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This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Warning this review has spoilers!A wonderful film that revisits the days of women in professional baseball at the onset of World War II. Reluctantly, Dottie Hinson played by (Geena Davis) along with, sister Kit Keller played by (Lori Petty) are recruited and make the cut to join an All-American Girls Baseball League, alongside Mae Mordabito played by Madonna and Doris Murphy played by Rosie O'Donnell. Their team the Rockford Peaches is managed by former baseball great Jimmy Dugan played by (Tom Hanks). Throughout the film there are struggles with the complexity of human relationships and each character makes the most of their newly found roles as women baseball players during the war.Dottie struggles with the idea of attending a reunion of former players and her sister Kit, whom she hasn't seen in many years, at the first induction of women players in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The motif that is represented in this film is a bus. Dottie returns to the Doubleday Field and reunion on a newer Greyhound Bus. After Dottie arrives she began to reminisce of the time that she spent as a Rockford Peach. The more modern music soundtrack that is playing transitions to the music of an old Columbia Movie-Scope clip that gives headway to what the baseball league is going through during the war efforts, Black and white film is also used to show how this portion of the film clip is a flashback. During their time as a Peach several of the women's husbands were away at war, including Dottie's, and women began playing professional baseball to keep the league going so it could help support the war. Although, Dottie did not want to leave her home in Oregon and her traditional role of a wife, she chose to leave home so that her sister Kit could have a chance to play in the league. With the use of invisible sound, the train whistle breaks the silent thoughts of Dottie when she decides to take Kit up on pleads to try out for the league. Kit had to work through the problem of low self-esteem, because the league did not want to recruit her without her sister. Kit was self-conflicted because Dottie was haled as the "better" sister, taller, faster, prettier, smarter, bossier and a better baseball player. Whereas, in the film Death at a Funeral brothers Aaron, the older brother, played by (Chris Rock) and Ryan, the younger brother, played by Martin Lawrence had a similar struggle with their relationship but the roles were reversed.During the era of the war, in the year of 1943 it was very nontraditional for women to be ball players. They were subjected to heavy scrutiny because they were taking on roles of men, by playing baseball and traveling from town to town on buses. Several of the players endured receiving telegrams telling the fate of their husbands in the war, Doris met a pair of new love interests and let her old relationship go, all the while of living in transition traveling from town to town on a bus. However, Dottie's husband returned from the war and she decided to leave the team to return to Oregon with her husband, because living the life of a professional ball player was too hard.Enduring the change of the times, relationships, love, marriage and losses being a woman playing professional baseball in 1943 was a very liberating but hard thing to do. "It's supposed to be hard, if it wasn't hard everyone would do it, the hard is what makes it great!" stated Jimmy Dugan as the team leaves for the first Women's World Series (Abbott, 1992).

This is a feel good movie about a period during the war where women's baseball became popular. It served the purpose of giving entertainment during a very hard time in our history. It also showed the wonderful relationships that developed. Tom Hanks plays the enigmatic coach who has always dealt with men. The subplot involves sisters, where the tall pretty one has seemingly always held sway in the family. This is about growing. This is an opportunity for a new start for one of them. Madonna plays a fun character, full of life and sass. Of course, we are in for a lead up to a significant game where things will get sorted out. It's also an education in a particular sports phenomenon that was short lived but quite interesting. The movie sparkles and Hanks does a great job of suffering through something he is totally unequipped for. Quite delightful.

