The Sandlot | 26
Show Notes:
This week we have a special guest on the show to talk about one of my most favorite movies of my childhood. Recorded in May, this one just makes my heart happy.
Transcript:
Julia: Hey friends, this is pop culture makes me jealous. And I'm your host, Julia. And on today's show, I'm getting a little sentimental with you today because summer's coming to a close. And one of my favorite movies of all times is the Sandlot. And one of my favorite humans in the entire world is here. My son Jackson, this episode is sponsored by rip it official core collection.
Is the base of anyone's closet, who reps rip it, the shirt, hat, or hoodie that never leaves the rotation. Even if it hasn't been washed in weeks now available the rip it core shirts, you can find them@ripitofficial.my shopify.com. That's R I P dash it dash. Dot my shopify.com or you can follow them on Instagram rip.
All right now, here we go to the show.
Welcome to my show.
To talk about the salmon. Let's talk about the Sandlot because it is my favorite childhood movie and there was eight when it came out on two big screens.
Yes. Yes, sir.
Oh, you're so
Jackson: sweet.
Julia: Oh, wait, did it count? And 93.
All right. Now I'm going to ask the IMD B 93. Okay. So it came out when I was nine that's age. Appropriate need appropriate. That's it? Yeah. Okay. But I need to know, do you remember. What do you remember the first time while you actually walked? Remember the first time I made you sit through the Sandlot?
Cause you were a
Jackson: baby. Yeah. I was going to say, I feel like I've probably been watching that movie since I was like a baby, so I wouldn't remember.
Julia: Yeah. Yeah. But when do you, like, how old were you? Do you remember being the first time you saw, like the first time it registered?
Jackson: I don't know if I remember a specific, like first time that I saw it, but I do remember watching it at the house on like, when we had the chaise after grandma and grandpa had moved up.
And I think, I don't think that was the first time I had seen it. Cause I would have been about six at that point, but I remember watching it at that time. Like in that time
Julia: period. Yeah. You were totally six years old. I love that. Because it's literally a defining movie of my childhood because the sixties, because the Sandlot, for those of you who haven't seen it, I don't understand why not do you live under a rock?
One, two, it takes place in the sixties. So there's this level of freedom that the kids have. And I feel like a similar level of freedom existed in the eighties and nineties in Modesto in that time, like. Where we live now, I would never have been like, oh sure. My ten-year-old child can go out and play in the streets.
Jackson: I still did though. I mean, not when, when I was home, but when I was with grandma and grandpa, they would let me just go out and wander with my friends.
Julia: Yeah. Well, they live in a neighborhood where that's allowed, where that you can get away with. Yeah. I don't feel like the neighborhood in which we live now.
I would have been comfortable
Jackson: with that. Maybe if we were closer to the DARS area, it would be different because there are more secluded. That's true.
Julia: It doesn't help when there's a liquor store across the street. I mean, it's convenient for adult mom, but not as convenient
Jackson: for me too.
Julia: Because you're buying candies, candies, and soda clarify, trying to get me.
Jackson: I assumed that would be implied, but I guess, I guess not, I don't
Julia: know. I'm rewatching gossip girl and those kids, they're drinking alcohol and ordering drinks. And I'm just like, where do you live that you can do that? Not here. That's true. Okay. So I have to know, do you have the same affection for this movie that your parents have?
Jackson: Probably not the same, but it's definitely a movie that I feel like I need to watch every summer, at least once
Julia: it's a great summer film.
Jackson: Yeah. Especially when on the 4th of July, why
Julia: do you feel that? It's great for 4th of July? I have, I have my opinions.
Jackson: It's essentially a fourth of like, it's not a 4th of July movie.
It's a summer movie, but there's a very large portion of the movie about 4th of July, like the night when they go out and play baseball. But also when they go to the fair and they like, you know, they get the chew or whatever, and they have that whole scene. It just feels like it's 4th of July or around that time.
Yeah.
Julia: Yeah. I love that scene where they're playing nighttime baseball and smalls narrates and says, you know, it's the, the, the only time they feel like they're in the big leagues, because it's the there's enough fireworks in the sky to light up the sky to make it feel like you're under the lights of, uh, of, um, oh my God.
Baseball stadium. That was difficult. And I just, and it's such a great scene because it shows just how dedicated Benny is to the sport. Yeah. When everyone else is still a kid. Okay.
Who's your favorite character?
Jackson: I feel like my favorite character is probably many. Just cause I feel like he's one of the characters you get to know the most in the movie. There's not a whole lot of development for the majority of the characters in the movie besides smallest and Benny.
Julia: Yeah. That's true.
I feel like they are kind of the central friendship. Yeah. Again, for those of you, who've never seen the movie. I don't understand why you haven't yet. Um, but Small's moves to. This neighborhood in LA in the LA region and is, yeah, isn't it. I like, cause they're obsessed with the Dodgers. Why else would she be obsessed with the Dodgers?
If you didn't move?
Jackson: I mean, there are plenty of people here who are obsessed with the Dodgers. Just assume that it's in the California area, probably Southern California, almost they say it's in LA.
Julia: I feel like if they say it in the beginning where, where it takes, they moved to, or maybe they only went to, he only married that they moved from.
Listen, I've been watching this movie for how long, and I don't know this answer concretely.
Jackson: Well, Google says it's San Fernando valley. Okay. That's Southern
Julia: California. Yeah. Thanks Google. So let's
Jackson: talk about Benny then. Okay.
Julia: Do you think that he, he has, you said he has the most character develop. Yeah. So does that make him the lead of the movie?
Jackson: Well, he is the most heritage development outside of our main characters, smallest cause we get to see his family and his home life and other aspects of his life, aside from baseball and them hanging out. I feel like we get more about Benny because we learned he's dedicated to baseball and it's like one of the key points of his character.
