Major League: Back to the Minors (1998)

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

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.

Gus Cantrell is a major league pitcher in the twilight of his career. He contacted by Roger Dorn, General Manager of the Minnesota Twins, and offered the role of managing the Buzz, the Twins' AAA team. Cantrell accepts but regrets it almost immediately. The Buzz is a dysfunctional no-hoper team, with an odd assortment of characters. However, Cantrell quickly sets about forging them into a winning team.My expectations for this, the third installment of Major League, were quite low. The first Major League was great but Major League II was very disappointing, filled with clichés, cheap humour and unrealistic baseball. Back to the Minors initially promised to be more of the same, looking quite unoriginal and predictable. However, it grows on you and its charms become more apparent with time. The key is that it is set in the Minor Leagues, so instead of the glamour of major league baseball, we have no-frills, small town, salt-of-the-earth baseball. It makes a refreshing change and does help the engagement factor.This all said, it is still fairly predictable and the humour hit- and-miss, but the baseball is fairly realistic, certainly more realistic than Major League II.Overall, okay, not brilliant, but better than Major League II, at least.

"Hey Mr. Berenger! Would you like to play your character Jake Taylor in Major League 3?" "No thanks." "Please!" "Nope." "Mr. Sheen, would you consider reprising your role as Wild Thing in Major League 3?" "Nope." "Please!" "Nope." "Mr. Bernsen, would you like to reprise your role as Roger Dorn for Major League 3?" "Why not?" "Yeah, we can make an unnecessary sequel!" That my friends is quite possibly how Major League: Back to the Minors got made. Or was it the fact that around the time this film was made the Cleveland Indians were winning and making a film about a group of misfit underdogs on the same team that is really doing well in real life would be a curse? Regardless, it should've been left alone. Now we got a nice, nearly unrelated sequel leaching off of the Major League.David S. Ward, director of both previous films, as been docked down to co writer of this mess. Something told me that even he wasn't fully on board with this film. Back to the Minors turns the tables from the Indians to the Minnesota Twins, the team Roger Dorn (Bernsen) now owns. The film focuses on Gus Cantrell (Bakula), a minor league pitcher for a team called the Fort Myers Miracle.Roger offers Gus a job coaching the Twins' minor league affiliate the South Carolina Buzz. Two of the members from the Cleveland Indians team return. Those are Pedro Cerrano (Haysbert) and Taka Tanaka (Takaaki Ishibashi). Wonderful because I wasn't too big of a fan of Cerrano and couldn't stand Tanaka.When you can't get the two leads who made a film what it was, don't make a sequel to a film without them. Don't think a crappy spin off is treating the fans to something special. It isn't.Thank the lord Bob Uecker reprises his role as the alcoholic Indians announcer. But this time he is announcing the Buzz? The film doesn't even provide an answer to why Cerrano, Tanaka, and the announcer are now with the Buzz. They all looked great last season, why did the Indians trade them? Is Jake Taylor still the manager of the Indians? Did the team trade Wild Thing? Did they win the World Series? The film doesn't provide the answer to questions fans are asking.Major League: Back to the Minors is now the big wart on the entire franchise. There never needed to be a third film. The idea should've been scrapped when Berenger and Sheen said they wouldn't return. But of course, the money is what matters. Not even James Gammon comes back as a cameo. This film is one of the most tasteless and lackadaisical sequels I've ever seen.Though it was this film that made me realize Corbin Bernsen, Roger Dorn in the film, would later go on to play the father in I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, my favorite holiday film. It was good for that.Starring: Scott Bakula, Corbin Bernsen, Dennis Haysbert, Ted McGinley, Takaaki Ishibashi, and Bob Uecker. Directed by: John Warren.

in my opinion this is the best of the trilogy.i laughed out loud a few times in this one.but more than that,i just thought the story was better.there were some great lines delivered in this one,many courtesy of Bob Uecker,who played Harry Doyle,the goof ball play by play man.again there are some oddball characters with some strange rituals.i also thought the movie flowed more smoothly and it was better paced.there was also a love interest for one of the characters in this one,although admit it wasn't a substantial part of the movie.but at least there was one.as far as i can recall,there was no love interest of any consequence in the previous two.if i'm wrong,please tell me so.anyway,overall a pretty good movie.for me,"Major League 3:Back to the Minors" is a 7/10

Horribly unfunny comedy that jumps through all the hoops of a misdirected and miswritten comedy sequel. Everything that made the first film amusing and funny is lacking here, and so is the cast - in fact, the only returning castmember is Corbin Bernsen. And no wonder - just look at his film profile.One to skip.1/5 stars -John Ulmer