Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: FRIDAY, July 1, 1994 TAG: 9407020019 SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 7 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: RITA KEMPLEY THE WASHINGTON POST DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The debut of director Andrew Scheinman and screenwriters Gregory K. Pincus and Adam Scheinman, the movie is a collection of hardball highlights with an occasional timeout for plot development as brave little Billy trades words with umps and offers his players tips on ball-playing mechanics.
But as time passes, Billy finds that the job is coming between him and his buddies (Billy Sullivan, Miles Feulner). There's just too darn much paperwork. Like the grown-ups around him, the boy has lost contact with his inner child.
The ballplayers themselves are a well-drawn, enjoyably kooky bunch, but it's absolutely impossible to believe that they would accept Billy's leadership. And of all the child actors in the movie, the scrawny 13-year-old star shows the least presence.
The film also stars ``thirtysomething's'' Timothy Busfield as the all-star first baseman who romances Billy's mother (Ashley Crow). In a fit of jealous pique, the boy benches the baseman, with results that are as predictable as Billy's eventual change of heart. But why go on? ``Little Big League'' goes to the bottom of the standings.
Little Big League: A Columbia pictures release, playing at the Salem Valley 8. Rated PG for occasional vulgar language, mature themes. 19 minutes.
by CNB