And I think the only other character that, um, It gets development is oh, what's squints, right? Oh yes. Squints because he tries to, or he does kiss the lifeguard. I can't remember her name. Like
Julia: Wendy peppercorn, my darling lover girl. Literally what he called her.
Jackson: Yeah, but I feel like those are the only characters that get any real, like we get any scenes that show traits of themselves outside from, we all play baseball together and we kind of need to like fit into that image.
I don't know.
Julia: Yeah. It's an ensemble, but there's more, it's not true. It's not a true ensemble in that they don't all get the same attention for the character growth. Right. I got that, you know, okay. This is really awkward to say to my child. Um, I had the biggest crush on Benny as a kid, cause he was just like the cutest.
And he was like, you know, he got into that pickle in the beginning of the movie and then he got out of the pickle, which was totally foreshadowing by the way.
Jackson: And picked that up to the last time we watched the movie, actually, I finally realized that it finally clicked.
Julia: And then when he showed up in the mighty ducks, second mighty.
Jackson: Oh, isn't that going to be home? Yeah.
Julia: Cause you know, I'm watching these quote in real time because that's, you know, that's my adolescence and my youth right there, my, my youth and my adolescents happening. Right. So, so to see him in those two movies, it was just kinda like, oh my God, Mike FITARA is so Kio.
That's not how I said it, but that's me impersonating my 12 year old self.
Jackson: Right. That's great.
Julia: You're impressed. Okay.
I would have to say my favorite character. I love Hamilton. I think
Jackson: the catcher, right?
Julia: Yeah. Hamilton, the bay
Jackson: Porter. I forgot. I forgot that his full name is Hamilton.
Julia: Yeah. Long ball Porter. And then. Sorry. So I was just going to start quoting the movie right now, which is super weird or not weird or not. Um, because he's got so much confidence, you know, the scene where he goes up to bat smalls is new, right to the, to the group.
He goes up to bat and, um, he's narrating he's um, You know, he's doing the talk for himself, you know how the announcer will get on the radio and be like, oh, you know, number 50, blah, blah, blah. And you know, all these details or whatever. And he does that for himself. He does the Hamilton Hamilton, the big Porter, long ball Porter.
And then he's talking to Deneen is, you know, who is also in the mighty ducks movies. And I remember
Jackson: him more clearly being in the mighty Twix movies
Julia: because he was in the first one.
Jackson: Yeah.
I don't remember the first one. Really the only one I've seen more than twice, I think.
Julia: Oh, I'm failing you as a
Jackson: parent. Well, We were of the opinion or you were of the opinion that the first one was like the only really good one and the rest are kind of just,
Julia: okay. The first one is really, really good. It's so well done.
And then the second one is okay. And then the third one's just trash. Why did you make this third one? And the third one they're going up against. High school hockey teams, but they just come off. Oh, junior Olympics. When, like, how does that make any sense? This is not, this is not a competition. They're the world champion, but okay.
Disney, whatever you want. I still,
Jackson: so it's not like that's a new thing for Disney, you know, and boy meets world. They go from being in seventh grade to like freshmen in high school.
Julia: Oh, that's sure that was a quick. But still, it just, I'm not, it was just so frustrating because they were the junior Olympics champs.
It was so hot anyway. Okay. That's not a tangent. We named them this back to Hamilton. And then I also loved that he was kind of the enforcer. So do you remember the scene where the kids, the, the actual, like little league team
Jackson: with their perks? My favorite scene with him and it really. Kind of PR not harassing, but like that like banter where he's kind of like poking fun at them while they're at the plate.
That's one of the scenes that always sticks out to me the most. And when they show up to the Sandlot and that line, you play ball like a girl, and then they all just kind of like shut up. I like, you know, it's funny to watch now, you know, in 2021 or whatever, and be like, well, You see it differently than you would have in 1993, but still it's just like such a funny scene.
And I love that scene.
Julia: And for 19, I think it's 1964 that this film takes place 63, 64 around there. So, so the reason why I feel like that line still works is because we have very antiquated. What we can refer to now as antiquated gender roles in the sixties that women were trying to break out of. So like, there was still this concept in the sixties that like women were weaker.
And so to, I, I've never been a little boy, so you can speak probably better this to this than I can. Um, maybe, I don't know, because you're in a different generation than these little boys, but there's something about like, That as an insult, that just is really, really like shocked.
Jackson: Yeah. I don't think it's as like shocking as it would have been in the sixties correct now, but I think even now, still as a little boy, if you get called that, you know, that can still have like a detrimental effect, but you'd still be like shocked or upset.
If someone said you played ball like a girl.
Julia: Even though, even though girls can totally believe baseball and like the most amazing way. And, um, you know, the all American girls baseball league showed us that even though it no longer exists. So that's a conversation for another day. So is that scene with Hamilton, the only favorite scene you have or do you have other favorite scenes?
Jackson: Um, well, I guess I'd have to try and recall more of the movie, but that is one of the ones that sticks out to me the most when I think of that movie, because with the music in the background and like how quickly they are going through all these different matters of them getting tagged out. And it's not just that scene where he's like, you know, like harassing them a little bit.
It's just that whole scene of them playing or. You know, essentially kick the pants off of these, um, like little lead kids who like to act like they're better than, you know, the kids from the Sandlot. And I think I just, I just love that scene. It's
Julia: a great montage scene too, to sort of demonstrate how great the team is that Benny built.
You know, there are these ragtag neighborhood kids who are just sort of scruffy around the edges and then, you know, the prim polished little league team. Can't beat
Jackson: them. Yeah. And do I don't think we ever see the little league team in that movie outside of their uniform? I think they're always in their uniform.
