{"id":43987,"date":"2022-08-13T05:47:56","date_gmt":"2022-08-13T05:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/not-quite-a-home-run\/"},"modified":"2022-08-13T05:47:56","modified_gmt":"2022-08-13T05:47:56","slug":"not-quite-a-home-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/not-quite-a-home-run\/","title":{"rendered":"Not quite a home run"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The 1992 movie \u201cA League of Their Own\u201d gets a small-screen adaptation in the Prime Video series of the same name.<\/p>\n<p>The result is entertaining enough and should win over nostalgic fans \u2014 but it&#8217;s not quite a home run.<\/p>\n<p>Now streaming, \u201cA League of Their Own,\u201d has a similar premise to the movie, which starred Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Rosie O&#8217;Donnell, Madonna, and Jon Lovitz.  Created by Will Graham (\u201cMozart in the Jungle\u201d) and Abbi Jacobson (\u201cBroad City\u201d), who also stars, the series is set in 1943 and follows the Rockford Peaches, a women&#8217;s team in the new All American Girls Professional Baseball League , formed because World War II has threatened the existence of Major League Baseball with men off fighting overseas.<\/p>\n<p>The series begins with Carson Shaw (Jacobson) taking a train from Idaho to Chicago for baseball tryouts.  On every way, she meets and befriends fellow baseball hopefuls Greta (D&#8217;Arcy Carden, \u201cThe Good Place\u201d) and Jo (Melanie Field).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption>Baseball players Lupe (Roberta Colindrez) and Carson (Abbi Jacobson), right, in \u201cA League of Their Own.\u201d <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Anne Marie Fox\/Prime Video<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-7.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Nick Offerman in a baseball uniform. \" class=\"wp-image-23436817\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-7.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-7.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-7.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption>Nick Offerman as their coach, Dove, in \u201cA League of Their Own.\u201d <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Anne Marie Fox\/Prime Video<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-9.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Dove (Nick Offerman), Carson (Abbi Jacobson) and some team members on &quot;A League of Their Own.&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-23436831\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-9.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-9.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-9.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption>Dove (Nick Offerman), Carson (Abbi Jacobson) and some team members on \u201cA League of Their Own.\u201d <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Anne Marie Fox\/Prime Video<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There&#8217;s no one-to-one translation from the movie.  Carson has roughly the same background as Geena Davis &#8216;character \u2013 a housewife-turned-catcher with a husband who&#8217;s off at war \u2013 but she has a different name, no sister and a plot exploring her sexual identity (not in the movie).  Nick Offerman has the Tom Hanks role as their coach, but here he&#8217;s Dove Porter, not Jimmy Dugan, and he&#8217;s not a cynical alcoholic.  Many other plot points remain similar, such as dealing with skeptical fans and media, uniforms that aren&#8217;t practical (\u201cWe can&#8217;t play in skirts!\u201d they insist) and some conflicts with each other, even as they&#8217;re brought together by the game.  Original star Rosie O&#8217;Donnell cameos as a bartender. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cA League of Their Own\u201d also takes a deeper dive into race and LGBTQ+ issues than its big-screen predecessor.  When two black women, pitcher Max Chapman (Chante Adams) and her best friend Clance Morgan (Gbemisola Ikumelo), show up to tryouts, they&#8217;re told to \u201cgo on home\u201d specifically because of their race.  Meanwhile, Carson&#8217;s relationship with Greta soon turns flirty.  These elements deepen the story and make the case for why a movie like this can be adapted into a show \u2014 it&#8217;s got something new to say and mixes in the film&#8217;s ingredients.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-2.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Carson (Abbi Jacobson) with Greta (D'Arcy Carden) in &quot;A League of Their Own.&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-23436764\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption>Carson (Abbi Jacobson) with Greta (D&#8217;Arcy Carden) in \u201cA League of Their Own.\u201d <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Nicola Goode\/PrimeVideo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-3.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Pitcher Max (Chant\u00e9 Adams) and her friend Clance (Gbemisola Ikumelo), right, stand on a field. \" class=\"wp-image-23436775\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-3.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-3.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-3.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption>Pitcher Max (Chant\u00e9 Adams) and her friend Clance (Gbemisola Ikumelo), right. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Nicola Goode\/PrimeVideo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Team members Esti (Priscilla Delgado), Maybelle (Molly Ephraim), Jo (Melanie Field) Shirley (Kate Berlant), and Carson (Abbi Jacobson) right stand by a staircase balcony. \" class=\"wp-image-23436792\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption>Team members Esti (Priscilla Delgado), Maybelle (Molly Ephraim), Jo (Melanie Field) Shirley (Kate Berlant), and Carson (Abbi Jacobson) right.  <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Nicola Goode\/PrimeVideo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But these qualities alone, while welcome, can&#8217;t make it a winning game.  A lot of the pacing has the meandering feel of a particularly drab inning of baseball, while Max&#8217;s story is largely isolated from the rest of the plot \u2014 which often feels like the show is stalling for time until the stories dovetail.  <\/p>\n<p>Much of the dialogue, too, is disconcertingly modern (Carson&#8217;s speech is peppered with \u201clike\u201d and \u201cI mean\u201d and phrasing such as, \u201csuper-excited!\u201d).  