TwinkieTown Movie Night: A League of Their Own - Rewriting the Rules

This week, were back with a classic a story inspired by the real-life Rockford Peaches, part of a womens baseball league that rose to prominence during World War II, when many of the men were off fighting overseas. The movie stars Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Jon Lovitz, Madonna, Rosie ODonnell, Lori Petty, Bill Pullman, and David Strathairn. Written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, and directed by Penny Marshall.

Though Ive never watched this movie myself (despite loving much of the cast), Ive always been intrigued by its legacy. I think I avoided it because of Madonnas involvementat the time, she was basically the pop sensation of the decade, much like Lady Gaga today, though with less innovation and more mainstream popularity).

Interestingly, weve featured articles about womens baseball and softball here on TwinkieTown before. One of my favorites comes from Colossus of Rhode, which delves into the history of the Minneapolis Millerettes, even reaching out to a former player for insights. Additionally, theres a fantastic historical overview by Morgan Leigh Davies on Bustle, and Christina De Nicolas piece on MLB.com offers a look into how a PBS documentary originally sparked interest in telling this story. You can watch that documentary here.

According to the American Film Institute, the movies story was inspired by the work of the documentarys producers, whose mother and aunt were actual players in the league. The films screenplay was crafted by comedy writers Ganz and Mandel, who had previously worked on Splash. The casting process was quite an ordeal, with names like Jim Belushi, Laura Dern, Darryl Hannah, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Brooke Shields, and Debra Winger attached at various stages. Winger even trained for three months with the Chicago Cubs before dropping out when Madonna came aboard, fearing the film would take on the feel of an Elvis moviea concern I share!

Despite Wingers departure, Davis took over the role, and the cast trained with an assistant coach from USC to prepare for their on-screen baseball performances. You can find more details about the production on the movies Wikipedia page.

Now, for tonights movie A League of Their Own heres the Pluto TV link. Dont miss it! And heres a look at our upcoming schedule:

• December 12: Damn Yankees (1955) - A down-on-his-luck Senators fan gets an offer to magically become a star and save the team, but as with all deals with the devil, theres a catch. Available free on Fawesome, Pluto, and Tubi.
• December 19: 12 Angry Men (1957) - Its available on Internet Archive, and though baseball isnt the main focus, the story does involve a jurors desire to finish his duties in time to catch a game. Justice is important, but priorities are priorities!
• December 26: Anna and the Apocalypse (2017) - A Christmas zombie musical where baseball bats meet the undead. Available for free on Roku and Tubi.
• January 5: Eight Men Out (1988) - The infamous Black Sox scandal, where players threw the 1919 World Series for gambling money. Youll understand their motivations once you see how Charles Comiskey treated them. Free on Pluto, Roku, and Tubi.

Looking ahead, Ive got some ideas for future movie nights, and Im open to any suggestions you have! Weve already got a couple on the horizon. So grab your popcorn, and lets get started at 7:30!

Author: Noah Whitman