Whenever we see them, like. I don't think so. Like the only time I ever see, you know, people who play sports in their uniforms, outside of whatever sport event it is, is at school when it's like they have a game that day, or it's like, um, like a spirit day where it's like, oh, where your, you know, school clothing wear and you'll get like extra credit or something in some cases,
Julia: So when I was in high school, they would wear their jerseys on game day, but not like the full Jersey.
Right. Like, and I don't even think that baseball players would wear their Jersey is to be honest, but the football players would, which I always can't. We get it, you play football.
Jackson: I still do that. And I think they're encouraged to do that. I don't know. Oh,
Julia: it's been a long time since I've been in high school.
So another favorite scene that I had. Is, well, we know we talked about the fireworks at the night game, but then also this scene, so there's nine of them. I can't remember all of their names off the top of my head, which really bothers me actually, because I've seen this movie, I literally have the movie movie memorized.
Um,
so there's nine of them. And there's a character. Yeah. Yeah. Who he's always like. Yeah. Yeah. And then says whatever he needs to say in the movie, smalls moves to this neighborhood. He has no friends, his mom's like, you have to make friends, you have to spend the summer making friends. Like you can't stay inside all summer, which is hilarious because fast forward 60 years.
And we're like you to our children. We're like, you can't go home. It's not safe anyway. So he makes friends with Benny Benny, the jet Rodriguez, because as the fame is important, we'll get back to it later. And Benny brings them into this circle of friends, which is the Sandlot crew who are down a player because they only have eight because somebody moved away.
So now smalls makes nine and now they have the perfect size for a team. So throughout the movie, they get into, you know, normal kids, scrapes, whatever. But there's this dog who lives in the house behind the fan lot. And they're terrified of the dog. When you were a little, were you ever scared of the dog?
No. I just wanted
Jackson: to pet the
Julia: dog. Oh, that's cute. Did I ever tell you about the time I met one of the dogs who played that dog in the
Jackson: movie? I was actually going to ask you about that. If you could like go into more detail.
Julia: I don't really have a whole lot. My dad had his, what was it? So every year there's like a family, not a family.
They do some sort of picnic for employees every year, and it still happens to the state. And so we didn't always typically go, but this year we went, I think I was 13. And, um, there's this guy there with this dog that looks like the Fairmont dog, and I'm just, you know, we're chatting whatever. And then he asks, we're talking about the dog and he's like, oh yeah, she.
Movie credits. And we're like, what? And he explains that she's one of the dogs in the Sandlot because they used multiple dogs, which makes perfect sense, because you wouldn't necessarily want to stick to one dog, especially with all of the action that happens with the dog towards the end of the film. Um, But she was the sweetest.
Slobbery is just the cutest. Huge. And granted I was 13 at the time, so it wasn't very tall. Um, but it just, she was just so sweet. She just loved everybody. Um, but that was really cool. And now I can't remember her name. What was her name and why was that guy there?
Is that enough
Jackson: detail for you? Yeah. Well, I mean, that was just because I knew that you had, you told me that you had met the dog, but I never knew why or like underlying and circumstances.
Julia: Oh yeah. At grandpa's work was having a barbecue and it's just, yeah. So random. It's so random. Now, when I think about back on it, 24 ish years later, cause I'm just again, like why was that guy there?
Who was he related to somebody? I have no idea. He actually could have been full of. Because it looked exactly like the dog and Sandlot, he could've just been full of
Jackson: shit. Well, I guess you could look up the credits of the movie on IMDV maybe I think so if, I don't know if the dog's important enough in the movie, maybe,
Julia: maybe, um, anyway, all that to say, to get back to one of my favorite scenes, so yeah.
Yeah. It. So, so Small's stepdad is played by Dennis Leary, who Dennis Larry is an amazing actor. Like this movie is stacked with great adult actors. Right. I don't know if you feel that way, because I don't know, but I think that way, because James old Jones is in it, Dennis Leary's in it. Karen Allen is in it and they all have like incredible.
Resumes,
Jackson: especially Jones, I think is the only one that I actually could have recognized out of every, of, as like an actor outside of that movie.
Julia: Um, is that because of all of the movies that we've seen him in, I
Jackson: think part of that, and then also just the amount of work he's done. And also he was darling.
Yeah. So I'd probably like, I reckon I'd recognize him from that. And then just he's been in so much of their work that I've seen. I would recognize him outside of that movie. Whereas a lot of the actors, especially the adults in that movie, I wouldn't have been able to go. Oh, I think I remember seeing them in the same light if you're watching another movie.
Julia: Yeah. And Dennis Larry's body of work isn't necessarily something that I'm going to be like, Hey kid, let's sit down and watch this movie today. I mean, he's. Uh, terrible. It's not bad stuff. It's just, you know, not necessarily things I'm going to be like, I feel like this would be a great movie. Just didn't watch with my child, but you should totally look into some of the work he's done.
He was in the early Spiderman. Was he in the early Spider-Man or was he in the Spiderman with Garfield? Uh, um, Andrew Garfield. I
Jackson: don't know. I think I've only seen the first, one of the. The first and the third of the original Spider-Man movie. Tobey. Maguire. Yeah.
Julia: Yeah. It's the only ones really worth watching until, um, Tom Holland shows up anyway.
Yeah. Sorry, Andrew Garfield. So back to my scene. So Yaya is like, you know what? Yeah. Yeah. When we were kids, I always saw Yaya kind of looks like my brother. Really?
Jackson: Yeah. I guess I haven't seen enough pictures of uncle when he was younger to see
Julia: I'm going to pull out a picture and showing you're going to be like, yeah, that's totally.
I am. So, yeah. So, so small has the stepdad date played by Dennis Larry and he goes out of town and he, and so part of the sub plot of the movie is that Dennis Leary is going to teach smalls how to play baseball. Right. And smalls is kind of brainy. Science stuff. We see him playing with an erector set in the beginning of the movie, blah, blah, blah.