While anachronisms work in some shows as a deliberate choice (\u201cDickinson,\u201d for instance), here it comes across as wishy-washy, as if \u201cA League of Their Own\u201d is unable to decide if it wants to feel like it&#8217;s rooted in World War II era or would rather be a modern series that simply has some window-dressings of the era, but otherwise shrugs it off. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-4.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Max (Chant\u00e9 Adams) stands in a dugout holding a baseball mitt in &quot;A League of Their Own.&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-23436868\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-4.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-4.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/league-of-their-own-4.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption>Max (Chant\u00e9 Adams) in \u201cA League of Their Own.\u201d <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Courtesy of Prime Video<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For fans of the movie, it&#8217;s worth tuning in.  And for those looking for a dramedy about women playing baseball in the 1940s that doesn&#8217;t gloss over topics such as race and sexuality, it&#8217;s an enjoyable enough watch.  The ensemble cast is winsome, and the issues they struggle with feel topical.  But it&#8217;s also jerky and uneven \u2014 with the feel of a show that&#8217;s clearing its throat and trying to decide on its tone as it unfolds. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>    .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 1992 movie \u201cA League of Their Own\u201d gets a small-screen adaptation in the Prime Video series of the same name. The result is entertaining enough and should win over nostalgic fans \u2014 but it&#8217;s not quite a home run. Now streaming, \u201cA League of Their Own,\u201d has a similar premise to the movie, which &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/not-quite-a-home-run\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Not quite a home run<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[5],"tags":[12811,6793,109,17334,2298,2261,397],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":50715,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/where-to-stream-the-baseball-series\/","url_meta":{"origin":43987,"position":0},"title":"Where to Stream the Baseball Series","date":"August 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Put on your baseball caps and prepare for the new Rockford Peaches to hit a home run in the TV adaptation of A League of Their Own. Based on the iconic 1992 movie by Penny Marshall, the series follows the players in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, as well\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44703,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/why-its-not-the-remake-you-expect\/","url_meta":{"origin":43987,"position":1},"title":"Why it&#8217;s not the &#8216;remake&#8217; you expect","date":"August 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"We all know the scene from \"A League of Their Own.\"During a baseball game in Penny Marshall's 1992 comedy, a Black woman (DeLisa Chinn-Tyler) in the stands recovers a foul ball and mightily throws it back to faraway player Ellen Sue (Freddie Simpson) on the field. The nameless spectator, who's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/13\/USAT\/1e167c79-4195-417c-96c9-3cd274c65b67-michael-stuhlbarg-colin-firth_0.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36435,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/in-a-league-of-their-own-abbi-jacobson-makes-the-team\/","url_meta":{"origin":43987,"position":2},"title":"In &#8216;A League of Their Own,&#8217; Abbi Jacobson Makes the Team","date":"August 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Abbi Jacobson really can play baseball, she insisted. Just not when the cameras are rolling. \u201cI fully get the yips when someone is watching me,\u201d she told me.This was on a recent weekday morning, on a shady bench with a view of the ball fields in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Jacobson\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41481,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/league-of-their-own-no-crying-in-baseball-just-fixing-old-errors\/","url_meta":{"origin":43987,"position":3},"title":"&#8216;League of Their Own&#8217;: No Crying in Baseball, Just Fixing Old Errors","date":"August 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A League of Their Own is a pretty darn perfect movie. The Penny Marshall-directed movie from 1992, about the women recruited to play professional baseball while so many men were off fighting World War II, is a crackerjack sports movie, a winning ensemble comedy, and a well-hit drama about female\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/lazy-load-0.7\/images\/1x1.trans.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":49862,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/a-league-of-their-own-on-prime-video-is-the-best-new-show-on-tv-screw-the-review-bombers\/","url_meta":{"origin":43987,"position":4},"title":"A League of Their Own on Prime Video is the best new show on TV \u2014 screw the review bombers","date":"August 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Reboots can be hard-sells. That said, Prime Video's A League of Their Own is a show I need you all to be watching. It's not perfect \u2014 I'll get to its one main issue, storyline juggling, later \u2014 but this past weekend I experienced the best kind of modern streaming\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16892,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/how-a-league-of-their-own-series-characters-nod-to-the-1992-movie-the-hollywood-reporter\/","url_meta":{"origin":43987,"position":5},"title":"How &#8216;A League of Their Own&#8217; Series Characters Nod to the 1992 Movie \u2013 The Hollywood Reporter","date":"July 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This July marks the 30th anniversary of the Penny Marshall-directed A League of Their Owna cinematic classic that reintroduced \u2014 and in some cases, merely introduced \u2014 American audiences to one of the most distinctive periods in US sports history. It's also just one month ahead of when Abbi Jacobson\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Lazy loaded image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/LOTO_S1_UT_102_210726_FOXANN_00336RC_1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/a-league-of-their-own-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43987"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43987\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}