Quick recap: Roy Hobbs appears seemingly out of nowhere to join a baseball league and in the span of one season becomes a legend.

look at him go!

Fun (?) fact: ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson was one of the inspirations for the character of Roy Hobbs. I’m sure there are more interesting facts out there about this movie, but my knowledge of baseball is very tiny and this was the only name I recognized.

My thoughts: Being left-handed, my dad used to joke with me that I would make an excellent baseball player. I loved the idea, but the truth was that the sport terrified me growing up. I played softball for a few seasons and I remember my mother bribing me with money if I would at least swing the bat and not cower in fear. No dice, mother. I still love the concept of the game, but I’ll leave it up to the professionals and tiny children who are braver than me to play.

So, Robert Redford, who played Roy Hobbs, was basically made for this role. His character is almost sickingly sweet with his high morals, but it works in this context of an old fashioned baseball legend. Any other person playing the role and I would’ve scoffed my way through the film, but with Robert Redford as the lead, I’ll let it slide. I have no idea if he plays baseball in real life, but he seems like the sort of person that would join a game for the fun of it.

The plot didn’t do much for me, but I can’t really remember why. My thoughts kind of glazed over at some point into a patriotic babble of apple pie, cookouts and playing catch with the Old Man. The Natural is one of those movies that gets passed down between father and son to strengthen an already intimate bond. It doesn’t really matter what happens because in the end, everyone is happy and America continues marching forward and bald eagles soar and……you get the picture.

Final review: 4/5. I thought about something lower but I feel any less would be unpatriotic.

Up next: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?