So then smalls gets, they lose a baseball and falls is like, I have a baseball spoiler alert. The baseball is signed by babe Ruth, but smalls doesn't understand why that's important, which is adorable because I feel like. Everybody understand. Well, I don't know about in 1963, but now everybody knows that babe Ruth is a significant baseball.
Thank Karen.
Jackson: They're talking about babe Ruth. When he first gets introduced into like the group, that's true. And that's like the opening joke and that's how it sets up. You know, that joke when they're like, Hey, bruisings goes, that's the same guy. Cause when they introduce him, you know, Hamilton is doing an impression of the great Bambino and smallest goes, oh, I misheard you.
I thought you said the great Bambi. And they go, oh, that wimpy deer. And you know, so it sets up that whole joke about babe Ruth,
Julia: because they do correct the Sultan of SWAT, the king of crash, the Colossus of. Cloud cloud the classes of cloud to me talking to me. Sorry. Shall we just have me reenact the whole movie?
No, just kidding. Um, anyways, so yeah, so, so smalls is like, I've got, I've got a ball. I've got you covered. Don't worry. Runs home, grabs the ball signed by babe Ruth, which just breaks my heart every single time. And then just. Slams it out of the sand lie into the yard where the dog is this terrifying creature, because throughout the entire movie, there's a buildup about how scary this dog is.
Right? So they're trying to figure out how to get the baseball back and they build this sort of. Bungee situation.
Jackson: You remember this, which with the rope and he's like on his, like in the catcher's gear. Yes.
Julia: Yes. And I just, I love that scene is so funny to me because he comes face-to-face with the dog and is terrified, but I think that's the first time we really see the dog and it's full.
Form. Cause we see like imaginings what they imagine the dog, like a huge Paul you know, this huge
Jackson: creature. So the, um, like campout is seen as before that. Right. Okay. I always get the order of some of the seasons.
Julia: Yeah. That's I it's understandable. So in the campout scene, if you remember their training, so Hamilton, the bay port.
In the middle part of the movie hits a ball home, run into that same yard with the big, scary dog, right. And smallest place, um, left field. So he's like, I can get the ball and, and they're like, no, don't do it. And then he's trying to climb the fence and then this big, scary dog makes all this noise and they're like, we have to okay.
Camp out. We have to explain this. And then squints, as everybody knows. Yeah, everybody knows the Queens who later was on Gilmore girls, ladies and gentlemen, for those of you listening and getting tired of me, drawing everything back to Gilmore girls squints was on Gilmore girls. He loses a hand in the Navy anyway, um, he does, um, squints shares this story about this big terrifying dog.
And we learned that the Sandlot was probably a junkyard at one point, you know, anyway, I just love that scene. You don't think that's a great scene
Jackson: when they look, I like the later part in that scene when the vacuum starts to back up because the dog pinches the pipe and then it blows up and like, um, I think, yeah, yeah, it comes out right or no,
Julia: um, Tommy the older one or is it today?
Whatever
Jackson: one of them names, but he comes out and he's covered in dust and he goes, I think he says, guys, I think we need a new plan or something we've been going about this all wrong. Yeah. I that's like, I think that's my favorite part of that scene, which is, would make sense. Cause that's like the buildup for the whole scene is getting to that
Julia: point.
Yeah. And they try everything. They try everything. Oh, I just, just such a great mood game. Do you have a favorite quote?
Jackson: Well, I dunno if I have a favorite quote, but I remember a few years ago when, and maybe this has always been a popular thing. I just didn't notice it until a few years ago, but I don't see it as much anymore when everyone was wearing the you're killing me smallest shirts with him, with him on them.
I, I don't like, I don't know. I just, I remember seeing. I, I remember seeing at least one of those shirts every few days during the summer, like maybe 20 16, 20 17,
Julia: you chew it of course. But do you know where that PO that's from kind of the movie
Jackson: it's when he goes more, what? I haven't had anything yet.
Julia: It's what he offers them chakra. When he's offering the tobacco jaw, I've been saving this for a good time. And then, and then the smalls is like, what's that? And, or, and then, you know, they're like, it's, and then, um, what's his face smells it and he's like big chief the best. And then smalls is like, what do you do with that?
And then Ham's like, you're killing me, smalls you to it. Of course.
Oh, man. I just feel like you need to have this mummy movie memorized. Just like I do.
Jackson: I have a lot of it memorize. There's just a few scenes that I mix up a little bit.
Julia: Okay. All right. Why don't I think you're killing me. Smalls is probably the most famous quote of the whole
Jackson: movie. Yeah, I guess my favorite quote probably would be.
When squints is telling the story and at the end he goes for bird. I think that's my favorite quote because my friends and I would quote it to each other all the time. We don't so much anymore, but maybe a year ago, maybe two.
Julia: Oh man. I just keep thinking of all these different that's the deep end. Didn't squints.
Can't swim. So there's this, there's this lifeguard, Wendy peppercorn. Squints his darling lover girl. And she goes to the she's the lifeguard at the pool. And, you know, Benny only ever agrees to go to the pool when it's a super hot day. And so there's a scene where he's finally like he can't take squints can't he's in love with her.
He can't. He literally says I can't take it anymore. Move. And then, you know, he's like she's lotioning and oiling and just kinda just can't right. And then he decides to jump into the pool. And then one of the Timmins says, that's the deep end. I don't know what he's doing, but that's the deep end and squints can't swim.
I think jumps into the deep end and Wendy saves his life, quote saves his life, and then he uses it as a. To make out with Wendy because she's performing CPR like problematic, or am I just being like, I, I think it's so funny and I don't know if now it's still funny. You know what I mean? I think
Jackson: of that movie came out today.
