Field of Dreams (1989)
Mattson, JJ and Alec dive in this episode which revolves around the exploration of the iconic film "Field of Dreams," a cinematic work that delves into the profound connections between fathers and sons against the backdrop of baseball. We engage in a thorough discussion about the film's intricate narrative, wherein the protagonist, Ray Kinsella, is compelled to transform his cornfield into a baseball diamond, ultimately inspired by an enigmatic voice. This act serves not merely as a plot device but rather as a catalyst for a deeper exploration of dreams, redemption, and the passage of time. Throughout our dialogue, we reflect on the film's poignant moments and its lasting impact on our perceptions of nostalgia and familial relationships, particularly how these themes resonate differently with us as we transition from childhood to adulthood. As we dissect the film's merits and shortcomings, we invite our audience to reflect on their own experiences and connections to the timeless themes presented in "Field of Dreams."
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Transcript
Hold on.
Speaker A:If you build it, you will come.
Speaker A:What it?
Speaker A:How do you know he's talking about a baseball field?
Speaker B:If you build it, he will come.
Speaker C:Because he saw the baseball field in the corner.
Speaker C:Kj.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker B:Yeah, I have always wondered that too.
Speaker A:Welcome to the what's Everyday podcast where we fashion ourselves cinematic judge and Jerry.
Speaker A:My name is J.J.
Speaker A:crowder.
Speaker A:I'm here with my co host Matt Zenheiner.
Speaker B:Suffering suffitoph, Better red than dead.
Speaker A:And Alec Burgess.
Speaker C:Let's get it.
Speaker A:We appreciate you tuning in.
Speaker A:Go ahead, hit that.
Speaker A:Follow, subscribe like bell notification buttons.
Speaker A:Tap them all so you can keep up with all of our episodes.
Speaker A:We.
Speaker A:We keep pumping them out and you keep watching them.
Speaker A:So yeah, also, we love you, man.
Speaker A:Appreciate you helping grow the podcast.
Speaker A:So go ahead and tell friends, family members, tell baseball enthusiasts or corn farmers work too, I guess.
Speaker A:Man, there's a lot you good at.
Speaker A:Writers, doctors, the list goes on and on for this one.
Speaker A:But yeah, we're kicking off a new month here in March.
Speaker A:Is it March?
Speaker A:God, everything's bleeding together these days.
Speaker A:So, kicking off a new month here in March with Kevin Costner sports movies.
Speaker A:This one's been on a.
Speaker A:A list for topics for me to try to get going for a while so I can finally check this box off and say, happy wife, happy life.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A: ,: Speaker A:It was written by W.P.
Speaker A:kinsella and Phil Alden Robinson.
Speaker A:Directed by Phil Alden Robinson.
Speaker A:Stars Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan, Gabby Hoffman, Timothy Busfield, Frank Whester, Dwyer Brown, Michael Milhone and Kelly Cofield park star.
Speaker A:Let's see.
Speaker A:It's about.
Speaker A:Sorry.
Speaker A:Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe.
Speaker A:Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.
Speaker A:That's a.
Speaker A:It's a very.
Speaker A:That's quite the synopsis written there.
Speaker A:I like that.
Speaker A:Whose pick was this?
Speaker A:I don't even know.
Speaker A:Was it Alex?
Speaker B:I think it was Alec.
Speaker B:I mean, someone was gonna put this.
Speaker B:There's only nine movies to pick from.
Speaker C:So, okay, first of all, nine movies.
Speaker C:That a Kevin Costner sports movie is pretty big.
Speaker A:How many sports movies?
Speaker A:It's a pretty big.
Speaker B:I mean, yes, I say nine.
Speaker B:I just said like, there's three of us.
Speaker B:We have to give six picks.
Speaker B:So, like, odds of Us, Field of Dreams.
Speaker B:If it wasn't reviewed, I think we would be doing a disservice to the sports movies he's done.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean I think this is arguably his most famous sports movie.
Speaker A:But Alec, I interested why you would.
Speaker A:What was that?
Speaker A:That's it?
Speaker B:No, I would say.
Speaker B:I mean I don't even think it's.
Speaker B:I think if you ask the, the people, this is the movie that would come up the most.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think this one and, and one of the others that's on the list, Paul Durham, the, that they would be up there.
Speaker A:Both.
Speaker B:I agree.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Were those both your picks?
Speaker C:They were both my picks.
Speaker C:Man of the people.
Speaker A:Full on.
Speaker A:For the easy check boxes on this one.
Speaker A:I like it.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:But first I gave Matson plenty of time to answer the text message and he, he slept on it.
Speaker C:So I picked Field of Dreams because I grew up watching this movie.
Speaker C:I've seen this, I don't know, 100 times and it was my first introduction really to James Earl Jones and Ray Liotta and I mean Kevin Costner as well.
Speaker C:But those three right there is almost a perfect trifecta.
Speaker C:And with baseball as a backdrop, you know, I grew up playing baseball.
Speaker C:Everything like that, it just, it, it worked.
Speaker C:And so when Kevin Costner sports movies came up, there was no way I wasn't picking making Field of Dreams.
Speaker A:It's fair, it's fair.
Speaker A:Can't argue the point.
Speaker A:How old were you when you first watched it?
Speaker C:Probably four.
Speaker A:It's a long ass movie for a four year old.
Speaker C:Well, I mean there, there's certain parts that I probably didn't pay attention to.
Speaker C:Like anything not baseball related.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Technically it's not a very long movie from a time frame perspective, but it drags on for me a little bit.
