Movies are a real source of life metaphors, as occasionally mentioned here. But never in the guise of a review or recommendation – I leave that to the experts.
So, as evidence of a broader interest, I gathered notes on the explosion of streaming video services during this 1-year-old pandemic. But the truth is, I just want to recommend a movie.
Netflix surpassed 200 million subscribers in 2020, including about 75 million in the United States. Some of the largest services — Hulu, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Apple TV Plus and HBO Max — were expecting to end the year with 50 percent subscriber growth.
By the way, movie-watchers, Netflix this week began testing a feature that prods people to subscribe instead of borrowing passwords to avoid paying. Look for a future clamp-down.
How interesting! Now, about that recommendation:
I’ve always been a sucker for good baseball movies, from “The Pride of the Yankees” to “Bull Durham,” from “Eight Men Out” to “The Natural.” My list includes “A League of Their Own” and “Moneyball,” and of course the best, “Field of Dreams.”
Imagine my amazement to learn that an incredibly entertaining, funny and uplifting baseball documentary has been hiding in plain sight for the past seven years. And my embarrassment to have missed this great story in 1973-77 when it unfolded just 40 miles away.
The movie screened at the New York City Tribeca Film Festival when it was released in 2014. That event was canceled last year, and New Yorker film critic Richard Brody decided to reminisce about “The Battered Bastards of Baseball.”
Brody called it a “zesty documentary about the job and the business of the game,” which “unites sports and movies” and “resounds with the hearty wonder of a modern-day folktale.”
In 2014, L.A. Times entertainment columnist Glenn Whipp called the movie opening an “Oscar-qualifying run … celebrating the rewards that come from passion and individualism. In that spirit, the movie can be enjoyed by anyone, not just sports fans. Underdog stories simply don’t get better than this … the joy on display here is contagious.”
Many of you will know real-life characters in the movie, and some will share my chagrin at not knowing the story before now. In this time of introspection, it will boost your resolve to celebrate post-pandemic public life.
“Bastards” is streaming on Netflix with a $9 monthly subscription that can be canceled any time. I’d let you borrow my password, but Big Brother is watching!
Jeb Bladine can be reached at jbladine@newsregister.com or 503-687-1223.
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March 20, 2021 at 02:57AM
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