It would have been like a cheap. Especially with, with they make movies. Now it would've probably been like in a more like Seth Rogan kind of like raunchy style comedy. I think it wouldn't work as well.
Julia: Yeah. Cause there's something very innocent about the way he does that, the way he employs to do.
Jackson: Yeah. I mean, I, I still feel, I think a little uneasy when I see that St well, not uneasy, but it's like really, you know, but at the same time, I, you know, it's like the movie came out in 93.
It's about the sixties. You know, there's a certain lens that you have to do it with. And what's funny enough. Well, it's funny now is they don't even train you to do that anymore. Cause it doesn't do anything.
Julia: The breathing into the mouth. Yeah. It's all about compressions, right? Yup.
Jackson: When Dwight cuts off the face of the mummy gets in trouble.
Julia: Yes, but I just always thought it was funny that, um, she's the gal tells them like, oh, to the beat of staying alive. And then Michael does it to the beat of not saying.
Jackson: Well, it it's to staying alive, but he starts to like sing the rest of the song and she goes, no, no, just the ha uh, uh, staying in line.
And then he's like, okay. But like, he's like kind of sarcastic about it. Want to kind of moody about it.
Julia: I was moody in that episode the whole time. So in the movie, the boys run the neighborhood and have like a lot of freedom. Comes with, you know, a safe neighborhood and they're having fun and all this stuff.
Do you, and I know that they've made like 1,001 sequels since the original came out. I haven't seen any of them cause no.
Jackson: Is there only two? I think so
Julia: I could be wrong. I mean, I don't know. I am DB will tell us if we look it up again, but I feel like we've done that a lot. Yeah. Do you think that a movie about kids playing like this, like they do in Sandlot could exist in the modern era?
Jackson: Wait, sorry. I'll repeat the question.
Julia: Oh geez. You're not paying. I was, I
Jackson: was looking it up and it, it looks, yeah, it looks like there's two sequels, the Sandlot two and the sunlight heading home. And the seemed like thing. Home is the one that I've seen of this. And it was it. Wasn't good.
Julia: I'm just so sad that you had to experience
Jackson: that.
Well, I wanted to watch the Sandlot and I looked it up and at the time I don't think it was on any of the streaming services that we had, but that one was on there. I was like, okay, well, let's see what that one's like. And I watched it and I did not like it. And I wouldn't watch it again.
Julia: Um, we have three copies on the
Jackson: DVT.
Do we? I feel like we used to, well, we used to lose DVDs like every other year. That's also true. And grandpa would just like, I remember one year we had like a copy, bought a copy of the guardians of the galaxy. I think volume two. Grandpa was like, we came, we went over to his house and he's like, here take this.
And it was just like a scanned copy of the movie. And it had like, you know, how we used to have all those movies with like the black and white, like photocopied. Yeah.
Julia: Which is not illegal because we did not distribute them. We kept them for ourselves. Yeah. Um, okay. So my question. Do you think that a movie like this with the same sort of level of freedom of these kids had in 1963, yada yada, yada, it could exist in the modern era, like about
Jackson: Dawn and era,
Julia: you know, you take the concept of the Sandlot and drop it into 2021.
Would it still work
Jackson: while I have you just, did you ever watch midnight?
Julia: I didn't, I really wanted to see it in the theater. And then what happened? I think it was house sitting for your auntie and I, and I couldn't get to the theater to see it or something. I don't know, but I really wanted to see it cause mid-nineties, that's my, you know, that's my early analog.
Jackson: Yeah, I've watched it recently and watching it. I kind of felt like this is a more, definitely not a movie that you can watch when you're eight or six. Sure. It's like, it's that same kind of idea. And I think it totally could work today. Cause I feel like that's a little bit older, but it's kind of a lot of what me and my friends do when we're in the neighborhood is we kind of just roam around and have fun and kind of do whatever one issue that I have with a lot of like newer movies is.
When they try to appeal to a mass market, they just do a raunchy comedy. And I don't appreciate that much, that much. Like, um, I think it was, uh, Seth Rogan would be, uh, I think it's called good boy.
Julia: Oh, yeah, I didn't. We saw the trailer for that when we went and saw Booksmart and I was like, that is not a movie.
I will take you to see which bums me out because I love going to see like dumb comedies with you because you're the only person who's going to appreciate it. Like all of my other friends, you're not my friend, but you know what I mean? All the other moviegoers in my life are going to be a little bit more of a sophisticated film experience than that.
And so after the trailer, I was like, this is not a movie I can see with. 16 year old.
Jackson: Well, I think that movie came out a few years ago, but I watched it like maybe a year ago and I liked it. It was a good movie, but you know, it didn't, it didn't have that same feel of like, um, the Sandlot or, oh, what's that other one
Julia: rookie of the year?
Jackson: No, not Ricky of the year. It's not a sports movie, but it's that, it's the one where the kids, like they go and they, like, they. Follow the train track. Oh, stand by me. Stand by me.
Julia: Yeah. Like it's based on a short, short story.
Jackson: It didn't have that same kind of like. Alright, sophisticated field, but like that same kind of like, um, serious.
Yes. But
Julia: there's also an innocence to them because yeah, because the kids have, you know, they're young and they're grab in there. They're both coming. Cause Samuel kind of coming of age in a way.
Jackson: I th I think that's true about mid nineties to. Um, and I like that. I love that movie. It doesn't have, it's kind of similar to Sandlot and that it doesn't have like, too much of a plot.
Like there's definitely a plot. There is more so on the Sandlot than there is a mid nineties. But what I like about mid nineties is that same kind of like your main character. I can't remember his name. I think his nickname is sunburn. You know, he's like. 10. I think,
Julia: I didn't realize
Jackson: he was that young.