Speaker C:It does.
Speaker C:There's, there's moments.
Speaker B:Oh dude, this movie is slow at some points.
Speaker B:Like let's just call it what it is.
Speaker B:But yeah, it's an iconic movie to say at least.
Speaker B:I don't know how old I was when I saw this either.
Speaker B:Definitely saw this on TV when I was younger and it definitely has something I can.
Speaker B:There's some visuals seared in my mind, especially the, the, the voice.
Speaker B:I mean you can't.
Speaker B:How can you forget?
Speaker B:And then it's also lived in pop culture.
Speaker B:Lord.
Speaker B:I mean you look at what the MLB did, they literally made this game happen.
Speaker B:And I think that was like one of the coolest things I've ever done.
Speaker B:Like it looked awesome.
Speaker B:Like it was so cool.
Speaker B:A very interesting concept.
Speaker B:I would say.
Speaker B:One of the more philosophical, like, is this even a sports movie?
Speaker B:Like in, in some senses, like, I, I would dare say it's a movie that has sports in it to tell a story, like a very deep, emotional story about a father and a son and connecting the cosmos of dead people that play baseball with a real life.
Speaker B:Feel like a lot going on in this movie.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think it fits though, kind of like.
Speaker A:Alec, one of your main themes that we've always had with you in the podcast is that you, you tend to really like movies that have a certain thing as the backdrop, but the movie's not really about that thing.
Speaker A:That's just the, the catalyst for the storytelling, if you will, which this is absolutely one of those films.
Speaker C:Like, yeah, I didn't realize I was so predictable.
Speaker A:I don't know if predictable is the right word, but consistent maybe because, yeah, I noticed that as I was watching.
Speaker A:I was like, okay, this is Alex movie that makes sense.
Speaker A:He likes.
Speaker A:And it, it is.
Speaker A:And to Matt's point, I think I saw this in the theater.
Speaker A:Yeah, I was eight year old off.
Speaker A:And as a kid, I remember these.
Speaker A:It's, it's like a dichotomy of two visions or two versions of this movie and one as a kid when I was little, it's, it's all about the baseball and the, you know, the crazy things that happen.
Speaker A:Like the ghost of baseball players and getting to hear about, you know, they talk about murders row a little bit and then they talk about Shoeless Joe and all the cheating and all the, you know, the shaving points.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So, you know, and as a kid, that was like really exciting, you know, and, and, but as an adult, like, to match his point, this movie takes on a whole different meaning as an adult.
Speaker B:Spain.
Speaker A:I will say that while that voice is iconic, that shit's weird.
Speaker A:Like the way that he gets to some of those like, like, hold on.
Speaker A:If you build it, you will come.
Speaker A:What it.
Speaker A:How the do you know he's talking about a baseball field?
Speaker B:If you build it, he will come.
Speaker C:Because he saw the baseball field in the corner.
Speaker C:KJ.
Speaker B:Yeah, I have always wondered that too.
Speaker B:It's like that could be many things and you're a farmer and a baseball field in the middle of your cornfield.
Speaker B:Don't think I just don't know how that diagram came about.
Speaker A:Yeah, I've often wondered that.
Speaker A:Well, and then, I mean, the same thing is it's like eases pain or whichever one it was like, I don't remember.
Speaker A:You go get the writer.
Speaker A:You Get James Earl Jones and then the Doctor.
Speaker A:And I'm just like, man, Kev, that break and sell is pretty smart because.
Speaker A:And I realized, like, the whole argument really is.
Speaker A:It's his.
Speaker A:It's his quest, if you will.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So of course he's going to be able to parse that stuff out.
Speaker A:But, yeah, I.
Speaker A:It's a good movie.
Speaker A:It's a staple of my childhood as well, growing up.
Speaker A:Like, I've probably seen this a million times, but certainly a different movie as an adult than it is as a kid.
Speaker B:This movie had great names.
Speaker B:Moonlight Graham, Ray Kinsella.
Speaker B:Like, I mean, he'd just go on.
Speaker B:I was like, they definitely got that part right.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Agreed.
Speaker B:Well.
Speaker A:And I mean, the theme of Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You didn't have to make that name up.
Speaker A:Yeah, there's.
Speaker A:There was tons, especially back then.
Speaker A:Like, they all had their nicknames.
Speaker A:The teams had their nicknames, and you don't hear that as much as anymore.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:These days you get rid of teams with nicknames because they offend people.
Speaker A:That's fair, too.
Speaker A:Or you get funny, like, weird ones that fit, but could almost be construed, like, big Poppy.
Speaker A:I'm like.
Speaker B:You know, in watching this movie later on, the thing that caught my.
Speaker B:I'm gonna.
Speaker B:You guys probably will both get this.
Speaker B:Where is Ray's cornfield?
Speaker B:Like, what state is it in?
Speaker A:Iowa.
Speaker C:Iowa.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Just checking.
Speaker B:But I didn't realize how far he traveled.
Speaker B:Like, I knew.
Speaker B:I remembered Minnesota, but, like, I.
Speaker B:I mean, when I was literally.
Speaker B:I didn't piece it together.
Speaker B:He went all the way to, like, Boston.
Speaker B:I was like, dude, this dude is.
Speaker B:He was driving, like, far.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:To do this and a lot of work.
Speaker B:I feel like I go a little cuckoo for cocoa pus.
Speaker B:That's probably why he was hearing the voice.
Speaker B:But you'd be like, sure.
Speaker B:Like, sure, sure about that.
Speaker A:Like, yeah, well.
