This Friday, Amazon Prime Video unveils its episodic remake of the series A league apart, Penny Marshall’s beloved film about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which took to the field in 1943 to give fans games to watch as the men fought in World War II. The 1992 film, starring Geena Davis and Madonna, was one of the first sports vehicles driven by women, and a huge hit that summer. (Also, Madonna’s contribution to the soundtrack, the ballad “This Used to Be My Playground,” rose to No. 1.) But A league apart is also notable for something less remembered: it marked the end of the Goofy Tom Hanks era.
The film is largely focused on the female baseball players of the Rockford Peaches – particularly superstar catcher Dottie (Davis) and her insecure younger sister Kit (Lori Petty), who always stands in her shadow – but a character of Crucial support is Jimmy de Hanks, a former powerhouse dynamo in the majors whose career capsized due to alcoholism. Now a wash, Jimmy is broke and desperate – and still a bit drunk – so he reluctantly agrees to coach the Peaches, even though he thinks the very idea of the AAGPBL is ridiculous, spending most of the first part of the season dozing off during games. But wait: in time, this incorrigible idiot will sober up and come to appreciate the talent and the heart of these women.
If you look A league apart now, it may come as a shock to see this Tom Hanks: a broad, somewhat awkward actor who widens his eyes and shouts to emphasize a punchline. But that might be because you forgot about the Hanks who were a rising movie star in the 1980s. That younger, more mischievous Hanks wasn’t the same one who won back-to-back Oscars in the early 1990s. with philadelphia cream and Forrest Gump – the guy who would soon be unofficially anointed America’s Most Trusted Actor®. No, the 80s Hanks started out on the freewheeling sitcom bosom buddieseventually making his name playing goofy, exasperated characters in movies like Splash and The ‘Burbs. At the time, he specialized in wild cards and scamps.
But it was clear Hanks had higher aspirations, and with 1988 Bigalso directed by Marshall, he signed up for a fantasy comedy-drama where he got to play a literal big kid, although he revealed a sensitive and romantic side. Big earned Hanks his first Oscar nomination, proof that the industry viewed him as an actor with chops. That said, his career was still very hectic: he was wasting his time with dumb buddy movies like Turner & Hooch while struggling in potential prestige projects like the critical and commercial debacle of 1990 The bonfire of vanities. In the middle of it came A league apart, which would be the last instance of Hanks doing something so stupid and unsubtle for a while. Soon after, he would focus on more serious dishes.
Which doesn’t mean A league apart is fluff: While the film overinvests in its feel-good tone, it’s a moving crowd pleaser that tackles sexism and women’s changing social roles without being overbearing. But the movie can also be fun and tense, and one of the main culprits, surprisingly, is Hanks.
For those who haven’t seen the film recently – or even if you have never seen – you probably immediately think of Jimmy’s oft-quoted moment in which he chews out one of his players, Evelyn (Bitty Schram), for messing up on the pitch, prompting him to start crying and yelling, “He doesn’t there’s no crying in baseball! It’s a fun and iconic scene, but it also exemplifies Hanks’ slightly over-the-top performance. To be fair, that’s largely the fault of the writing team Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, who cast Jimmy as a one-note rogue. Still, especially in retrospect, it’s deeply odd to see such a venerable A-lister do shtick-y comic relief. Hanks plays Jimmy as a more stable and civilized version of Bill Murray Caddyshack goalkeeper Carl – a knowingly cartoonish portrayal of the cliched ball-busting manager who, deep down, really is a good guy.
“Hanks plays Jimmy as a more stable and civilized version of Bill Murray. Caddyshack groundskeeper Carl – a knowingly cartoonish portrayal of the cliched ball-busting manager who, deep down, is a really good guy.
But even though Jimmy is lazily built, Hanks ultimately locates the character’s humanity, especially in A league apart‘s second half as the coach begins to bond with his players. There is a growing mutual respect between Jimmy and the pragmatic Dottie, which drives him out of his spiral of self-pity. Their scenes are some of the best in the entire film – and towards the end, when Jimmy gives Dottie a tough love speech once she considers quitting the team to find her husband back from the war (Bill Pullman ), Hanks brings the kind of grounded adult emotion that would quickly win him Oscars. These are the Hanks we now see all the time, and A league apart contains some early glimpses of the dependable and endlessly endearing Hollywood institution it had become.
The truth is that Hanks is actually barely in the movie, though it does point to Hollywood’s perennial gender inequality that he nonetheless topped the list among the cast. About to turn 36 when A league apart opened on July 1, 1992, Hanks was preparing for a major turning point in his career. Gone are the mad, immature young guys from Bachelor Party and Pickup – in front was the romantic and thoughtful leading man of Insomnia in Seattle. And came philadelphia cream, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan and Castaway. He would stop giving such animated performances – except, of course, when he was literally animated (like Woody in toy story movies). He also stood out whenever Lorne Michaels called him to host. SNL “David Pumpkins, anyone?” – but on the big screen, the jester has been replaced by the common man: a new iteration of Jimmy Stewart, decent and serious and aw-shucks inspiring.
Last year, when asked by Bill Simmons to name his favorite movies he had made, Hanks quoted A league apart, mainly because he was able to play baseball all summer and spend time with his family. (Sounds pretty good.) Occasionally, Hanks will still let his playfulness out: Think about his multiple gonzo roles in cloud atlas or his enthusiastic Colonel Tom Parker in Elvis. But these are the exceptions these days. The Tom Hanks who has been revered for decades is everyone’s ideal dad – sincere, genuine, admirable. A league apart is a reminder of the adorable rascal he used to be.
Tim Grierson (@timgrierson) is the primary US spokesperson for Screen International. A frequent contributor to Vulture, Rolling Stone and the Los Angeles Times, he is the author of seven books, including the most recent, This is how we make a movie.