"A League of Their Own" is an enjoyable film about the short stint that women's professional baseball had in the U.S. From 1943 to 1954, there was a professional league that was the brainchild of Chicago chewing gum magnate Philip Wrigley. He and other baseball owners started the league supposedly to keep baseball "alive" in the minds of the public during World War II. The thinking was that the sport might die out because so many men who played professional baseball went off to war. The women's league went through a few name changes. In 1943, the All- American Girls Softball League was changed to the All-American Girls Baseball League. The league ranged from four to 10 teams each year and had a total of 15 teams over its 12-year history. It started with four teams, two of which are portrayed playing the first girls baseball world series in 1943 – the Racine Belles and the Rockford Peaches. The movie is a highly fictionalized story of the founding and first year of the league. But it includes a reunion of many of the girls at the National Baseball Hall of Fame when its Women in Baseball exhibit opened on Nov. 5, 1988. Penny Marshal who produced and directed the movie, attended that opening and shot scenes there. The lead character, Dottie Hinson (played by Geena Davis) was said to be a composite of two of the real girl players – Dottie Kamenshek and Pepper Paire Davis. In the movie, Dottie is married and plays just one year until her wounded husband returns from the war. The real Kamenshek, however, began playing when she was 17 and never married. She was considered the best player of the league and led her team, the Rockford Peaches, to four of the 12 series titles. She led the league in many stats. All the rest of the characters in the film were fictional as well, as was the Peaches' manager, Jimmy Dugan, played by Tom Hanks. I suppose Hollywood thought a straight story based mostly on facts and real characters wouldn't be as glamorous or interesting. There's no doubt that Hanks' Jimmy Dugan added some color to the film. But the film does give an accurate portrayal of the training the girls were required to take – off the field. They studied etiquette and manners. And it is a good account of the uniforms and other aspects of the girls professional baseball. The girls teams played mostly at larger towns outside of the major league cities. That also makes the supposed purpose of the league – to keep baseball alive in the minds of the public – suspect. After all, the big leagues (National and American) continued to play ball all during the war. They did suspend play for a couple days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. But the game went on and each year the World Series games were played at the end of the regular season. For the record, the St Louis Cardinals won the 1942 World Series over the NY Yankees. The Yankees turned the trick the next year against the Cards. Then, the Cards won the 1944 Series over cross-town rivals, the St. Louis Browns. Finally, in 1945 the Detroit Tigers took the Series over the Chicago Cubs. I mention this because a scene sticks in my mind from the 1943 movie, "Guadalcanal Diary." William Bendix is a corporal who's listening to a game on the radio and rooting for the Brooklyn Dodgers. There's some talk among the men about the possibility of the Dodgers winning the pennant to play the Yankees in the World Series. That probably was the year of the movie – 1943. The Dodgers finished third that year in the National League, behind Cincinnati and far behind the Cards. Still, one wonders if there might not have been one or more other reasons behind the women's pro baseball league. For starters, how about another venue of wholesome and interesting entertainment for folks back home during the war? Especially since the folks outside the cities didn't often get to see big league games. Remember – this is before television. Then there's always the profit motive. One scene in the film addresses this. The Walter Harvey character (of chewing gum fame – guess who) played by Garry Marshall tells Ira Lowenstein, the league manager, played by David Strathairn, that the league will have to shut down after the first year because it's losing money. Of course, Ira does some things to turn that around, with the help of some of the players. The movie completely dodges one aspect of the girls pro baseball league. That has to do with sizes and distances. The ball they used to start with was the same size as a softball – 12 inches in circumference (compared to the 9-inch baseball). And they pitched it underhanded. The infield was considerably smaller than that of pro baseball. The distance between bases was 65 feet, compared to 90 in baseball. The pitcher's mound was 40 feet from home plate, compared to 60 feet, six inches. As the years went on after the war, the field distances widened and got closer to those of baseball, and by 1948, the ball size was 10 3/8 inches and overhand pitching was allowed. This is an enjoyable film to watch and a nice tribute to women's baseball and sports in general. For more history and an accurate account of the girls pro baseball league, one might visit the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, NY.

Two sisters (Davis & Petty) help make the first ever professional baseball league. They make sure it's successful, but problems begin to commence. Manager Jimmy Duggan (Hanks) is a former star player that has a drinking problem and refuses to take the job seriously. Meanwhile, tension brews among the girls. This was a really good movie! I'm a guy, but I've always thought men and women should have equal rights. I'm not sexist and I try to not discriminate. They mirrored the time period precisely and I enjoyed the look of the field and the baseball uniforms. The baseball action is exciting as well. Some of the catches the girls made were very athletic. Geena Davis and Lori Petty are the heart of this movie! Their passion and intensity really made this movie. They were on the top of their games. Hanks is excellent as he always is, but he has tremendous support. Even Rosie O'Donnell is admittedly solid, and I can't stand her! Madonna adds star power. The ending is very heartwarming and made me smile. Baseball fans and movie fans in general shouldn't have much to complain about! It's exciting, engrossing, and riveting. Check it out!8/10