The Babe (1992)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I gave up long ago looking for accuracy in sports biopics (or any biopics for that matter), so I approached this film with the same expectation. John Goodman was a good choice to play the legendary Ruth in both mannerism and appearance, but as many reviewers have noted, he was obviously a lot heavier and decidedly unathletic in any scene that takes place on a ball field. I certainly wouldn't go to the bank on many of his off field exploits as depicted here either. For me, the repeated instances of flatulence that the film makers thought was a good idea simply appeal to the lowest common denominator factor they mistakenly think they have to cater to. As expected, the fabled Ruth exploits of hitting two home runs for the sick boy in the hospital and the 1932 'called shot' against the Chicago Cubs are depicted, but even those events that have become part of baseball legend are somewhat inconclusive in history. If you're a baseball fan, believe what you will. For a better straightforward accounting of the Sultan of Swat, I would direct you to the 1998 HBO documentary simply titled "Babe Ruth". Though it's much too short at one hour to encompass all aspects of Ruth's storied life, it does manage to adequately address the highlights of a career that would have to be invented if most of it wasn't actually true. As far as "The Babe" goes, it's entertaining in it's own way, but for the most part, it's banana oil.

I hate going through the process of signing up and jumping through all the hoops just to get to write a review, but when I read that John Goodman was "disappointed" in his performance in this movie, I HAD to write a review. I really thought that I would have a hard time believing Mr. Goodman in his portrayal of Babe because I have watched him for years as Dan Conner. However, within the first 2 minutes of his appearance in the movie, I forgot completely about Dan Conner and I was caught up in his real, and emotional portrayal of The Babe. I thought the movie was wonderful - and I can't imagine anyone other than Mr. Goodman playing The Babe. I hope that throughout the years, Mr. Goodman has changed his mind about being disappointed and that he now sees as how wonderful he was!

Seeing this for the first time in 2011 I find it has two strikes on it; 1) the story begins in 1902 and ends in the mid 1930s when Ruth's glory days - mostly the teens and twenties - are well behind him and 2) I am English and although I have read widely about baseball my eras of choice are the forties and fifties and I know -albeit at second hand - far more about Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams and even Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio than about Ruth so I have to more or less take it on trust and allow for the fact that it is Hollywood and by definition will move from the facts as and when it suits the producers. Having said that this is a very engaging film with a fine central performance and now that I own it on DVD I'll probably watch it again.

The best part of "The Babe" with John Goodman is his excellent imitation of Babe Ruth's mannerisms and speaking. Goodman particularly handled Ruth's verbal style. This film suffered quite a bit from its emphasis and interpretation of Babe Ruth's character and life. I know people that knew Babe Ruth, and while they said he went out and drank regularly, they said he was rarely out of control they way he was depicted by Goodman in the film. Nor was he sloppy and horribly overweight like John Goodman was in the film. The Babe didn't get particularly heavy till his last 2-3 years in the major leagues, and even after retiring continued to play in exhibitions around North America. Some others asked if he really hit 3 homeruns in his last game with the Boston Braves. That is also not correct and was incorrectly depicted in the film (Ruth dropping his hat in front of the Braves owner). He did hit three homeruns in one game in his final season in old Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, but it was not his final game. This film focused almost solely on Ruth's lack of personal discipline and immaturity, which was not a problem for him after 1925 when he was fined and admonished by his Manager Miller Huggins. From 1926 to 1932, Ruth had perhaps the finest run of offensive seasons of any Major League hitter - this was not even mentioned in the film, and his banner years of 1923 (when he hit .393) and 1927 (60 homeruns) were barely mentioned; I think the film spent less than one minute on his 60 homerun year. All in all, this film was very disappointing, particularly to Yankee fans and to those who were acquainted with Babe Ruth. The TV movie about Babe Ruth (which included Pete Rose as Ty Cobb) was a much better film.