Major League

1989 "A comedy with bats and balls."
7.2| 1h47m| R| en| More Info
Released: 06 April 1989 Released
Producted By: Mirage Enterprises
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
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When Rachel Phelps inherits the Cleveland Indians from her deceased husband, she's determined to move the team to a warmer climate—but only a losing season will make that possible, which should be easy given the misfits she's hired. Rachel is sure her dream will come true, but she underestimates their will to succeed.

Genre

Comedy

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Major League (1989) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Director

David S. Ward

Production Companies

Mirage Enterprises

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Major League Audience Reviews

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast
Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Cody One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
Thomas Drufke If there's any sport that makes for a great movie it's baseball. Perhaps I'm a little bias because I play the sport, but there's something about America's pastime that really hits home in the movies.Major League tells the made-up (but totally based on the real-life struggles of the Cleveland Indians) story of a group of misfits hired by a new owner to lose as many games as possible, to ensure her plan of moving the team down to Miami. On the outskirts, it seems like a ridiculous premise that would be something out of a spoof movie. But in reality, there's actually a good deal of dramatic heft to the story as well. Luckily, the comedy and drama both balance each other out quite well.With a memorable cast of misfits, including Charlie Sheen as the fireball pitcher Ricky Vaughn, Tom Berenger as the old but still effective Jake Taylor, Wesley Snipes as Willie Mays Hayes, Dennis Haysbert as the religious Pedro Cerrano, and of course the colorful Bob Uecker as the Indians play by play announcer. With all movies, but specifically with sports movies, you need a group of actors that have chemistry and feel like a team when they're together. Albeit extremely unconventional, the players that make up this Indians team are something else. And even though it seems like the characters are built around stereotypes, the way the actors portray them makes it never feel like stereotypical characters at all. Instead, they make for some of the most quotable lines in the history of sports films.With that said, the film definitely delves into some paint by numbers plot points for sports films. You have your ups, downs, and montages, just like all of the other great sports pictures. I also find it sometimes difficult to watch a sports film, baseball in particular, because the movies have a hard time capturing how a game flows and looks. There are moments that feel completely acted out and unnatural, and while I can give it a pass in some areas, others I can't. However, overall Major League is a fun and re-watchable sports film that gives us plenty of comedy and a surprising amount of dramatic payoff as well. P.S. It's funny how it's been 30 more years, and the Indians are still on their World Series drought.+Blend of comedy and drama+Memorable characters and performances-Predictable8.0/10
Sam smith (sam_smithreview) Being a sports fan who loves comedies, you can't beat this flick. This is one movie that I can watch over and over without getting sick of it. Definitely hilarious, the one-liners are great. The cast is solid as well. Wesley Snipes, Tom Berenger, Dennis Haysbert, Corbin Bernsen, Charlie Sheen and Bob Uecker are excellent in their roles. I love how the film holds nothing back as well, unlike the sequel where the language and what not was toned down.no movie based on the national pastime can ever claim to be as hysterically funny as Major League. Granted, the value of the original was hurt by the second and third attempts at re-creating the atmosphere. Those two films were an embarrassment to all involved.Major League, however, personified the attitude of "Nothing to lose". Aside from the easily identified woes of the Cleveland franchise of the late-eighties, there were several actors in this film that had yet to hit big or had started to fall from grace. The incredibly strong language of the movie only made it seem that much more realistic.
Adam Sentiff The new owner of the Cleveland Indians has a plan, she wants her team to do so horrible that she can move them to Miami. Purposely putting together the worst team and players she can find. Enter Jake Taylor, aged catcher and veteran, Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn, reckless pitcher and young upstart, and Willie "Say Hey" Mays, a fast as lightning nobody with something to prove. Along with a group of misfits they discover that the only way to save their team is to win the whole thing...This film is simply genius and one of my favorite comedies of all time. Though you might not be a huge sports or baseball fan but this film has a little bit of everything. Senseless comedy, romance, action (sport- wise), and most importantly a lot of heart. The characters, though a group of misfits and oddballs are extremely likable and the chemistry between them is wonderful. Charlie Sheen does a wonderful job as does Wesley Snipes in one his earliest roles, James Gammon will have you in stitches as manager Lou Brown. You will become attached to the characters plight and maybe find yourself rooting for the Indians in real life, after having viewed this film. Spawning two sequels, though less popular and less entertaining then the original, Major League will have you laughing and rooting throughout the entire film.
Steve Pulaski Major League is not only a comedy film with numerous laughs, it proves itself to be one of the grand-daddies of baseball comedies. A League of Their Own and Bull Durham are also among the list although those are more towards the drama genre. I attend various minor league baseball games a year. Approximately twelve. I love them. Being a Chicagoan, I think I'd rather watch minor league teams than major league teams.Some may call that strange, but I love the entertainment and the "close to home" feel provided by a minor league game. There are tons of events on the field to keep me interested, and I know pretty much every cop and concession stand employee there thanks to my father. It's an enjoyable time. I walk around most of the game, chat with various officers, it's a damn good time.On with the film. I can discuss Minors vs. Majors in a separate blog. After the Cleveland Indians' owner dies, her husband Rachel (Whitton) inherits the team. She plans to make the team as poor as possible so they can move the team to Miami. To put it simply, she sabotages the team, the stadium, and everything else in various ways to assure a poor season.The team is mainly made up of rookies like Willie "Mays" Hayes (Snipes), Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn (Sheen), and Jake Taylor (Berenger). They're acceptable players, but no where near as good as they should be.One thing I really enjoyed and found worthwhile about Major League is the fact that we get closer into Jake Taylor's relationship life. It's good that all the fun doesn't take place on the field, and we get a wider variety and an in-depth look on one player's life. I would've liked to hear more about Lou Brown's (Gammon) career and more about some other players. But at least it's not all about on the field interactions.Charlie Sheen, James Gammon, and Wesley Snipes were all great in the film. It's a little sad that Gammon died this past July, and news about it really didn't surface too much. Not looking at Gammon's filmography, I assume his career wasn't made up of too many more famous roles like his portrayal of Lou Brown.Charlie Sheen was extremely hilarious in this film, but watching it only makes me more sad about he just continues to make an ass of himself to the media. His career is going straight into the ground as of now. In this film he was extremely handsome, but now his image makes him look older than he is, and his reputation is plummeting into the ground. Oh well, his role as Wild Thing was, say, WINNING.Wesley Snipes is fantastic in this as well playing Willy "Mays" Hayes. He is absolutely funny, and a great addition to the cast. Too bad for him as well because since Snipes refuses to pay his taxes, he is in prison until 2013. I really enjoyed him in movies like Blade and Passenger 57.What truly scares me is that this film has spawned two sequels. This kind of film can only be done well once, passably a second time, and pretty much end horrifically with a third film. Back to the Minors could easily make or break the franchise. Why make a sequel when Berenger and Sheen don't even return? It's all about the benjamins.Major League can be summed up with a few statements. An enjoyable baseball comedy, a cast of greats, but a cast of people whose lives either ended tragically or just were forgotten.Starring: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Rene Russo, James Gammon, Margaret Whitton, and Wesley Snipes. Diretded by: David S. Ward.