This movie was painful to watch

You can't compare Sandlot to Stand By Me. They aren't even the same type of film. Sandlot is better compared to Angels in the Outfield or Mighty Ducks. Stand By Me is targetting a much older audience.

If you ever read the Novella that Stand by Me is based on, you realize how much more of an older audience it was aiming for. Though it is extremely close to the written version, they still cut out some very heavy material

The Sandlot captures classic Americana. It is the embodiment of patriotism and nostalgia. Every part of the movie is purely American: baseball, bubblegum, carnivals, block parties, fireworks and the 4th of July, baseball trading cards, the music, joking on each other, the PF Flyers, the humor, the scenarios, the toys (erector set etc.), smores etc. pretty much everything. It might not be a movie that could win an Oscar or the like, but it's enjoyable because it's so relate-able and American at heart. I actually don't personally know anyone that doesn't like this movie.

You are right, this movie was horrible. I couldn't even watch the whole thing as it's endlessly insulting my basic movie watching intelligence. Poor directing is the fault here. The whole idea was flawed though. It is a poor copy of several other films done by real professionals. The voice over work was the key in its failure. Poor casting.




-Pi "FAITH IN CHAOS"

"Someday we'll fall down and weep and understand it all, all things."

Stand By Me is a great film. It is not done in the same light as this film. It's more angry. I don't believe everyone's childhood was angry like the ones in Stand by Me. Some people actually had a wholesome childhood. Therefore acting as if Stand By Me fits for all is mistake.

Goodness is always better than anger. And in goodness films can have the ability to make people feel better about a crappy time. One cannot watch Stand by me and feel better. One can watch Sandlot and feel better. That is if you like Sandlot.

Stand By Me is drinking to get drunk.

Sandlot is drinking to feel light hearted.

One thing that nobody has mentioned yet is that one big similarity between "Stand By Me" and "The Sandlot" though they really shouldn't be compared to one another, is Hercules and Chopper.

Both films had a buildup to a big bad dog that all kids feared. But once the kids finally meet the dog they find out he's not so bad at all.

This movie is not painful to watch. It's hilarious and has a very good story.

your childhood clearly sucked..

Pfff, the Sandlot is fantastic. It stands the test of time for me - it was my favorite movie when I was a kid, next to The Goonies, and it is awful that they made those horrendous sequels to both movies. But those are other directors, other screenwriters, etc. The people involved in the original most likely had little to do with the sequels.

I love this film because it shows a summer through a kids eyes. It's relatable. There was always that one neighbor on your block that had a bunch of ridiculous stories about them. There was always that one dog you were TERRIFIED of in your neighborhood (for me it was Baloo, a monstrous and not very nice Chow-Chow). I didn't have a problem figuring out the time period of the movie - the houses, the clothes, the cars, and the entire music score made it rather obvious for me at least.

As for why was the dog hoarding baseballs...why not? He's a dog. A ball flies over his fence, he's PROBABLY gonna play with it, chew on it, and dogs are pretty possessive of their toys, so he would most likely bring it under the house with him as he did in the movie. And, due to their possessive natures, he would be very hard pressed to bring it back. All the schemes the kids devised to try and get his toys either made him defend the baseball (he'd claimed it) when they sent in Yeah-Yeah, and if you were a dog, you'd probably be curious and end up destroying a robotic moving catapult too. The way the kids saw things happen though is the way we all saw stuff happen when we were little - dramatically.

I do not think a Bull Mastiff would be able to chase someone as long and far as The Beast chased Benny, but the entire sequence is still entertaining to me.

I dunno. Think what you want - it's your opinion after all, but this movie, for me, was my childhood, and it represented every summer break adventure I had. It's very nostalgic for those of us who grew up with this film. Even if it isn't Casablanca, it's still something I'll always have on my movie shelf.