61*

61* (2001)

Director: Billy Crystal

Writer: Hank Steinberg

Cast: Barry Pepper, Thomas Jane, Anthony Michael Hall, Richard Masur, Bruce McGill, Chris Bauer, Jennifer Crystal Foley, Christopher McDonald, Bob Gunton, Donald Moffat, Peter Jacobson, Seymor Cassel

Synopsis:

In 1961, two New York Yankee teammates, Roger Maris (Pepper) and Mickey Mantle (Jane), flirt with breaking Babe Ruth's record for home runs hit in a single season. Mantle, a long-time Yankee, is affable and popular, while Maris is more subdued and uncomfortable with the attention the race brings. While Mantle is showered with support from the New York fans, Maris is taunted and even threatened by a fan base that would rather see the beloved Mantle beat a record held by the most famous Yankee ever to play the game. 

First Impressions:

I didn't catch this one in theaters, mostly because it was never in theaters. The film was produced and aired on HBO in the early 2000s. Since I wasn't subscribed to that particular network, I did not catch it until several years later when I read an article about it in an issue of Sports Illustrated. I've mentioned before that while I'm a massive baseball fan, I'm not typically drawn to baseball movies. This is mostly because they tend to be a bit hokey and unrealistic. However, this movie is an exception. I purchased the film on a whim when I saw it at my local Future Shop and purchased it sight unseen. As a fan of the game's history, I was aware of Maris breaking Ruth's HR record in 1961, but I didn't know much more than that. I'm happy to say that I enjoyed the film immensely and it's one that I return to fairly frequently. However, it's been a year or two since I've seen it, and with MLB's 2021 season just getting underway, I decided I'd give it a watch on what would be the 60th anniversary of that incredible season.

Story/Direction: 

"Ruth, Cobb, DiMaggio, those guys were bigger than the game, and I know that is not what you want. But right now, whether you like it or not, you're bigger than the game."

This film's story is pretty straightforward as it follows Mantle and Maris throughout the 1961 Major League Baseball season. While I'm sure the film takes some creative license with the goings-on of that particular season, it offers a decent look at the everyday grind of a 162 game baseball season. Crystal does a good job shifting between the action on the field and the players' lives off the field. It's a fairly well-known fact that Billy Crystal is a lifelong Yankees fan and that Mickey Mantle was a hero of his growing up. As a result, I give Crystal credit for not holding back when it came to Mickey's well-known flaws, specifically his alcoholism. One of the things that stuck the most with me about this film is the theme that professional baseball players (or, really, any pro athlete) are human beings with flaws, just like the rest of us. Society tends to put these individuals on pedestals for what they're capable of on the ball field, and, as a result, it hurts us so much more when they inevitably fail. That's really the main thing to pull from Mantle's story.

However, Crystal should also be applauded for not focusing too much on Mantle because this is really Roger Maris' story. He more than gives the Yankee right fielder the attention he deserves in the story. Crystal builds off of the themes of Mantle's story with Maris' by showing not only that these ballplayers can falter just like anyone else but that they're also fragile human beings that are just as easily impacted by the way they're treated as we are. Maris is heckled, taunted, threatened, and subjected to stresses that would make most of us crumble throughout the film. It's commented on by other characters in the film how Maris is overreacting to the pressure he's under and how every man in America would jump at the chance to play the right field for the Yankees. That's really the main thing I pulled from Maris' story, the belief that we, as paying fans, have the right to subject these athletes to all manner of verbal abuse because they compete on a world stage and are paid millions of dollars. We think that because of this, it immunizes them from suffering ill effects from this abuse. As a fan, that hit me a bit below the belt because I'm guilty of it too.

All in all, I liked the story. It did an outstanding job of humanizing larger-than-life characters that almost exist in baseball mythology now.

Acting:

While there weren't many big names headlining this film, there were a decent amount of pretty great actors. First and foremost among these is Barry Pepper. I think Pepper is a great actor who was first brought to my attention in Saving Private Ryan. Since then, I've kept an eye on his career, and I try to catch his films whenever possible. Despite Pepper's talents, he's rarely been allowed to headline a film, and this film was one of those instances. Pepper did a great job in showing how Roger was extremely uncomfortable with the attention he was getting during the season and showed great vulnerability in the role. A great performance from the veteran character actor.

On the flip side, Thomas Jane shows as the fun-loving and affable Mantle. Mickey Mantle is one of the most beloved players to have ever played in the MLB for those not familiar with the player. He was a Hall of Fame-level talent with movie-star good looks and a personality that could draw you in. In that respect, Jane does a good job in showing Mantle's public persona and his life away from the game in which he struggled with addiction and other demons. To top it all off, Jane and Pepper play well off each other, and the contrasting personalities of their characters work well to serve the story.

The rest of the cast is solid, with notable performances from Bruce McGill as Yankee manager Ralph Houk who's just trying to keep everything together, Peter Jacobonm's weasely reporter Artie Green, whose inflammatory articles helped drive the ire sent Maris' way and Bob Gunton as Yankee owner Dan Topping whose more concerned with the revenue of the team than his players' well-being. Great cast. Not a clunker in the bunch. Note to baseball fans: A famous knuckleballer also makes a cameo as Hall of Fame pitcher Hoyt Willhelm. 

Visual/Special Effects:

There's not a ton of special effects in this film, but there are a few. Since the film is set in the early 60s, the production needed to utilize a little CGI. Mostly to make old Tiger Stadium, where the baseball scenes were shot, look like various other stadiums of the time, including Old Yankee Stadium. There's also a bit of camera trickery used with making Thomas Jane appear as though he can swing a baseball bat from both sides of the plate. Overall, the visual effects are done pretty well. 

Score/Soundtrack:

The score for the film, composed by Michael Shaiman, was fairly understated and often took a back seat in favor of popular music for the time the film was set, including such hits as the theme from the Andy Griffith Show, DreamLover, Hello Marylou, I Like it Like That, and I Love Mickey. The film also includes a couple contemporary songs, including Lyle Lovett's Nobody Knows Me. I liked the focus on the songs from the 60s, as it helps immerse the audience in the time period that the film was set. 

Action:

Well, this isn't an action movie at all, so there really aren't any traditional "action" scenes in it. However, there are several scenes depicting the action on the baseball field, and I have to say that these are done well. One reason I tend to shy away from baseball-related cinema is that filmmakers often get the baseball wrong. Thanks to Crystal being a huge baseball fan, the film does an excellent job depicting the baseball being played accurately. The batters' swings look good, and the slides into the bases and the plays in the field all look authentic. Don't get me wrong, you won't confuse any of the actors for actual MLBers, but they don't embarrass themselves, and that's enough for me. 

Final Verdict:

I still like this movie, and it remains one of my favorite baseball films. I highly recommend it to anybody who's a fan of America's National Pasttime but also to non-fans who like to watch true stories about real people overcoming adversity.