Customer Reviews

Mr. Baseball

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

For one thing, this movie pivoted on the theme of baseball is a world better than the Madonna/Davis starring "A league of their own" or the more recent travesties like "A field of dreams". For another, the schism between American and Japanese ideologies/way of life is just so truly captured that it is difficult to believe this movie is not the de-facto recommendation for people interested in Japan. Guess it missed out on the major league scene because, well, quite literally it is not about US major leagues?

A US baseball star (Selleck) is traded to a Japanese baseball team and finds himself at intellectual loggerheads with the extant coach of the team. This, plus a slight romantic sub-plot as he falls in love with the coach's daughter.

Barring some minor cheesy moments -- e.g., when the coach takes Selleck to a golf driving range and makes him hit the balls with a baseball bat, only to hear "I want to hit balls" instead of "I want to hit baseballs"...hmm -- the accuracy of Japanese life is truly stunning. Including, eating ramen with vociferous slurps, digging chopsticks vertically in rice bowls being a no-no, the language used to communicate between the American/Japanese, even a scene with a real on-sen. A refreshing break after stereotype galore seen in movies of that time, including the entertaining "Black Rain" or the absolutely goofball "Rising Sun".

To cut to the chase, this is an under-rated gem of a movie, very well shot, some messages about life and profession as seen from two very different perspectives that are likely to resonate with either side. Selleck takes the cake with his acting, baring his tush (literally, I may add) to portray a grouchy American, snubbing people relentlessly and throwing tantrums in public, then letting us inside this character to understand his views. Takakura Ken, needless to say, is fascinating as usual.

A must watch if you are interested in Japan, or baseball, or a good light-hearted cross cultural take on life and sport.

MR. BASEBALL is a film of paradoxes. Written and filmed as a "light, sports comedy" it truly has a heartwarming core as human and universal as some of Capra's finest. At the plot level, you have the paradox of baseball, a fine old American game, as it is played in Japan - turned around, with American values cast off and Japanese values imprinted upon the game. (Some of the superficial "sports comedy" results from Jack's uncomprehending disbelief at how "basa-boru" is played in Japan.) You also have a lead character who's presented as an over-the-hill, aging baseball star, but who is actually quite immature - pro ball allowed him to postpone growing up. And you have a lead character who is rudely resistant to the changes in his life that are being forced upon him, refusing to accept the curveball that life has given him, in the midst of a new country, a new manager, a new team, and a new girlfriend, who have all welcomed him and try to accept him. Sound like heavy stuff? Not really. It's a charming "clash of cultures" comedy that takes place on the national, sports, romantic, and professional levels. But if you watch it sensitively enough, you will also find a great story about a man who has to abandon his immaturity and grow up way too late in life (causing some amount of personal pain), and finds success in places he never expected it. I love the story, but I also have great respect for Selleck's performance; he bares his tush (literally) to portray an ugly American, insulting people and throwing tantrums in public, then lets us inside this character to understand his dismay. It also doesn't hurt if you're a big fan of Takakura Ken like I am. MR. BASEBALL is a surprising "loss of innocence" tale.

I loved this movie! It is so funny and yet so many of the situations in Japan are similar to my own experiences. If you've never been to Japan, you will still laugh at all the right places for the right reasons. If you've been to Japan, it will be that much funnier. The scene where Tom Selleck drags his interpreter into his apartment is great because a Japanese person would NEVER wear his shoes indoors, so the scene where this poor soul is being dragged into the room by his tie and trying to kick off his shoes is classic. Watch it, you won't be disappointed!

You don't have to be a baseball fan to love this movie. The comedic backwash of two completely opposite cultures clashing drives this movie and Selleck and crew work it magnificently without being demeaning to either. It is really a satisfying movie and can be enjoyed by all ages. Remember, you don't have to be baseball fan to love it.

Tom Selleck plays Jack Elliot in this funny and insightful comedy about an American baseball player 'demoted' to the Japanese league. It has all the cultural in-jokes that you'd expect including "Taking a bath before washing", "Wearing shoes indoors", and "You say one thing, the translator will make it sound nice".

But at the heart of the movie, the story is all about accepting foreign culture. Jack butts heads with Japanese culture. He is loose, relaxed, and immature. The Japanese are tight, uptight, and very serious. As long as everyone sees him as an outsider, they will respect him in public but doubt him in private, and he will never truly fit in.

After a series of humiliating losses, he finally reaches the point where he realizes that his strength and skill are not enough to defeat his problems and he turns to the coach and Japanese culture to help him overcome his ego. The coach admonishes him to stop feeding off of his past successes lest he eat all those successes away, look only to the future in other words. He does so and the rest of the movie shows Elliot becoming stronger in the stadium and spiritual world. By embracing the Japanese Way, he becomes a better person.

However, the flip side to this movie is that the Japanese Way has led to a failing baseball team. Despite the coach's best efforts to harangue the players into playing well, they are too gunshy to play their best. It isn't until the coach accepts that the softer method of coaching based on encouraging the players and fostering a team spirit that the team's slump ends. Jack Elliot made his own mark on the team by bringing trademark American-style attitude to the team.