Speaker A:And I think.
Speaker A:Oh, man, I.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:There's so many things to talk about with this movie.
Speaker A:But I.
Speaker A:For me, like, I think the.
Speaker A:The standout thing that from like, a higher, you know, whatever perspective when I was a kid, that stuck out to me was the fact that this guy's obviously struggling financially and to take care of his farm and to make that money and keep his house and everything else, but to have, like, the consternation or faith, if you will, to plow under a good chunk of your crop to make a baseball field, to watch ghosts play baseball, and then eventually just to, like, play catch with your dad, like it's very holy moment type thing, but still like, oh boy.
Speaker A:And what a great wife.
Speaker A:Like to support your dumbass as you drive across the country gathering up a hodgepodge of individuals to come watch and play baseball in your weird cornfield field.
Speaker A:It's weird.
Speaker C:It sounds perfectly normal to me.
Speaker A:Yeah, some weird.
Speaker A:The only thing that we're missing is water allergic aliens popping out of there somewhere.
Speaker A:And that's.
Speaker B:Oh my gosh, dude.
Speaker B:To me, I think there's four things to really talk about in this movie though.
Speaker B:And you talk about like the adult side of this movie because we just wanted to be a kid that was enthralled with this interesting story about a baseball field and a cornfield and having a.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The greatest game ever played that some people saw and came from all over Iowa or wherever you could do that.
Speaker B:I mean, I think it's.
Speaker B:As a younger kid, there's enough infatuation there.
Speaker B:But as an adult, as we know, there's some, I would say four things.
Speaker B:One would be like redemption and forgiveness.
Speaker B:There would be like the power of dreams and imagination, obviously the father and son relationship that's also kind of tied up in redemption and forgiveness.
Speaker B:And then kind of the blur of like reality meets fantasy.
Speaker B:I think that that's kind of, to me the four key themes.
Speaker B:And I think the one that's.
Speaker B:That's most powerful to me is the, like the, the father and son relationship hit me at home a little bit because obviously now I'm a father and you want to have that legacy and that relationship with your son.
Speaker B:And if that's a strange, I can imagine kind of what that pain would feel like.
Speaker B:And that's a lot of what this movie's about, is just having that opportunity for them to play catch again, to have that moment to say, you know what, as a dad, like, hey, I wasn't always there for you, but I want you to know I love you.
Speaker B:And just for the son to realize like, you know, dad did think about me, he did care and was a lot that went under this movie to really get to that moment.
Speaker B:And I think most of the baseball was a backdrop to convey that story, that very emotional side of the story.
Speaker B:And that's what I think this movie did really well is showing that, I think where it kind of got lost a little bit as it.
Speaker B:I think it fell in love with itself a little too much and romanticized itself as they do in baseball.
Speaker B:And it just could have sped stuff up just a little bit.
Speaker A:Yeah, I agree.
Speaker A:I think I relate all too well to the.
Speaker A:The part where he gets talking about how he used to love baseball and played baseball and then quit baseball because his dad made it too serious.
Speaker A:Like, I went through.
Speaker A:I played a lot of sports when I was a kid, but I.
Speaker A:Baseball was by far the one I was the best at.
Speaker A:And I'm not saying that I'm gonna go freaking play pro baseball, but I was really good at baseball, and I probably could have got some scholarships and things like that, but I ran into two things.
Speaker A:One, my dad was always pushing me, as dad should, but, like, it would interfere with certain things.
Speaker A:Like, I did when I was playing sports.
Speaker A:Like, I was playing three or four at a time, typically.
Speaker A:And so dad was usually coaching or helping me get better, but it was always like.
Speaker A:That was the focus was like, sports, sports, sports, sports, sports.
Speaker A:And I started to burn out on it, and so I quit baseball and focused 100% in high school and focused 100% on football, which turned out to be my detriment due to some injuries and stuff.
Speaker A:But, like, I quit playing baseball because my dad was pushing too hard.
Speaker A:There were a lot of other reasons, but that's the one that always sticks out to my head.
Speaker A:So I can always relate.
Speaker A:When he's going through that portion of, like, his dad, like, trying to vicariously live through him to a certain degree and really driving him, and he's just, like, off and, you know, took off.
Speaker A:Now, obviously not to that extent.
Speaker A:I have a very good relationship with my father, so don't.
Speaker A:I don't want it to think that I am to that point where I'm estranged, but, like, it put strain on my relationship with my dad for a lot of years.
Speaker A:And we still will talk football, basketball, soccer.
Speaker A:I go watch all the sports with my nieces, and we talk all about.
Speaker A:But we very rarely talk baseball.
Speaker B:Still soccer, jj, you watch soccer.
Speaker B:I did not know that.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I watched most sport.
Speaker A:I, like, I played soccer for.
Speaker A:I played soccer.
Speaker A:And from the time that was the first sport I ever played actually outside of baseball, was soccer.
Speaker A:I played baseball.
Speaker A:Started playing baseball when I was 4 years old.
Speaker B:Soccer now?
Speaker A:Hell, no.
Speaker A:I'd have a heart attack looking at a soccer ball in real life.
Speaker A:Dude, are you kidding me?
Speaker B:That's why we play Rocket League.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker A:Exact.
Speaker A:But I.
Speaker A:And FIFA.
Speaker A:I play some FIFA here, there.
Speaker A:But, like, no, like, I.
Speaker A:Yeah, soccer.
Speaker A:I played soccer all through high school and still watch it on occasion.
Speaker A:I watched the last time I was.
