Remember Angels in the Outfield, the ‘90s kids sports movie where a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt prays for the California Angels to win the American League Pennant so that he can be reunited with his dad? After years of being oddly missing from the best movies on Disney+, the 1994 baseball film is finally on the popular streaming service, presumably in honor of its 30th anniversary. But I digress…
Upon realizing that I could go back and watch one of the best baseball movies from my childhood, I decided to revisit it and see how it stood up after all these years. Let me tell you, like my recent rewatch of Major League, it was an experience. Wait; a good experience or a bad experience? Well, come with me as I take to the field and knock out a few thoughts I had after watching this wild ‘90s baseball movie.
Roger Inspiring The Team (And Entire Stadium) In The Final Game Is Still Epic And Incredibly Moving
Although it’s kind of cheesy, I’m willing to drop all cynicism and accept that Roger Bomman (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) getting the entire team and Angels Stadium behind Mel Clark (Tony Danza) in the final game of Angels in the Outfield is one of the greatest baseball movie moments ever. The sight of 30,000-plus fans waving their arms like angels (or birds) to boost the morale of the past-his-prime pitcher is the stuff of wonder, even after all these years.
It’s the “Disney Moment” of the movie, and an emotional one at that. I mean, everyone besides vindictive and jealous sportscaster Ranch Wilder (Jay O. Sanders) gets in on the action, even the drunk bleacher creature who took a home run to the mouth earlier in the movie.
I Used To Think The First Locker Room Scene Was Wild As A Kid, Now Even More So
I saw Angels in the Outfield in a theater and I had one of those old Disney white clamshell VHS copies of the movie that I watched until the tape got all warped. The scene I always looked forward to as a kid was the locker room sequence after George Knox (Danny Glover) loses his mind on the team after suffering yet another loss that should have been a win. Let me tell you something, I loved it even more revisiting the scene.
The way Glover channels Roger Murtaugh from Lethal Weapon to verbally assault the lovable losers on his team is something fierce, and I’m surprised Coach Knox didn’t have a heart attack or something. The dude is just straight-up fire and brimstone yelling at everyone. The catering table getting knocked over causing a random tube of salami to roll on the ground is great, Neal McDonough’s dimwitted Whitt Bass is great, and Tony Danza just hanging out smoking a heater in the hot tub is just superb.
Al Just Nonchalantly Telling Roger That Mel Has Six Months To Live Is Something
I completely forgot about the conversation before the climactic game in which Al (Christopher Lloyd) tells Roger that Mel will soon be joining the “Angels” in the Great Beyond because he has six months to live. He sugarcoats the whole situation by pretty much implying Mel will be well taken care of, but it’s just wild how nonchalant he is about the whole situation. What if Mel had a wife, kids, friends, or a new hot tub where he could sit and smoke more cigarettes all day?
I know this is a kids movie with a “don’t smoke in a hot tub because you’ll get sick and die even though you look cool as hell” message, but the whole reveal just comes out of left field. It’s implied throughout the first two-thirds of the movie that Mel has had some end-of-his-career arm issues, not stage-four lung cancer. But still, it does lead to that crazy uplifting moment a few minutes later.
Taylor Negron's Physical Comedy, Especially During The Nacho Scene, Is Top Notch
The late great Taylor Negron is one of the unsung heroes of this movie, and his character, David Montagne, is at the core of some of the funniest and messiest slapstick moments of the entire movie. The Angels team assistant is tasked with taking care of Roger and J.P. (Milton Davis) at all the games, which, more times than not, results in him getting a suit ruined in various great movie food scenes.
This is especially true during the hilarious nacho scene in which Negron sits down on a full tray of chips and cheese. In the scene, David’s suit is already covered in stains from a previous mustard incident and subsequent soda spill, but it’s pretty much ruined after this. The look on his face when he realizes that he’s sat in nachos is honestly one of the best of the picture.
I Think There Are More Academy Award Winners Per Capita Here Than In Any Other '90s Kids Movie
There are a lot of great ‘90s kids movies, but I don’t think any have as many Academy Award winners as this. It’s wild!
First, there are up-and-comers Adrien Brody and Matthew McConaughey, who would go on to win Oscars for The Pianist and Dallas Buyers Club, respectively, after appearing as two young baseball players. I know neither had taken home any awards at the time of the film’s release, but it’s kind of like bragging to your kids about seeing Albert Pujols or Mike Trout play in the minors before being called up.
Ben Johnson, who played Angels owner Hank Murphy, and Brenda Fricker, who played Roger and J.P.’s foster mom Maggie Nelson, won their Oscars before joining the cast. Johnson won his for his legendary performance in The Last Picture Show, while Fricker took home hers after stealing the show in My Left Foot. Talk about some serious talent.
I Love The Fact That Disney Ended Up Buying The California Angels A Few Years After The Film's Release
A couple of years after Angels in the Outfield opened in theaters, Disney became a minority owner of the California Angels after purchasing a stake from original owner and country music icon Gene Autry (I’m not convinced Ben Johnson’s character isn’t based on him). According to ESPN, the corporation purchased the rest of the team upon Autry’s death in 1998 for $147 million.
After a name-change to the Anaheim Angels (which has changed twice more in the years the followed), a World Series victory, and some ups-and-downs, Disney sold the team to current owner Arte Moreno for $180 million in 2005. The team is now worth $2.7 billion, per Forbes.
Now that Angels in the Outfield can finally be watched with a Disney+ subscription and you no longer have to track down a DVD at the library, it might be a good idea to revisit this 1994 sports comedy.
