Plot: What’s it about?
Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry) is the new fifth grader in town and of course, he wants to make friends and such, but he is quite the shy fellow. His mother is nice and tries to encourage him to seek out new friends, while his baseball loving stepfather (Dennis Leary) pushes him toward the sport, as a chance to break the ice with the local kids. But Scotty is no natural athlete and has minimal skills, which could make the whole experience much harder. Even so, he heads off to the nearby makeshift field with his glove in tow, hoping to make some friends and with a little luck, not make a complete fool of himself. He gets off to a rough start, but is soon taken in by the team’s star player Rodriguez and soon enough, he’s a regular player on the field. The guys soon embark on all sorts of adventures, from barnburning games of baseball to sneaking peeks of the gorgeous lifeguard to feuding with another local team, all the while having the best summer of their lives. But when Scotty brings one of his stepdad’s prized balls by mistake and it ends up in the yard of a massive, legendary killer dog, is it the end of the paradise?
I like The Sandlot and have watched the laserdisc countless times, so I am quite pleased to see this released to Blu-ray, of course. The movie has a good amount of nostalgia involved, so it appeals to children and adults, but it does have some flaws, of course. At times, The Sandlot is very brisk and comedic and those moments work very well, but then it takes some sharp turns and heads toward dramatic ground. This is where the film loses steam to me, as the more serious scenes lack the energy and timing of the lighter ones, so it never really fuses into the theme of the movie, if you ask me. But even with that, The Sandlot has a lot to offer and since most family aimed flicks stink to high heaven, even this solid one stands above the others. The story is a good one and one that we can all somewhat relate to, which is vital in this kind of movie, since it deals with childhood, moving on, and growing up. Yes, it can be a little too sappy at times and the more serious moments do drag, but for the most part, The Sandlot is a worthwhile family feature.
Video: How does it look?
With all the titles out there getting new 2 or 4K restorations, it might seem an opportune time to give this one its time. I guess not. Fox has given the film a decent-looking transfer with the 2.35:1 AVC HD image looking cleaned up from its DVD counterpart (also included on the two disc set). Colors seem to pop a bit more, there’s more definition and detail than in the DVD and things look a bit more cleaned up. Flesh tones seem a bit on the over-saturated side, though the balance between contrast and the black levels make for an image that seems to have bit more depth. More “pop” if you will. As noted, the DVD is also included and the full-frame version on the flip side. Back when this movie came out on DVD, a lot of people still had 4:3 TV’s so this was an actual selling point, though I’m not sure now. Still, I guess it’s better to have than have not?
Audio: How does it sound?
A new DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 mix has been included on the Blu-ray version and the same Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes are present for the DVD versions of the film. Let’s be honest here, there’s really nothing to make this one of the “go to” films in your library if you’re trying to show off your system. By and large, the film is dialogue-driven with a few ambient sound effects thrown in for good measure. I caught no hint of distortion, the surrounds did chime in a few times but this is a front-heavy mix that serves its purpose – no more or less.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Drumroll, please! With the film now a quarter of a century old, we’ve got this new 25th Anniversary Edition. New to this disc is…nothing. Here’s what’s included, if it sounds familiar it’s because these extras have been on every version of the film.
- Featurette – Running all of five minutes, this is a brief EPK with some interviews with the cast and crew as well as some behind the scenes footage.
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- 10 Topps Baseball cards featuring the team
The Bottom Line
It’s been five years, to the day, since we reviewed the 20th Anniversary Edition of The Sandlot. Aside from aging about 1800 days, there’s nothing new here unless you count new artwork and 10 Topps baseball cards (which, admittedly, are pretty cool to have). But if you had high hopes for a new transfer or at the very least, new features – maybe 2023 will be your year.