Speaker A:I can watch Wrexham on Hulu, and I've watched Wrecks quite a few times.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I, I completely relate to that.
Speaker A:That strain of a relationship due to pushing or trying to live because my dad wanted me to be successful because he wasn't able to and wanted me to be sex successful for me, first and foremost.
Speaker A:But I just lost interest.
Speaker B:Alec, what about you?
Speaker B:Where there's a lot of themes in this movie where.
Speaker B:What do you find yourself resonating to maybe earlier on or, or when you watch it again these days?
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I mean, why you watch it a hundred times.
Speaker B:Those.
Speaker B:Like, that's a lot like.
Speaker B:Yeah, but so come back.
Speaker C:Like put into theme though, is a tricky part because I like the journey that Rey goes on.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Like he goes to find Terrence Man.
Speaker C:Really, you know, because of the speech at the end where he gets told like, hey, people are gonna come.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Because at that moment he's got the paper to sign over, get rid of the farm.
Speaker C:And Terence Mann is there to make the, you know, big speech about.
Speaker C:People will come, they'll pay you 20 bucks.
Speaker C:They have no idea why they're doing it, but you know, they're gonna come watch this.
Speaker C:Or he goes and he picks up Moonlight Graham when he thought he was supposed to pick up Terence man.
Speaker C:Picks up moonlight and ends up, you know, that's what saves his daughter when she's choking his Moonlight Graham being on the field.
Speaker C:And so the whole journey where it seems like he's.
Speaker C:He's just going in this big old circle for no reason.
Speaker C:But they all kind of happen back to back to back in these events.
Speaker C:So then you get this really meaningful moment when he does see his dad and Ray Liotto does that little thing where he's like, it was you, Rey.
Speaker C:That little half smile smirk thing that he does.
Speaker C:And so it's that whole overarching story that you have all these things, these side quests don't make any sense or, you know, why after he builds a field, he still have to go and do these things and, you know, collect these players.
Speaker C:And then it all kind of comes back to the third act of this movie where every single person went to go pick up.
Speaker C:There's a reason why they're there.
Speaker C:So I don't know how you put that into a theme.
Speaker C:Storytelling, journey, hero journey, something.
Speaker A:I don't know, but I like that perspective.
Speaker C:That's the draw for me is, you know, this whole kind of like you don't know where you're going or why you're doing it.
Speaker C:And you know, nobody understands.
Speaker C:You don't even understand.
Speaker C:But you're just kind of like, oh yeah, I gotta go to, I gotta go to Boston.
Speaker C:You know, gave an interview about Ebit field or whatever.
Speaker B:So a lot of like you get, you can get really deep in this movie because you can ask yourself like, well, was all if.
Speaker B:If for those that believe in God or fate or cosmic power, like, or the power of choice, like if he did or didn't have Moonlight Graham there, would his daughter still have choked?
Speaker B:And if he wasn't there, would she have died?
Speaker B:Like the kind of that path of fatalism?
Speaker B:I think this movie's an interesting microcosm of that and, and choices that we make.
Speaker B:Do they affect the thing that's down the line or is it all truly chaos and things just happen as they happen?
Speaker B:Or because I decided this, there's a further domino that I've kind of activated, or because I chose this, my three branch path, I.
Speaker B:I'm going down this one.
Speaker B:And the other two, like have kind of withered away.
Speaker B:Whether you believe in God or you just believe that you're here and you're gonna die and that's it.
Speaker B:Like everyone's got thoughts around that.
Speaker B:And I think this movie, if you want to let your mind go there and dive into some of those possibilities, it's really easy too.
Speaker B:And I think that's one thing I like about this movie.
Speaker B:The older I've gotten, I can see how choices are made that.
Speaker B:Well, you're like, oh, that happened.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker B:Well, that's why that person was there.
Speaker B:But was that always necessary?
Speaker B:Or like.
Speaker B:Or because that person was a doctor.
Speaker B:It opened the window.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:You just don't know.
Speaker A:Well, here's the real head scratcher.
Speaker A:If he hadn't been to built the field at all, sure he's still have fallen and choked.
Speaker A:Would he even.
Speaker A:He would never even needed those guys there for anything.
Speaker A:He's just been a corn farmer, you know what I mean?
Speaker B:Or, or would he have lost the farm anyways if he like didn't feel like.
Speaker B:You don't know?
Speaker A:Yeah, it's a, it's a, it's a conundrum.
Speaker A:Lots of good questions.
Speaker A:I love.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So I've been, I've been to this field actually.
Speaker A:Like of course.
Speaker A:Wait, I mean, you know me, like I, we've.
Speaker A:We've driven across the country quite a few times through Iowa many times and decided to stop.
Speaker A:It's really interesting.
Speaker A:I mean, it's boring as like.
Speaker A:It's really funny because you like think about what.
Speaker A:You know that speech that he does Give that.
Speaker A:And he's talking about.
Speaker A:People will come and they won't know why, and they'll sit down and they'll.
Speaker A:It's not.
Speaker A:It's kind of wild, like, because you can't help but sit.
Speaker A:It's one of those things kind of where you're talking about Matt's.
Speaker A:One of these questions that you have to ask, like, if I hadn't seen this movie, would I have wanted to go see this field?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And if I didn't want to go see this field?
Speaker A:Like, if I don't.
Speaker A:But then I sat down.
Speaker A:I remember.
Speaker A:I mean, I was 16, 17 when we went.
Speaker A:And I remember sitting in the field, like, thinking about all the baseball that I had played.
Speaker A:And, like, it was interesting because, like.