Yeah. So he's still very young, but he's hanging out with these older friends and he's kind of like getting brought up into like being a teenager, I guess, really quickly. And we kind of see in the movie, like why maybe that isn't such a great thing to be happening. And by the end of the movie, you can kind of see how everyone in the group is kind of like, yes, we're still his friend.
And like, we still. Love this kid sunburn, but at the same time, we probably should've been more responsible in how we are treating him because he is so much younger than we are, but it's that same kind of innocence through the eyes of our main character.
Julia: So it's got like the nice youthful, innocent feel, but maybe they're dealing with more complicated stuff.
Jackson: Yeah. Well, like. Like encourage him to like drink and smoke, you know, he's like 10 years old, but also, you know, when you watch the movie, it's, it's not like they're telling everybody, like, this is what you should be doing with your friends who are younger than you or anything like that. It's just like, this is what life was like for us being like growing up as like in the skater community, in the nineties and kind of like a restrictive talent you want to there in LA, but still.
It's it's still,
Julia: I mean, there's parts of LA that probably feel like they're crushingly, suffocating. Yeah. Which makes me think about all of the, like really interesting and fun cult, classic movies of the nineties that I probably should have exposed you to, like what airborne I'm not talking about. It's a, it's a, you know, the, guy's a rollerblader, so lame, but
Jackson: I mean, you always say that, but isn't that lame.
Julia: Okay. Agree to disagree. In hindsight, that movie is probably a terrible movie. I think it's a Disney movie actually, which is ironic because you know, they did the dog airborne movies, but you know, he's this. Oh yeah. Okay. That is air bud. You're right. Oh, my God, I forgot Jack Black was in it. That's kind of the best Seth Green's in it.
I didn't know that. Okay. So this kid moves to somewhere and he loves to surf and roller blade. And.
Okay. Here's what the description says on IMDV Mitchell Goossen is a 16, 17 year old kid from California who loves to surf and rollerblade yet his parents who are two zoologists, which I'm going to be honest. I didn't know that his parents were Sue ologists. You don't get that from the film. We're given a grant to work in Australia.
The only problem was Mitchell. Couldn't go with them. So he. Sent to stay with this aunt and uncle and cousin and Cincinnati, Ohio. When he arrives, he meets his cousin who was also, who is also his new roommate for the next six months Wiley, which I think is played by who I think is played by south green Mitchell then goes to school and gets on the bad side.
Of the high school hockey team, Mitchell and Wiley ended up in during weeks of torture from the guys. Then the big guys and Mitchell and Wiley have to learn to get along, to try and beat the central high school rivals in a competition down devil's backbone, which they have to like rollerblade down. Yeah.
That's why rollerblading comes into play
Jackson: this movie.
Julia: It is a nineties movie and like it's super chill. And then there's another one. I think rod actually is from 18 is from the eighties. I just found that DVD the other day. Yeah. And the nineties were a great decade for, for, for like high school kid movies or like just kid movies because Sam Lee came out, mighty ducks, came out rookie of the year airborne and seen, oh man,
Jackson: I was trying to think of the name of that movie and see, you know, man, cause we watched, when you were describing airborne, I was like, that kind of sounds similar to Encino man in the same kind of way that it would be like silly and fun
Julia: tone.
It was a great era for films. All right. Well, let's go back to talking about the Sandlot. Now tell me why you love the Sandlot
Jackson: because I've been watching it for as long as I can
Julia: remember. So I indoctrinated you. Is that what you're telling me a little
Jackson: bit? Yeah.
Julia: Good thing. I picked the Sandlot, not something heinous.
Jackson: Yeah.
Julia: Yeah. It's a great movie. Good movie. Why do you love it?
Jackson: Because I've been watching it Prevnar. And it's just something that I associate, I guess just, I don't know. I just love the movie.
Julia: You can't explain it. You love it so much.
Sure. He says sure. Every time he says, sure, my soul dies a dining bit. So you've already seen, you've only seen one of the other sequels. Oh, I'm going to tell you why. I love Sam Monica. Because it's, I think it's a timeless classic and yes, it came out when I was eight years old, nine years old. And there's something just so nostalgic about it.
That works for it. It's not nostalgic in a way that makes you feel like you missed something. If you didn't experience that kind of freedom as a kid, but it's also like got a great. Ensemble group feel like all the kids worked really well together. Like if they didn't like each other off screen, you wouldn't have known it.
Yeah. Did you want to be any one of the characters? Benny,
Jackson: go ahead. Well, you know, I want like, especially when we first started watching this thing, No, I wanted to play baseball. And then I mentioned that I did play baseball. And so I wanted to be like Benny, cause I wanted to be, you know, the best baseball player and I wanted to be fast, but I also wanted to be like charismatic and have all my friends look up to me, you know, in that kind of way that they do to Benny.
So, you know, Benny is kind of just like, if you're a kid who plays baseball, even if you don't play baseball and you're just like a kid and you want people to look up to you, he's kind of like that perfect role model because he's understanding about his friends, but he's also. Um, dedicated to like what he loves, which is baseball.
And he's just like a good character. I think if you're looking for someone to look up to that's similarly HQ, because a lot of times in TV shows and stuff, even in kids' shows, you know, the main characters are like whiny or, and I think maybe this is more true for like kids TV when I was growing up, like.
But, you know, the main characters are kind of whiny and they're guided by their, by the adults or the adults are kind of, um, not fully present and they're kind of goofy and they don't have a lot of authority. So it's. You know, in the Sandlot, the adults are there. They have authority to like a real threat, but they're not like overbearing, you know, you can tell that the parents don't hate their kids or anything like that.
And it's just,
Julia: but they're stern. Like he's terrified to tell his stepdad the truth about the baseball. Like that's a real thing. He's not like, oh, my stepdad's dumb. Or my mom's, you know, not attentive. Like he's genuinely like. What am I going to do? And then James Earl Jones comes in with the safe, but again, James Earl Jones, his character, like you say, he's authoritative and strong, but he has a guiding hand.
