This film has the typical gross humor in a movie dished out for twelve year olds and teens, i.e. flatulence, comments like “buttface,” and a kid who is hit in the privates with a baseball. The plot includes some kids sneaking in to see a movie, and the sheriff, who knows, allows it. They do get caught and flee for their lives not long after the movie begins.
The good news is that the film does have a moral. Baseball great Tommy Santorelli, an egotitistical chump who is a superstar player on the Dodgers, goes back in time when he is hit in the head with a pitch in batting practice. Suddenly it is 1976 and young Tommy is in his teens and living with his mom again, the mother he lost to cancer. As he teaches the local sandlot team how to really play baseball, the team improves and he begins to form a bond with them. The team faces its greatest challenge when they must win a game against a rival team, whose coach is determined to purchase the sandlot and bulldoze it for greedy purposes. Tommy doesn’t want to entirely change history–he still wants to be a superstar, but suddenly he realizes that he has many of his priorities out of place. This film is awarded three doves and we recommend it for ages twelve and above due to the gross humor and a son’s backtalk to his father. It also has some great music from the 70s. Kids who love baseball will enjoying hanging out on this sandlot for an hour and a half!