Speaker A:And obviously, you know, there's not Shoeless Joe Jackson out there playing baseball, but it.
Speaker A:It really does make you think.
Speaker A:And at least it made me think and get all nostalgic about baseball.
Speaker A:And it was really interesting.
Speaker A:But, like, yeah, it's a weird thing to think about the fact that on some level, this guy actually built this field.
Speaker A:Not, you know, because he felt like it would help him out.
Speaker A:Holy dude.
Speaker A:So the fact that he can do that, and I'm sure now he's.
Speaker A:The family's made a ton of money off of it.
Speaker A:Like, to Matt's point, they've done a couple of actual major league baseball games there.
Speaker A:And I've had.
Speaker A:I had tickets in a shopping cart for the.
Speaker A:The New York.
Speaker A:I think it was.
Speaker A:Boston game that they had there.
Speaker A:And I was like, never mind.
Speaker A:I can do a lot of things with all that money, but I wanted to go really bad for no other reason than that would be dope.
Speaker A:This is.
Speaker A:See a game in this.
Speaker A:Probably the most famous.
Speaker A:One of the most famous baseball fields that isn't actually a baseball field for any other reason than to be there.
Speaker A:Anyway.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's one of those movies that no matter how much.
Speaker A:Because I'll tell you a secret about.
Speaker A:I don't actually love Kevin Costner all that much.
Speaker A:Like, he's not.
Speaker A:I think we talked about this years ago when we did Robin Hood, Men of Era, Prince of Thieves.
Speaker A:It's not my favorite actor.
Speaker A:He's kind of wooden, kind of shitty most of the time, unless he's being goofy in some situations.
Speaker A:And on occasion, he's really good.
Speaker A:Like, there's some movies.
Speaker A:I think it was like, what was it?
Speaker A:Mr.
Speaker A:Something.
Speaker A:Anyway, he did a movie where he's kind of a little psycho, and that was great, but for the most part, I don't love Kevin Costner, and I don't love a young Kevin Costner hardly at all.
Speaker A:But he does these movies that.
Speaker A:No matter how much I don't like one that was on our vote list, that for Love of the Game, it's one of my favorite movies, and yet I can't.
Speaker A:I don't like him, but I like the movie.
Speaker A:You know what I mean?
Speaker A:So this is.
Speaker A:This was probably the first case of that where I'm like, I don't love Kevin Costner, but there's a really great cast and there's really great story, and it's a really good movie in terms of making you think and feel something.
Speaker A:And I'm like, man, it's hard to deny, but Kevin Costner's not my favorite.
Speaker A:Like, trying to think of a moment, like, where he's having a fight with his wife, and I'm just like, boy, just inject that passion there.
Speaker A:Like.
Speaker A:But anyway, that was just one of my things.
Speaker A:Like, if I'm gonna.
Speaker A:As much as I love this movie, like, Kevin Costner drives me crazy.
Speaker B:But then Zach, his acting got a lot better later on.
Speaker B:But the younger version of him, he's just sometimes, like, too, like, too cool.
Speaker B:Like, too, like.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:It doesn't.
Speaker B:I don't feel like he's, like, fully emotional, but, like, you still got that, like, smoothness to you.
Speaker B:Like, that's.
Speaker B:You'd probably be.
Speaker B:You'd probably be losing your.
Speaker B:If that's what's actually happening later.
Speaker B:Kevin Costner has.
Speaker B:At least in some things, he's far better.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:He's gotten much better as far as, like, delivering moments and, like, dialogue and, like, his earlier movies, including this one.
Speaker A:Like, sometimes I'm like, well, you didn't believe in that line.
Speaker A:Like, that's.
Speaker A:That's the most wooden.
Speaker B:Yeah, you said it best.
Speaker B:Like, the.
Speaker B:The belief behind it.
Speaker B:Like, the.
Speaker B:The real raw, like, making me be like, no, this isn't Kevin Costner.
Speaker B:This is Ray.
Speaker B:Because they're like, this is happening.
Speaker B:And sometimes you're like.
Speaker A:Well.
Speaker A:And then there's moments in this movie because I don't have a lot of bad things to say about it just because what they call it, nostalgia called.
Speaker A:It's a good movie.
Speaker A:But the scene where he figures out he's gonna go get Terence, man.
Speaker A:And they're sitting in the, like, the city council, the school board.
Speaker A:I don't remember even what the meeting was for.
Speaker A:Fanning books.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And then it was Like, I love that moment, that moment with his wife and she is like bouncing around.
Speaker A:She comes out especially because she's like, I really got him.
Speaker A:Like, I.
Speaker A:I love her in that moment.
Speaker A:But like, his response of just being like, dude, kick him in the balls.
Speaker A:What a dick.
Speaker A:You just had like this moment and all he's thinking about is going and seeing Terence man, like drawing the weird on his.
Speaker A:Like, I'm like, oh, you some.
Speaker A:But like, I just didn't enjoy.
Speaker A:Like, I think there's some editing that could have taken place even at a under two hours.
Speaker A:Like, that scene was very long.
Speaker A:And while the her moment, losing it is great, the build up and then the after effects of it, like I did that doesn't really add much value.
Speaker A:All it did was show me how he figured out he wanted to go see Terence man, which you could have done just by having him read a book, for crying out loud.
Speaker A:Or sitting out plowing his field reading some Terrence man while he's doing it.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:That was just my thing.
Speaker A:I think there was some editing mistakes.
Speaker B:Isn't this movie only like an hour and 45 minutes though?
Speaker A:Yeah, it's short.
