites raving about it (and comparing it to Stand by Me), calling it an incredible coming of age movie couldn't be lying to me. I wasn't shocked to find out that this movie was aimed towards a kids' audience. Sadly, though, I found it to be a very lame movie.

Lastly, while I can't bash the original "Sandlot" for this next point, I can say that the series was a total sellout. The first "Sandlot" had a clear and definite ending. What was going through everyones' minds when they made "Sandlot 2" and "Sandlot 3"? These are some of the lowest scoring and worst reviewed movies I've ever seen on IMDB. There was never a "Stand by Me 2: Gordie Kicks Ass!" where Gordie (now played by Dakota Fanning, although frankly, she was WAY too famous for such a role, as opposed to those in "Sandlot 2/3") goes back in time with a flux capacitor to stop Chris's death, and in the process, completely reenacts the original story.

[–] rallyinthestreets 12 years ago

Side-note: Aladdin is pretty bad.

On topic: The Sandlot is a sublime children's movie. No more, no less.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] resul452 9 years ago

yes it is

[–] ted-204 14 years ago

I think this movie is great and I believe you are missing the context in which the story is being told. This is a memory of childhood as told by an adult. We all recall stories of adventures with our buddies where the details become more exaggerated as the years go by and the stories are retold again and again. The idea of a "Beast" or events with details that are a little grander than what actually happened is not at all preposterous. That is what I love about this movie. It reminds me of many stories in my childhood and playing baseball with my buddies. I consider it much more along the lines of A Christmas Story where memories of childhood are romanticized. I wouldn't put it in the same category as Stand By Me, which is also a great film.

I was 30 years old when this movie first came out and I enjoy it just as much now. My 12 year old son also loves the movie.

[–] ajackett 9 years ago

I know I'm quite late to the party, but this is exactly the point of this movie. I was 12 when it came out, I loved it then because I was roughly the same age as those kids. I just watched it again tonight, I'm 34 now and it was still great. I realized that because the movie was being narrated by an adult, that the story was exaggerated, just as the stories I remember from my youth are. The movie is much deeper than the OP saw. It also makes me miss my youth, what we wouldn't give to relive our childhoods.

[–] filmrevolutionary 9 years ago

THANK YOU! I know this is a post from five years ago lol but THANK YOU.

This is the kid's Point of View! This is his memoir!

The cheesy sound effects? The exaggerated mythical creature like dog? Those are all things we do as kids! We fear the unkown (they did not KNOW how to handle a dog with made up stories that Squince is going around yacking about through out the town.), and as kids we also have a habit of telling stories through making funny sound effects. All of this stuff captured the idea of telling a story through the youth.

I understand The Sandlot is not Stand By Me... but they are two different movies. One is about a kid trying to fit in with another group of kids, and how those kids change his whole life for the better through friendship, and the team game of Baseball. The other is about a group of kids going on an adventure, and the adventure as you said MATURES them, and helps them grow up. Their both very different ideas about childhood growth, but they both are very true to everything when it comes to growing up as a young boy.

As for the whole "they barely made it look like the 60s argument".... are you kidding me? The dialogue? The Clothing? The Music? The Set Design? All of that convinced me at 4 years old, and it convinces me now. I appreciate if you were catching certain things but I mean, they did a lot more than just put up a convincing Pharmacy.

In the end how can you hate this movie? It's a really fun story, and I actually will say the acting was damn good for a group of kids. Some of it may have been flat or exaggerated but this all goes with the Kid's Point of View argument... when does anyone tell a childhood story and does not exaggerate a little? All I'm saying is that maybe, just maybe, you should watch this with someone else, and see why they enjoy it.

[–] JR541 14 years ago

Maybe you were sitting on a pin. That might explain why it was painful.

He's taking the knife out of the Cheese!
Do you think he wants some cheese?

[–] grim107 14 years ago

"Maybe you were sitting on a pin. That might explain why it was painful. "

Look, I truly wanted to like the movie. I REALLY did. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. It was a downright bad movie. I don't watch movies expecting to hate them. As a general rule for me now, I check IMDB for reviews and forum posts for all movies I see. This movie had pretty close to unanimous positive reviews. I'm not saying it's a bad movie for the sake of pissing everyone off. I truly want to know why everyone loves it so much so that I can take it into consideration.

[–] danhollow 14 years ago

We love it because we grew up with it. That's basically what it is for us. We saw it, it brought out the kid in us, and we loved it. It celebrated being a kid. That is probably the main reason we love it, just nostalgia. We can't even really explain it beyond that.