In the end the message is clear. At the micro-level, the Japanese style of living with its emphasis on detail, cooperation, and austerity is beneficial, and the American style emphasizing laziness, freedom, and individuality is detrimental. At the macro-level, though, the message is quite the opposite. Success is brought by each individual's freedom to make mistakes, being relaxed, and not having an oppressive culture looming above.

It's a fun movie with a lot of insight into the Japanese culture as well as insight into American culture. Well worth renting at least once.

The biggest surprise of "Mr. Baseball" is not that it's actually a pretty good movie, which it is, but that it's one of the few entries in the "Wacky Japan" genre that delivers an honest portrayal of Japan and the Japanese people, as well as as the awkwardness of being a foreigner in Japan, instead of stereotype-ridden nonsense like "Gung Ho!" and "Lost in Translation."

The plot is pretty basic. An aging baseball player gets traded to a Japanese team. Proceed fish out of water story, complete with convenient love story and eventual cultural reconciliation, which shows that both countries have something to give. Its a common enough theme, but still worthwhile if pulled off well. The story has a foundation of truth, being based in part on American ball player Randy Bass and his attempt to break Japanese legend Sadaharu Oh's home run record while playing for the Osaka-based Hanshin Tigers.

Much of the film is carried by Tom Selleck, who has shown in films like "Quigley Down Under" and "In & Out" that he can handle the big screen. He has an easy charm about him, which helps him establish a likable character even when he is being a big loudmouth American jerk. His foil is Coach Uchiyama, played by Ken Takakura who is arguably the greatest Japanese actor of his generation. It was a shock to hear Takakura speak English. I didn't know he could! The two represent the obstinate styles of their representative countries, neither willing to give in or admit the strengths of the other. In-between these two are the American baseball player Max "Hammer" Dubois, who has been in Japan for awhile and has assimilated more or less, and the beautiful Hiroko, who is finally strong enough to break through Selleck's pigheadedness.

So no surprises with the story, but anyone looking for a real window in what it is to come to Japan as a foreigner could do worse that checking out "Mr. Baseball." Its one of the few movies I wish I had actually seen before I came to Japan, although seeing it afterwards I was able to reminisce fondly over the same mistakes I made, and the same stupid assumptions I brought over.

I've watched a number of baseball movies over the years, and "Mr. Baseball" is among the best of them all and probably the most underrated. Anyone who's studied Japanese baseball will recognize the accuracy in which the game there is portrayed, as well as the culture shock most American players go through (and often never get over). Tom Selleck is a great choice for the role of Jack Elliott, an ex-Yankee sold to the Chunichi Dragons, much to his dismay. Dennis Haysbert is solid in a supporting role as a fellow American player on the Dragons who tries to help Jack adjust, and Aya Takanashi is gorgeous and classy as Jack's love interest. This video is absolutely worth buying, since you really don't have to be a fan of the game to enjoy it. I rate "Mr. Baseball" in the same class as "Bull Durham" and "A League of Their Own" and much better than either of the "Major League" movies, "Angels In The Outfield," or any of the other more recent baseball flicks.

Mr. Baseball

Engaging film that tells it like it is about life in Japan for a visiting geijin (foreigner). Whether its navigating a bathroom for the first time to enjoying the wonders of Kobe beef or looking at the abject horror in the faces of your girlfriends parents the first time you meet them. Mr. Baseball hits a homerun. Its also an entertaining movie, arrogant (yet ever ingratiating) Selleck plays an over the hill baseball player shipped off to Japan by his agent. With the help of his new manager and the new girlfriend he meets, he learns how to grow up and fit in, but it isn't an easy learning experience.

While not academy material, this movie holds its own and your attention through out and is full of laughs as well as insight, certainly more then I expected when I picked this one up.

No extras on the DVD other then subtitles.

Enjoy, have a laugh and if you ever lived in Japan, enjoy the memories of that unique experience as they come flooding back.

This movie is very interesting.Of course the culture or tradition of Japan is exaggerated and described as very stereotypical (it is all the more fun to us), but it more clearly tell the Japanese many faults we have to change.That is we Japanese have to be independent, or had better have a fun in playing.And not only the Japanese but also the American will learn the good aside of the way of opposide country, accepting or uniting.Whether you are Japanese or American, this movie median between us will case good effect to you.You'll laugh and learn because there are extreme different cultures.

Tom Selleck plays a spoiled, womanizing, washed-up Major League ball player who gets traded to a team in Japan. After a few temper tantrums and childish pranks he realizes that he needs to do more than coast along if his career in baseball is going to survive.

With the help of the coach (Ken Takakura), the coach's lovely daughter and his assigned interpreter he learns to respect the traditions of Japan and its people. He also learns that what you put in is what you get back. In learning he is able to teach the coach and his fellow players to enjoy the "game" of baseball.

This is ONE of my favourite baseball movies. It's witty and light entertainment that offers a glimpse into Japanese culture and the business of baseball. Selleck is believable as a baseball giant. Reviewed by M. E. Wood.