Speaker B:What's funny is it's short, but it doesn't.
Speaker B:It.
Speaker B:It definitely feels long at times.
Speaker B:Oh yeah, for sure.
Speaker A:And I think part of it is there's just a lot of it that I don't care about.
Speaker A:Maybe that's just me being a dick, but like, there's some philosophical that they get into.
Speaker A:Like there's another part where it's with the doctor before he becomes the young man.
Speaker A:Like they're having this conversation and talking about his wife.
Speaker A:And I love that part.
Speaker A:Like, that's the crazy part is like, I love the actors that are supporting, but like, I don't think it needed to be as long.
Speaker A:Like when he tells the story about.
Speaker A:And I get why he had to tell it, but.
Speaker A:And I love that story bit.
Speaker A:But like the lead up to all of Kevin Costner's trying to convince him to come with him.
Speaker A:Like, that could have been like five minutes shorter and it wouldn't have felt so like, Jesus, what are you trying to get at?
Speaker A:You sound like a whiny little, like trying, like he doesn't want to come.
Speaker A:Just move on, dude.
Speaker A:Like, talk to the man and go on.
Speaker A:And then.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:That's just.
Speaker A:There's parts of it that drive me crazy because I'm like, I don't need this.
Speaker C:That seems my biggest gripe with the movie.
Speaker C:Because I don't understand it.
Speaker C:I don't get the time travel.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker C:Alleged time travel.
Speaker C:And it just.
Speaker C:That feels more so than anything.
Speaker C:It's a little bit like a.
Speaker C:What?
Speaker C:Yeah, because there's just no reason behind it.
Speaker C:And so I get the.
Speaker C:I get the later.
Speaker C:You know, you meet Kid Moonlight Graham just hitchhiking on the road.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:That makes sense.
Speaker C:Still fits in with the movie.
Speaker C:But going to see Doc Graham, you know, because he's been dead for 10 years and somehow you went back in time 10 years to have a conversation with no other explanation of how or why this is possible.
Speaker A:Yeah, that as.
Speaker C:As a kid, I didn't care.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:But as I got watching it through, now that I'm kind of understanding what's actually happening.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's.
Speaker C:That's weird.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:That's a moment I could have done without.
Speaker A:Well, and I get why they do it.
Speaker A:Like, I just wish they'd have done it differently because to your point, like, they could have made him wake up and he was dreaming.
Speaker A:And I'm okay with that at that point.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:The other piece.
Speaker A:But I know why they did it.
Speaker A:The conversation had to happen so that it made sense.
Speaker A:When he steps over and gives up his.
Speaker A:You know, he gets his one shot and then he gives up on it to save his.
Speaker A:The kid.
Speaker A:Because, like, you get to understand who he is.
Speaker A:So I don't actually hate the full on, like the.
Speaker A:His bits of the conversation.
Speaker A:I'm with you.
Speaker A:I don't like that we don't know how he gets there.
Speaker A:Like, all you need to do is have him wake up and then explain it to Terence Manley.
Speaker A:And I just had this weird dream.
Speaker A:And then to me, it's even more.
Speaker A:Because then he's got a question, like, did it actually happen or was I just infusing that?
Speaker A:Because I've been reading these articles and I want to talk to him, and then all of a sudden we see the younger version of him.
Speaker A:Because I do like that we get to see what we don't get to see in the corn.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Like, these guys pop out of the corn and they come and play baseball, and then they disappear into the corn.
Speaker A:And then we.
Speaker A:We see a younger version of his dad that we find out later.
Speaker A:And it's all the younger version of these players.
Speaker A:But how did they get there?
Speaker A:So I like the idea of seeing Graham come out and he's young, he's ready to rock.
Speaker A:I just feel like there was.
Speaker A:It could have played differently, to your point, than him just walking down the street and going, wait, what the.
Speaker A:I just entered a time warp.
Speaker B:So, yeah, that part's always been weird to me because I get what they're trying to do.
Speaker B:They're basically trying to show that, God, all dreams are meant to be realized.
Speaker B:And some of the things you do in your day to day life carry just as much importance and you have to make that, that choice.
Speaker B:And that's what they're showing of him stepping off the field.
Speaker B:But I think like you said, they could have done a rewrite where it was a dream and then we're like, oh, this, the young version of this player showed up on the field and he still steps off.
Speaker B:And they could have made it work somehow.
Speaker B:It's just, I mean, it is puzzling.
Speaker B:Call it what it is.
Speaker B:People just gloss over it because this is a good movie all around.
Speaker B:And I mean, this movie doesn't make sense anyways because people are coming out of the corn.
Speaker B:So, like, that's the thing.
Speaker B:Like, so while we don't like how they did it, like, the other part of this movie doesn't make sense either that people don't come out of the corn and play baseball.
Speaker B:So it's like we just.
Speaker B:I mean, if I was the writers, I'd be like, well, like, it's kind of what we did.
Speaker B:So you can either accept all the weirdness or don't like it.
Speaker B:And yeah, I think I'm, I think I'm okay with it because the premise all around doesn't make sense, but that's what this movie is.
Speaker B:But I think the way you're describing Jay would have been a little bit better because that's the only part that it was weird that was like, wait, this is a physical human being, but now is playing baseball, now steps out the field and suddenly age back to the super old dude.
Speaker B:Like, okay, you can have ghosts come out of the cornfield, but you can be a physical human being, then play, then age, then like, yeah, that might have been a little much, but I get what they were trying to show.