Yeah. Which is a great twist at the end, by the way, finding out that James Earl Jones, his character played baseball with babe Ruth and that he had this really promising career and had all this. Stuff. And then they develop this relationship with this guy. I loved that. That's something I didn't note for us to talk about.
I just felt like that was a really great. Way to button up the movie of that, that part of the storyline of the dog being this terrifying dog. And it turns out Hercules is just a big old Teddy bear and James roll Jones's character is just like this super awesome super sweet guy, but people are scared of him because he doesn't really socialize.
Jackson: I think the ending of that of the Sandlot is what makes it such a great movie. You know, if they, if they, if it had stayed the same throughout the whole thing, and then we get to the end and, you know, he had been like a horrible guy and old and crotchety and the dog had been just this mean old dog.
That's like, they helped it, but it was still kind of like growling and barking at them in the end. I think it would have made it such a worst movie and it wouldn't be regarded in the way that it is. That's a good point because it really gives you that feeling of, um, you know, when you're a kid, you kind of get in your own head about certain things and it kind of makes you remember that it's all about, you know, your own perspective.
And you know, maybe when you're a kid, do you like to see things a certain way? Because they're easier to understand and it takes less effort, but it's not, it's not like the way things actually are. It's more fun to believe in that way, I guess.
Julia: Yeah. I mean, you're not wrong because the, the re-imagining that they do have the dog, you know, we get this big picture, we see this huge creature, huge pause.
And then when you know, yeah, yeah. I was on the other side face to face with them and you're just like, oh, that's a normal sized dog. Yeah. Like two, but to the children, it's this great monster. I also love how. In the beginning of the movie, you know, it's just a stepdad situation and which is totally common for women to remarry somebody.
Cause you know, we weren't allowed to work for a long time. Um, but I love how she's encouraging of them to have a relationship. Like please make time for my child. Right. I love that. And even before I had you, that was something that I loved because you know, you see all these scenarios and you hear about all these things about like step parents, not being super involved and, or moms like choosing the partner over their children kind of situation.
But I love how she's like trying to help her son and her husband have a relationship. And then by the end of the film, they've clearly have this really strong bond. I just loved that. What makes Sandlot so timeless?
Jackson: Well, I feel like that's kind of a directed question that assumes that. I think that Sam, do
Julia: you think that Sandlot is a timeless movie?
Jackson: Yes and no. I think that it's a movie that you can watch. You can show children forever. And as long as baseball is a game, or even if it's not a game, you know, you can really just get in and enjoy the. Not the campiness of it, but like the fun-ness of being a child in the sixties and playing baseball. But also I think that it's a movie, like a lot of movies that if you didn't grow up watching it, when you're older, you can still appreciate it, but you're not going to have that same kind of connection to it.
And I think for a movie to be like truly timeless, it has to be accessible at any age. I mean, No, that's not always true. That's your dog. Yeah,
Julia: something's happening
Jackson: outside. But I think, you know, from a beauty, truly timeless doesn't necessarily have to be accessible to all ages. You know, like someone could argue that the godfather is a timeless movie.
We definitely aren't going to show that to your six-year-old correct. I think the St. Law is a timeless. If you watch it when you're a kid, I think if you watch it, when you're older, like, oh, that was a good movie, but I'll probably never watch it again. Unless I have kids
Julia: that's if somebody comes into it as an adult, you're saying, yeah, that makes me sad for those adults.
Jackson: Well, no,
Julia: your opinion is valid. I support it. I, and I'm, I'm the adult who watched the movie from eight years old, nine years old. Yeah, right. Like, it was important to me that I was present for the first time you watched that movie and should, I mean, and, and the minute you could set up, we're watching Sandlot because.
It was such a huge part of my summers. It's funny that you bring up it being a summer movie. Cause it was a huge part of my summers. You know, if it was too hot to play outside, sit inside and watch the movies that I watched during the summers in succession because we own them on laser disc. Which ladies and gentlemen, my father recently found the laser disc player.
So that's fun Sandlot rookie of the year and mighty ducks. Those were on rotation. Like those were my summer films, which I wouldn't necessarily say mighty ducks as a summer film because it takes place in the winter. But again, it's an ensemble cast with a bunch of kids and, and it has that sort of feel to it when you.
I live in a neighborhood that doesn't have a lot of kids. And you see this group of a lot of kids, you're just like, yeah. I want to be a part of a lot of kids. Yeah. It's such a great movie. Do you think they'll ever attempt to remake it?
Jackson: I think they've tried and failed. Well,
Julia: I feel like the sequels don't count because those are like sequels.
Jackson: The Sandlot heading home, I don't think is, I'm pretty sure it is a remake, not SQL. Why
Julia: would you call it the Sandlot heading home? If it's a remake?
Jackson: Well, I'm trying to, you could, you could smell, but without saying it like that, you could say, why would they call it Spider-Man homecoming if it's not a SQL, right?
Like it's still, it's a Spider-Man movie, but it's its own movie. It's like a remake of the Spider-Man movies. It's not the. To the Tom CCS movies or,
Julia: yeah, Toby Maguire. Yeah. Okay. I see where you're going with that. And I will argue, I don't agree because in Sanlam heading home, is it Benny and smalls? No. And Hamilton.
Jackson: I don't think so. Well. Okay. So it looks like the young Tommy, they have a, um, when
Julia: you were playing baseball, you are, you were super fast. Yeah. Because your coach would develop place specifically for you because he knew the other kids wouldn't be able to outrun pitchers.
Jackson: Yeah, Benny Rodriguez is one of the, so it is a remake or no, I think he's no, he comes back and if I remember he comes back and he's like the coach, so it is SQL, but I want, I don't think it's the same actor cause who plays him,
Julia: Mike guitar, who was super adorable and mighty ducks.
