Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 16, 1994                   TAG: 9407190004
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B-10   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FAIR BALL

But some of the action moves too slowly for younger viewers and the supernatural elements of the story are handled so clumsily they'll try the patience of anyone who's outgrown the tooth fairy.

The real key to the film is the casting. It's a solid mix of cute children and noncute character actors that helps an uneven story over the rough spots.

Young Roger (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a foster child who lives a bike-ride away from the California Angels' ball park. Maggie Nelson (Brenda Fricker) looks after Roger and J.P. (Milton Davis Jr.), but they all know that's a temporary arrangement. The boys come from troubled family situations that aren't likely to improve, and Maggie is licensed for short-term foster care only.

The only happiness in the boys' lives is baseball, and with the Angels deep in the cellar, that's cold comfort. Manager George Knox (Danny Glover) can't do anything with his talent-challenged team of has-beens. Then one afternoon at the park, Roger witnesses a miracle. A real angel helps a fielder make an impossible catch. As Al (Christopher Lloyd), the other angels' manager, explains it, these are unpredictable beings who come and go as they please and hate publicity. Only Roger can see them.

So, if Roger could persuade George that he can tell which player is about to receive divine assistance, the Angels might have a shot at the pennant.

Do you need to know more?

The screenplay credited to Dorothy Kingsley, George Wells and Holly Goldberg Sloan (and based on a 1951 film) follows all the rules for a sports picture right down to the last cliche. The plotline concerning foster care is handled with a fair amount of realism, and so might upset some kids. The ``morphing'' effects for the angels are few and inventive, but they're so slick that they're divorced from the rest of the action. Something subtler and more realistic, along the lines of ``Field of Dreams'' would have been twice as effective.

But director William Dear chose to go with the current trend. He did get solid performances from his cast. Seven year-old Milton Davis Jr., last seen refusing to give his soft drink to Shaquille O'Neal in a TV ad, is one of the cutest little scene-stealers ever to hit the big screen. Glover and Fricker may not equal their best work, but they're fine with their young co-stars. Tony Danza, Ben Johnson, Jay O. Sanders and Taylor Negron provide able back-up in well-written supporting roles.

If the reaction of the kids in a recent preview screening is accurate, ``Angels In the Outfield'' won't keep them entertained all the way through. But in the last reel, when it pulls out all the stops and becomes completely manipulative, most of the youngsters in the audience will be cheering and applauding.

Angels In the Outfield **

A Disney release playing at the Salem Valley 8 and Valley View Mall 6. 100 min. Rated PG for a little rough language, slow-motion tobacco juice spitting.