"If more of us valued food and cheer and song over hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." - J.R.R. Tolkien
Pages
▼
Monday, June 24, 2013
Baseball Tunes: We Are Family
The disco classic "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge was released in September of 1979, right in the middle of baseball's pennant race. Willie Stargell, star of the Pittsburgh Pirates, claimed the song as an anthem for his team. The Pirates went on to win their division by two games, sweep the NLCS and beat the heavily-favored Orioles in the World Series in seven games. Memories of the '79 Pirates are forever inextricably linked to the song.
My own favorite use of the song is the opening shot of The Birdcage. Pure cinema magic:
My Baseball Fantasy
Vermont League: won, 5-4-1 (66-44-10 overall, 1st place out of 12 teams)
Maryland League: tied, 5-5 (59-54-7, 4th of 10)
Public League: 85.5 Rotisserie points (2nd of 12)
My Player of the Week: David Wright (Third Baseman, Mets) with 3 home runs, 5 RBI, 5 runs and a .361 batting average
It's good - but uneven. There are moments of genius. That opening shot is one of the all-time greats. Nathan Lane is wonderful, of course, and Hank Azaria is fantastic. The rest is okay.
I agree that her performance in Parenthood is wonderful. She played the deer-in-the-headlights mother a lot in the '80s but her work with Woody shows a much broader range.
LMT is great. Wiest (along with a few others who did a great job, like Harry Connick and Niles from Frasier) suffers only by standing near Jodie's shadow.
Hank Azaria in the Birdcage is another source of constant quotage in our house. Any kind of analgesic pill is of course called "Pirin." :-)
Regarding LMT, I think it's cool how child prodigies are cast in a movie about child prodigies. Jodie Foster doesn't really count as she's the director but also Connick. Renaissance man George Plimpton, a Squid favorite, is also in the movie.
Regarding Azaria, his entrance in the "I Could Have Danced All Night" scene is priceless.
Birdcage has quite a cast. Did you like the film as a whole?
ReplyDeleteIt's good - but uneven. There are moments of genius. That opening shot is one of the all-time greats. Nathan Lane is wonderful, of course, and Hank Azaria is fantastic. The rest is okay.
DeleteYou?
I've never seen it. I love Dianne Wiest (sp?) though -- she was just fabulous in Parenthood. And I do like Hank Azaria.
DeleteTwo Oscars for Wiest - I did not realize. Both for Woody Allen films.
DeleteShe's singular.
DeleteI agree that her performance in Parenthood is wonderful. She played the deer-in-the-headlights mother a lot in the '80s but her work with Woody shows a much broader range.
DeleteI'm open to suggestions on particular films.
DeleteHave you seen Little Man Tate? Not Woody Allen but a great movie. Wiest's part is fun.
DeleteWow. I did watch LMT and can't remember her! How very odd. I may have to look that up again.
DeleteShe's the Mensa group teacher.
DeleteI also like her in Edward Scissorhands.
LMT is great. Wiest (along with a few others who did a great job, like Harry Connick and Niles from Frasier) suffers only by standing near Jodie's shadow.
DeleteHank Azaria in the Birdcage is another source of constant quotage in our house. Any kind of analgesic pill is of course called "Pirin." :-)
Regarding LMT, I think it's cool how child prodigies are cast in a movie about child prodigies. Jodie Foster doesn't really count as she's the director but also Connick. Renaissance man George Plimpton, a Squid favorite, is also in the movie.
DeleteRegarding Azaria, his entrance in the "I Could Have Danced All Night" scene is priceless.
I loved the use of "We Are Family" in Ken Burns' "Baseball" series when describing the Pirates of that era..
ReplyDeleteYes! And such a miserable path it has been for the franchise since. It's great to see them doing so well this year.
Delete