Speaker B:But it's hard to kind of explain some of that away.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, and it's a, it's a, it's a thing for me too, because my favorite character outside of Terence Mann in this movie is the Doctor.
Speaker A:Like, I love that storyline of, hey, this became the most important part of my life and I moved on without baseball.
Speaker A:And while I would have loved to, because I love the stories, like, I just wanted to wait and get a picture one time, right?
Speaker A:Like, that I can relate to that, that's great.
Speaker A:But I also just don't like the.
Speaker A:How they get him there all the way.
Speaker A:And so it's, it's kind of a double edged sword for me because I love it.
Speaker A:But I hate it too because I love that character and I love when he.
Speaker A:I get super emotional when he.
Speaker A:Every time I watch.
Speaker A:It doesn't matter when he steps off and he switches back and you see that first moment where his shoes and his pants turn into that brown suit.
Speaker A:Like, dude, I feel that because I'm like, that's.
Speaker A:Baseball's a game.
Speaker A:And while to some it's their job and it's important, like for most of us that play it, it's a game that we do as kids and sometimes we get to do it as older people and sometimes we get to go and play fat guy softball and relive the days that we played base.
Speaker A:You know what I mean?
Speaker A:There's all these things that you can connect to baseball and in any sport really.
Speaker A:But what's really important is like he found his life with, with his wife and with being a doctor and helping these kids and.
Speaker A:And you get to see that moment.
Speaker A:So I love that and I love the old man.
Speaker A:The old man plays him amazing.
Speaker A:Like that little sly smile he's got all the time and then.
Speaker A:But it's just.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Like, I just think they could have done it better to make it a little more cohesive.
Speaker A:But you're not wrong.
Speaker A:It's pretty wild goddamn premise to begin with.
Speaker A:And I just want to walk back.
Speaker A:I get.
Speaker A:The other thing I relate to really bad is like when Rey loses his at the end because he wants to go in the corn.
Speaker A:I'm like, yeah, me too.
Speaker A:I want to go on the court.
Speaker A:Why does this dude get to go in the court?
Speaker A:I wanna, I wanna get.
Speaker A:And then it's like, how's he gonna.
Speaker A:I do laugh too, because he's like, you're gonna write about it.
Speaker A:I'm like, well, okay, so you just get to go to like heaven and come back and write about it or wherever the hell you go in the corn.
Speaker A:Like, that's another weird line that I'm like, wait, what?
Speaker A:How's that gonna work?
Speaker A:Can you just come back if you decide?
Speaker A:Because I'm definitely going in the corn if that's the case.
Speaker B:So I also would say this is one of the few movies that has made corn not spooky, but technically spooky because they're ghosts.
Speaker B:But every other movie with cornfields.
Speaker B:Speaking of, when we reviewed earlier Children of the Corn.
Speaker B:But signs.
Speaker B:There's so many other scary movies, like, good for this movie.
Speaker B:Holding it down for the corn in the good way.
Speaker A:When I love James Earl Jones.
Speaker A:He's walking in there, he's just giggling like that.
Speaker A:But I.
Speaker A:James Earl Jones to me is like, that guy is amazing.
Speaker A:And his speech at the end, still to this day, like, that's another one.
Speaker A:Like the last 20 minutes of this movie.
Speaker A:This damn emotional that happens.
Speaker A:It like, you know, like.
Speaker A:And it just like tugs on your heartstrings.
Speaker A:As he's talking about.
Speaker A:People come Ray, like, it's just.
Speaker A:They want to come and watch baseball.
Speaker A:I'm like, it's just like summing up my feeling of baseball because I know a lot of people don't love baseball these days.
Speaker A:I still could sit down.
Speaker A:Anytime we go to a major city, I find a way to go to watch a baseball game.
Speaker A:In fact, we're going to Seattle this year sometime and I'm already looking at are the Mariners playing and let's go.
Speaker B:T.
Speaker B:Mobile park is.
Speaker B:It's a good park.
Speaker B:It's fun.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:No, I.
Speaker B:I love baseball in person, but baseball and tv?
Speaker B:No chance.
Speaker A:Yeah, I could watch it anytime, anywhere.
Speaker A:I even, like, flip on and watch like, the Little League World Series.
Speaker B:Like, oh, I like Little League.
Speaker B:I'll watch that.
Speaker B:I'll watch some playoff baseball because the monoimano matchups, the tension is real.
Speaker B:But play the regular season baseball is too much baseball.
Speaker B:It's too long.
Speaker A:Yeah, no, I.
Speaker A:I watch all the time.
Speaker A:It's great.
Speaker A:It's constantly on.
Speaker A:When it's on, if I.
Speaker A:Because I'm like, well, there's nothing else to watch.
Speaker A:I'm gonna turn some baseball on.
Speaker A:I love baseball.
Speaker A:Good choice, Alec.
Speaker A:Good choice.
Speaker A:Should we rate it?
Speaker B:Let's do it.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:Alec.
Speaker C:My movie.
Speaker C:I go first.
Speaker A:Kick us off, buddy.
Speaker C:I think I'm gonna give Field of Dreams a four and a half.
Speaker C:I love the story, the journey.
Speaker C:I even love the fact that it's, you know, the.
Speaker C:The field of dreams, right?
Speaker C:You have at the end, you get all these dreams that are kind of ticked off.
Speaker C:Doc Graham gets his wink.
Speaker C:Terrence Mann gets a story.
Speaker C:You know, Ray gets to play catch with his dad.
Speaker C:But it is the pretty much that time travel thing that pulls me out.