[–] baran_erik 9 years ago

I didn't "love it" like some guys do, but I did enjoy it very much. Why? Because it captured my youth. These guys were my older brother, while my summers were at the other end of the 60s. So the kids weren't all Haley Joel Osmet, they all did a pretty good job. Yeah, it was a simple story, but that's all it was supposed to be, a few weeks during summer vacation for some 11 year olds. I don't know how old you are, but I suspect you are of a much younger generation and had helicopter parents, with play dates,organized events and trophies and medals all around. Here's my summer vacation from about six on up: Get up, have breakfast, go outside and gather the kids from the neighborhood. We'd play pickle basketball, football, go on bike hikes, go to the pool, play army, make up games...whatever came to mind. Home for lunch, sometimes at another kid's house (none of the moms worked), and then back outside until dinner then back outside until the street lights came on. And as we got older, our world expanded. Our bikes had hundreds of miles on them from racing around the shopping center on Sunday, when EVERYTHING was closed, to having coasting races down the three block long hills in the neighborhood, to riding three or four miles in one direction to play Putt Putt on Mondays and Saturday mornings (Dollar Day and Kids Day), to the little nine hole golf course in the other direction to just plain exploring other neighborhoods and "night games", including capture the flag. We rode bikes without helmets, played tackle football without pads and blew up green army men and Revel models with fire crackers. We had roman candle fights and played army with BB guns. Yeah, there were some stiches, chipped teeth and broken bones, but nobody put out an eye or broke their neck. Was this a cinematic masterpiece? No, but it was very good for what it set out to be: a slice of life. It's fine that you don't like it, but what made you come here to rain on everybody elses parade?

[–] GunsGirlsCars 12 years ago

More like a bat?

[–] nayruslovespell 14 years ago

This is probably one of my favorite movies of all time. However I can see why you did not enjoy the movie. Your first mistake was comparing it to Stand by Me. I don't think this movie is really in the same genre. If I were to compare Sandlot to a similar movie it would be The Goonies, or maybe The Lost Boys. When I was a kid I used to love those kind of movies and wish that my life could be that amazing. I think the point is to be rediculous and unrealistic. Stand by me on the other hand is more of an emotional journey and a true coming of age movie.Of course it doesn't compare.

[–] Sam_Hain 14 years ago

You're killing me Samlls

I actually didn't care too much for this movie either the first time I watched it. But upon viewings it got MUCH better.

[–] KaptainCirk 14 years ago

You play ball like a girl!!!

[–] teenangel1226 14 years ago

Someone said Secondhand Lions showed too much for kids? Really? Poor kids these days..

You're comparing this with Stand By Me? Seriously? Two different movies. And I loved both when I was little and I love both now.

"Live Today Like You'll Die Tomorrow"

[–] grim107 14 years ago

"You're comparing this with Stand By Me?"

I made this comparison because hundreds of others have too. I've read countless forum posts and articles about how the movies are similar. This is why I watched it in the first place. Being fair, I also compared the two movies. Unfortunately, I had much worse things to say.

Also, teenangel1226, I didn't understand the part of your post about Secondhand Lions. If you wouldn't mind clarifying...

[–] teenangel1226 14 years ago

Woah I'm a little late.

Really? They are different movies. And Stand By Me is a way different vibe. Aw, why didn't you like The Sandlot?

Oh and I was talking about what somebody else said.

"Live Today Like You'll Die Tomorrow"

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] chcruz-1 9 years ago

I can't answer the question of why I like this movie without first answering some of your objections.

1) You claim that there are no signs of maturity in the characters. Well, if you noticed, for much of the film, Benny was the only one to befriend Smalls right away, whereas the others thought of him as a geek. It wasn't until he developed his baseball playing that they considered him as one of the gang by the end of the film. That's not a sign of maturity to you?

2) What in the blazes is "supernatural" about the Beast? Was it the fact that he jumped over that fence? Or that he hurled the Erectors' Set into the air?

3) You ask why the Beast chased after Benny alone. The answer is because, out of all seven of the boys, only Benny went where angels fear to tread. As the adult Smalls narrates: "Only one kid in history attempted what Benny was about to-and he got eaten".

4) You claim that there's nothing to indicate that the story takes place in 1962. I would think that the boys' veneration of Babe Ruth would have been a clue. Even though he was long dead by this time, the Sixties generation still idolized him, even though they had their own baseball legend (Hank Aaron). Name me one kid today, even remotely interested in baseball, who even knows who Babe Ruth was.

I like the film, because, like another poster, I was 12 when it came out, close in age to the kids in the film. I was doing a lot of what they were doing, and it was one of the best times of my life.

[–] offdwallnotdrack 14 years ago

I really feel sorry for you, you really forgot what it's like to be a kid

[–] MetFanMac 14 years ago

How verbose.

Supermodels...spoiled stupid little stick figures mit poofy lips who sink only about zemselves.