Old School for the New School: The Natural

Posted by Matt Rosenberg on October 16, 2009 at 8:42 am

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Traitor video This post is from our friend Kyle Patterson

. Check out his review of The Natural below.

The Natural (1984)

Notable cast members: Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Kim Basinger, Glenn Close, Wilford Brimley

Notable Awards 3 Acts of Murder download : Oscar, Best Supporting Actress, Glenn Close

This is the best sports movie of all time.

What an opening line, right? Ok, maybe I can’t put just one sports movie above all others, but if there was only room for one at the top, The Natural would most certainly be among the last debated to take the title. To this day, this film has always been a reliable supplier of goose bumps at its climax. It’s good defeating evil. It’s resilience winning out in the face of temptation. It’s the inspiring story of Roy Hobbs, baseball phenomenon, overcoming misfortune and ill will to deliver his legacy to baseball.

I’m certainly not the Roy Hobbs of movie critics, but if I was, I would be so unequivocally the best at what I did and my version of a bat, my pencil, would have “Wonderboy” inscribed on its side. In The Natural, Roy (Redford) introduces himself to the audience as just what the title would imply, a natural at his craft. After an unforgettable scene where he throws three fastballs past the fictional representation of The Babe at a train stop, he sets out on his journey to eventually be, using his words, “the best there ever was at the game”. Unfortunately, things take a dramatic turn for the worse after a regretful episode of poor decision making. Over a decade later, for what must have seemed like an eternity to our protagonist, Roy finally gets to feel the big-league dirt beneath his cleats and the lumber between his palms when Pop Fisher, the coach of the New York Knights in a role Wilford Brimley was born to play, gives him his shot. Roy wastes no time capturing the hearts of New Yorkers and instilling that edge into his teammates that takes the team from worst to first. Then it’s time to cue the goose bumps when Roy discovers a new way to create fireworks in the deciding game for the pennant in the film’s climax.

The Natural is more than a story about a great baseball player who scraped and clawed to eventually fulfill his destiny. In fact it can be argued that he didn’t fulfill his destiny as he only got to play one season in the major leagues as a right fielder. But, why is that? If there is a lesson this movie attempts to share with its audience, it’s that nothing in life is guaranteed and what you cherish most can be taken away from you at any moment. Furthermore, The Natural reminds us that those whom we love bring out the best in us even in times of diversity and hardship. Keeping these people nearby and close to the heart should be everyone’s M.O.

Best Line: Roy Hobbs: “Pick me out a winner, Bobby.”

8 Comments

Matt
October 16, 2009 at 11:37 am

Top 5 sports movies of all time. The Natural is an all-timer. For me though, I think “Major League” is the greatest sports movie ever made. Rocky, if you consider that a sports movie, is also at the very top.
Kyle
October 16, 2009 at 1:09 pm

@Matt I can’t argue the genius of major league. I would also put Field of Dreams up there which makes me wonder why the greatest sports movies are always about baseball??? I think ‘professional’ movie critics would go with Raging Bull, however.
Dame May "Witty"
October 19, 2009 at 4:50 pm

An inspiring, sweet, romantic, “gut-wrenching” film which I too can call one of my favorites … and definitely my favorite sports movie along with “Pride of the Yankees” and “Rocky” and “Field of Dreams”. However … those films don’t have Robert Redford as their star .. so is there any competition?! Well done oh Master Reviewer with the pencil as his bat … you continue to enlighten, amuse and amaze me. Keep up the good work .. it has been too long! Remember not to give in to temptation everyone!
Sir Cedric Hardwicke
October 19, 2009 at 5:14 pm

First of all, I’d like to put to rest the rumors running all through the industry that I have been signed to play Wilford Brimley in the film bio of his life. We’re still in negotiations.
Oscar info updates: Glenn Close has never won an Oscar, probably because she scared the hell out of the whole nation with that creepy movie about boiling the rabbit. And in the greatest Oscar robbery of the 80s, this incredible movie score was overlooked in favor of the music of “A Passage To India”. Oh for crying out loud, who’s been humming that lately? Randy Newman’s music is used by every sportscaster on the planet to underscore that day’s baseball heroics on the field to this very day.
Redford is always underestimated in his film work, and here’s another example of a quiet, steady, job, so subtle in its characterization that of course it is just taken for granted. Duvall is great as a reporter/ahole and the great character actor, Robert Prosky, as the team owner is so unpleasant you get a bad taste in your mouth watching his manipulation of anyone honest on the screen.
As to sports comparisons, don’t forget “Chariots of Fire” for a similar underdogs versus everyone’s expectations setup. But this one is much, much better.
kpinker
October 19, 2009 at 5:44 pm

what a terrific review of one of my favorite movies of all time!! it’s funny, i wouldn’t describe myself as a “robert redford fan,” but my favorite movies are butch cassidy, the sting, the natural, and the great gatsby…not a redford fan?? i may have to rethink that!! Love your writing!!
Rico
October 20, 2009 at 7:23 am

One of my favorite scenes from the film is a slightly obscure moment, that turns into a metaphor for, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. The scene is beautifully played by Brimley and Richard Farnsworth. After he had been yelling and grumbling his way through most of his previous scenes in the film, the team starts winning, mainly because of Hobbs. Other players have stepped up their game too. The scene where the team is practicing at a nice, easy pace and the manager and the coach are playing a game of trying to guess the song title while the other simply hums the tune, is priceless.
Dame May "Witty"
October 20, 2009 at 11:27 am

kpinker .. I am with you! Redford films are amazing .. he is so handsome that people overlook his incredible, easy style. Rico .. I love that scene!! And I think it is very true to baseball .. the real kinds of things that happen in the dugout.
beela
October 20, 2009 at 9:01 pm

great review, t.a.d.. the only negative i could possibly associate with TN, is that it HAS to be the movie of choice whenever it is on and anytime we can’t locate hoosiers around here. ask evan about the barbara hershey role–wasn’t she in this thing??? lastly, the scene with the lights being blown out seems a bit over the top to me, but maybe it’s because RR is not visible during this dramatic sequence. “pick out a good one, bobby” is standard parlance around here…xxx