Speaker C:And it's such a crummy time to get pulled out because right after that is when it starts to ramp up.
Speaker C:And so for that reason, I'm gonna give it four and a half.
Speaker C:But I will sit down and watch this movie anytime, anywhere, hands down.
Speaker A:Yeah, Agreed.
Speaker A:Maxim.
Speaker B:Let me give it a four.
Speaker B:I think that it's just.
Speaker B:Well, it's ironically not as long as nearly many movies we watch or that Hollywood makes these days.
Speaker B:And it just feels dang slow sometimes.
Speaker B:Like, this movie makes the.
Speaker B:The ending in this movie is so great.
Speaker B:The emotion.
Speaker B:But who we in the middle sometimes.
Speaker B:I'm just like, seen this enough.
Speaker B:Let's just get to the end.
Speaker B:It's really great movie.
Speaker B:If you haven't watched it, please watch it.
Speaker B:But it's.
Speaker B:It's something that I don't tend to watch this movie like that often just because it.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's weighty and it's slow, but it's a good movie.
Speaker A:Yeah, I'm giving a four and a half with Alec.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I think it's one of those things that there's.
Speaker A:There are little things that keep it from being a perfect movie, if you will.
Speaker A:To me, the five, but it's very little things.
Speaker A:And I'm with Matson.
Speaker A:Like, it's one of those movies that I don't watch as often as I.
Speaker A:You probably think from like a baseball lover and sports movie lover.
Speaker A:But when I do watch it, I'm always glad that I did, and then I'm always glad that I took some time in between because it.
Speaker A:It does get a little slow.
Speaker A:And it is.
Speaker A:I think if I watched it too much as an adult, I'd be like, nah, I'm out.
Speaker B:This is.
Speaker B:This movie is a lot like Rudy to me.
Speaker B:Like, I love the movie Rudy, and that movie makes me feel more emotional than this movie.
Speaker B:Like, Rudy, I have never.
Speaker B:And this isn't a bad.
Speaker B:I would love to cry during.
Speaker B:I've never cried during a movie.
Speaker B:Rudy.
Speaker B:Every time.
Speaker B:Still this day, I still.
Speaker B:It's like I could feel it.
Speaker B:It's like right there.
Speaker B:That's the movie that gets me.
Speaker B:But this is the same type of We've, like, really where sports is the backdrop, but the movie, it's slow, but it's so good.
Speaker B:But they're like, man, it's a long movie.
Speaker B:Rudy actually is long.
Speaker B:Whereas Feel the Dreams I thought was long.
Speaker B:It isn't that long, but it feels long.
Speaker A:Yeah, it does feel long, and I think it has such memorable moments.
Speaker A:I think that's the other thing that I like about it is, like, it's another movie that you can, like, watch bits of it and get what you need to get out of it and be okay.
Speaker A:But, like, some of it's great.
Speaker A:Like, I love the wink and it throws the ball at it.
Speaker A:What are you doing?
Speaker A:He's like, he winked at me.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And then like Shoeless Joe's giving him tips and, and doink.
Speaker A:I just, I love that.
Speaker A:And then, yeah, like all the different.
Speaker A:And then the, the brother in law that at the end when he finally sees, because Doc Graham comes out and he's looking, he's like, don't sell Ray.
Speaker A:Don't sell this field.
Speaker A:Like, I just love like those moments.
Speaker A:One of the greatest last 15, 20 minutes of a movie ever.
Speaker A:But like, it does take a while to get there and there are some pain points.
Speaker A:But yeah, four and a half for me.
Speaker A:I'll watch this movie in almost any time as long as I haven't watched it recently.
Speaker A:And even then I'd probably watch it depending on who I'm watching it with.
Speaker B:So I think the last thing I'll say in terms of a sports lover, the concept of older baseball players coming on playing newer baseball players, like the age old, like LeBron versus Michael.
Speaker B:Like could you see who would be the goat who would really like throw it down or in any sport.
Speaker B:Like this movie touches upon that because you finally have a place where the olds can play the news and it really is better.
Speaker A:Yeah, No, I agree.
Speaker A:Well, just the backdrop of that group of guys that first come out that didn't get to play baseball anymore because of the, you know, the Chicago.
Speaker A:Yeah, what a.
Speaker A:What a mess.
Speaker A:And so to see them like read like you said, the Field of Dreams.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:That's why it's titled that way as you see all these dreams come true or, you know, get to be revisited.
Speaker A:So great movie, good choice.
Speaker A:Good way to kick off them the month though.
Speaker A:Kevin Costner Sports films should be fun to keep going with it, but until we get my next episode.
Speaker A:Alec, tell everybody where they can find us.
Speaker C:Happy to.
Speaker C:So as JJ said, this is week one of Kevin Costner Sports Films kicking it off strong in March.
Speaker C:Special shout out to Rich and CB our patrons for selecting the movies in this topic.
Speaker C:And thank you, Casey, for finally getting JJ to put the topic through.
Speaker C:But what did you guys think of our verdict?
Speaker C:What do you guys feel about the Field of Dreams?
Speaker C:Let us know in the comments below what you guys think if you agree with us or if you don't.
Speaker C:And with that, I'll kick it back to our very own Titan of terror, wise year of Wap A jj.
Speaker A:Yeah, Appreciate it.
Speaker A:All right, well, there it is.
Speaker A:Week one in the books, week two to come.
Speaker A:And as always, we appreciate you tuning in?
Speaker A:We'll catch you on the next one.
Speaker C:Hasta la vista, baby.
Speaker A:Cinematica.