Jackson: He's played by Danny Nucci and he won. He doesn't look like him at all. And two, his haircut is terrible.
Julia: So the guy that plays grownup Benny, because the movie ends for those of you who haven't seen it. And still again, I ask you why not? It ends with, we learned that Benny becomes a professional baseball player for the LA Dodgers and smalls is an announcer for the stadium.
And we see grown-up Benny getting a pickle and stealing. Yes, I ruined it for you because the movie came out in 1993 and you should've seen it by now. Smalls is so proud of him and Benny looks up at the box and it's this great moment. You have to watch it. But the actor that plays grownup, Benny passed away.
Jackson: Oh really? Yeah. I don't know a while ago. Yeah.
Julia: But you know what I would love to see cause you know how they did a mighty ducks. New version like the series. Yeah. And I love the way that they tied in the original and some of the original cast. I just, I really thought it was such a great. New chapter for that franchise.
Yeah, it would be really cool to see because some of the actors are all grown up now and still acting like, I know that squints is still acting. I don't know if my Fataar still acting, but he played Benny, you know, what's once is the only one I can confidently say is still acting in adulthood, but it would be interesting to do like a flash forward and it's the eighties and they all come back.
And maybe there's kids, maybe they have kids. I don't know. 'cause, you know, at the end of the Sandlot, they kind of give a synopsis of what everyone's been up to. And Bertram has an interesting wrap up that I think could tie in really nicely to like a 20 years later version.
Jackson: Yeah.
Julia: Is that just me wanting to have all of my childhood.
Love's come back in a newer
Jackson: version, maybe a little bit. I like, I watched a little bit of the mighty ducks reboot with you. And I don't know. I feel like I would've rather, they just left it. I feel like that's how I feel for all of the reboots that they've done, even though some of the better ones. I feel like if we really want to keep these alive.
Just rerelease them, like put them back in the theater, do some marketing for them. Cause it's a lot like the home alone. I don't know if that,
Julia: oh, the home, the home loans were garbage. They should have stopped after two.
Jackson: I remember you were saying not that long ago that they were rebooting home
Julia: alone. Oh yeah.
They're going to remake it completely. Which I feel like with Ellie Kemper playing the mom, I forget who they announced is going to be the kid. And to me, because John Hughes is such a huge. Name in the eighties movie game and the nineties movie game. To me, that just feels wrong because he's not here to have a say the reason why a home alone.
The way it did was because it was his brain child and he was involved in the project. And so, so like with the mighty ducks, reboot, Emilio Estimize is involved. He's one of the executive producers and he is back on the show. So for me being the kid who watched those movies, when she was younger, I thought they did a really good job in creating a next generation.
But I, is it, but it again, but to your point that I think maybe you were heading in or what I got out of what you were saying. Is it just a poor attempt at trying to get the next generation rather than re-releasing what my generation grew up on and saying like, isn't this great.
Jackson: Well, I don't even think it's trying to get the next generation.
I think it's just trying to capitalize on a brand that they know parents will be like, oh, we watched this when I was a kid. So reshow. Child to movie and then they'll rewatch it. And if you don't have a kid, you'll just rewatch it because you remember seeing it when you were younger and you want to check it out again.
And I feel like a lot of this rereleasing these products has to do with the fact that companies just want to get. They're like, uh, some kind of justification to keep the copyright on these ideas and not let them public domain, even though I think now it's like 80 years before stuff gets released in the public domain.
Julia: Again, no lengthened. Oh, I thought it was a
Jackson: hundred. No, well, initially it was 28 years until Walt Disney was like, I want to keep this forever. Well, Walt
Julia: Disney is a problematic.
Jackson: Yeah, and I think it's just like a poor Finley veiled attempt to just constantly grab money out of people for the same few series, instead of trying to come up with something new and taking a risk,
Julia: you know, I'm going to have to say you're not that far off because after I watched.
All of the availables of the mighty ducks game-changers and also very thrilled to see some of the original cast and episode six. Thank you. I, 100%, 100% after that ended, turned on mighty ducks. And then watch the second one, but I won't watch the third one cause that one's garbage. I might watch the third one, but I'm not, not in the same way that I would.
Nostalgic Lee crave watching one and two. So thank you for hitting the nail on the head and making me feel like I was totally susceptible to, to their ploy.
Jackson: Rude. I mean, it's not, it's, it's like a carefully calculated marketing strategy that these companies put together with billions of, yeah.
Julia: Obviously. I mean, that's a lot of power because the guy that plays Adam Banks, like totally dropped out of acting afterwards, he realized it wasn't for him.
So you know that there was a ton of. Effort and, and work behind getting who they could get to be on that episode, especially when you think about the guy who plays Goldberg doesn't exactly have the best adult life. His he's had a couple of encounters with the law, but I don't know. I w I, okay. So maybe, maybe it is just me.
I would love to see like some sort of like, Reunion of all the cast. I wonder if they did ever do a reunion cause it'll so 93. So in two years it'll be 30 years that it's come out. I would hope, you know what? I would totally buy a 30 year anniversary edition if they had like interviews with the cast. I think that'd be cool.
Jackson: Well, that's, that's different than just like, that's an obvious attempt kind of to try and you know, it's not, it's not the same kind of like. The way that they've been doing these reboots, it's kind of just like gross and like, they're really trying to hide the fact that it's an attempt to just like hemorrhage more money from people.
Julia: Yeah. You know what, actually, the reboot conversation would be a really interesting conversation, which reboots worked in which reboots didn't and that's completely subjective, honey. I appreciate you being on the show when I'm old or when I'm dead, you're going to appreciate that this is healthy. Okay, thank you for being here.
Yeah.
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