In 1982, Cody Webster and a small group of friends from Kirkland, Washington, sat anxiously in a dugout waiting to take the field for the championship game of the Little League World Series. Their focus was just about what you’d expect from any 12-year-old: hit the ball, throw strikes, cross your fingers and then maybe – maybe – you’ll win. Adults in the stands and watching from home saw a much broader field of play. The memories of American hostages and a crippling oil crisis were still fresh; the economic malaise of the late 1970s still lingered; and the new President was recovering from an assassination attempt even while confronting new threats from the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, back on that tiny baseball field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, no American team had won a true international Little League World Series Championship in more than a decade. When the Kirkland players rushed from their dugout that day, they stepped onto a much bigger field than the one they saw.
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Simply Perfect
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
Pretty easy to see where the film is going poor Cody Webster--12 is awfully young for all that pressure guys apologizing for crying play for the fun of it This film is about the 1982 Little League World Series--an unusual topic for a film on ESPN. Instead of the usual film from "30 for 30" about pro athletes, this one is about kids--just a bunch of kids. And, it sure felt weird watching so much fuss and pressure on a bunch of children. It seems that for the first time in many years, an American team (from Kirkland Washington) finally won this annual event. The first half of the film concerns the team's progress towards this title--but the viewer will almost certainly KNOW that is where the film is headed. And, frankly, I thought all this was very dull and anticlimactic. However, what is more interesting is the second half--what happened to these kids AFTER the historic victory. The pressure, the high expectations and the nasty folks who heckled mere kids--now THAT was interesting and makes the film worth seeing.My only complaint about this one is that it is a bit over-long. I think that the last 5-10 minutes felt padded in order to fit the time slot. But, otherwise, well worth seeing--especially since it reminds us that this is supposed to be fun--a lesson many folks need to learn.
30 for 30: Little Big Men (2010) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Another impressive documentary for the ESPN series starts off as a celebration but quickly turns to a message film for parents. The first portion of the film follows Kirkland, Washington's baseball team as they quickly go the ranks to making the Little League World Series where on August 28, 1982 they were able to beat Taiwan who had won nine of the previous eleven titles. This uplifted the country, which had been in a big dark spot but soon the lives of the kids and most importantly star pitcher Cody Webster turned upside down. Cody became a target for many other kids and even many parents who would heckle him by calling him fat among other things. This forced the talented kid to pretty much give up the game he loved. I'm sure most people are going to go into this film thinking that the entire thing is going to be about the championship but that portion is over pretty quickly. The darkness of the second half is pretty sad when you consider this game was taken so serious by so many and in the end it was only the kids who ended up hurt. Thankfully the majority of the kids are interviewed here and that includes Webster who still seems to be effected by the events after winning the title game. I think the message of parents and how they handle kids and their sports is very clear without it ever becoming preachy. That message is without question the most memorable thing about this episode and I'm sure those kids who were pushed too hard will feel the impact.
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