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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1992)
28 ▼ a u g u s t 1882 ▼ Just o u t ■ i Lee's Leasing Lessons Lee In k tn a n n ▼ Easy-to-Underatand ■ i i 1 i ■■■ A League of Their Own -tsr i ▼ Individualized i in 3.5" x 3.5" Vinyl Removable Anti-OCA Bumper Stickers Lease Consultant ▼ Saves You Money Women in the audience are laughing, crying and experiencing vicarious sports thrills $ 1 each Before you buy or lease a vehicle, call 1 800 944-0227 • - Send SASE to: J. O tis 13807 SE M cL oughlin Blvd., Box 121 - ▼ Serving (Air Community Proudly ▼ M ilw au k ie,O R 97222 Up to 20 can be shipped in one en v elo p e^^ ^ Bed & B reakfast/R etreat R ogue River, O regon 97537 503/582/1757 800/788/1757 (l. to r.) Doris (Rosie O'Donnell), Mae (Madonna) and Dottie (Genna Davis) discuss strategy. S itu a te d on 32 co u n try acres with unlim ited by Sandra de Helen recreation & cultural a ctivité s nearby. Laze around our pool, soak in the hot tub or stroll the w oods... you d e c id e !4 THE CATBIRD SEAT BOOKSTORE WELCOMES... N aom i W olf T om S panbauer au th or o f T H E B E A U T Y MYTH: now out in paperback! au th or o f T H E M AN W H O F E L L IN L O V E W ITH T H E M O O N now out in paperback! (Anchor, $11.00) (Harper Collins, $12.00) MONDAY, AUG. 3rd 6pm-7:30pm WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 2ND N aom i Wolf w ill give an informal presentation an d sign copies o f her book. As part o f the ACLLTs * How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women Great Books! 17 years of Great Service! Great Location! 5 p m -7 p m "Uncensored Celebration ”, Tbm Spanbauer w ill discuss First Am endm ent Rights an d w ill read from and sign copies o f his novel. THE cat w o n iS FAT iw t k s io ö : Downtown’s Neighborhood Bookstore 913 S.W. BROADW AY • PORTLAND, OR 97205 222-5817 ould a movie get much better? Well, maybe — if they told us which ones were the dykes, gave us some hot love scenes between them, included women o f all races, ages and abilities and gave it to us for free— but A League ofTheir Own is pretty darned good. This Him, produced by Columbia Pictures, directed by Penny Marshall (who also gave us Big), starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Madonna (in that order), is playing locally at Act III Theatres. Women in the audience are laughing, crying and experiencing vicarious sports thrills. The screenplay by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel tells the story of two sisters from Willamette, Ore., who were recruited for the All American Girls’ Professional Baseball League in 1943 by a sleazy agent, played by Jon Lovitz. Geena Davis and Lori Petty are the sisters Dottie and Kit. Dottie is a young married woman whose hus band is off fighting in the war. Kit is her younger, always competitive, always resentful sister. They both play ball, but Dottie is taller, prettier and a better ball player. The agent recruits her for her combination of skill and good looks (he calls her a “dolly”). Dottie refuses to go off to Chicago to try out for the league unless Kit gets to go too. In another “sisterhood is powerful” scene (gor geous! too bad we don’t see more scenes like this in real life) both Dottie and Kit refuse to go farther than Denver unless the agent also accepts a power hitter named Marla whom he thinks is too ugly to play. Predictably Marla later becomes more lady like and acceptable looking and attracts a hus band. Once in Chicago, Dottie, Kit and Marla must win their places onto one of the teams through fierce competition. This is where they meet up with May (Madonna) and her sidekick, Doris. Here are two “toughs” from Brooklyn, but they respect good ball playing, and soon they’re all buddies. Of course they all make the same team. But before they do, there is yet another heart warming scene o f one woman looking out for C another when one young woman can’t read or write and so doesn’t know whether she’s on a team or on the dreaded cut list Teams chosen, uniforms dictated (yes, they really did have to wear dresses), the “girls” are now subjected to beauty and charm school. This is good for a few laughs, but they are bittersweet because we know this was all for real in 1943. Tom Hanks shows up as the team ’s coach. H e’s an alcoholic has-been professional ball player, hired for his celebrity status. Hanks does a good job in the role. Even though he received top billing, Hanks is not the star o f this m ovie- Geena Davis is. There is a nasty bit of business about halfway through the movie when Hanks kisses the chaper one and insults her and then Madonna poisons her so the “girls” can escape for a night out in a roadhouse. There are several moments of revelation for the various players as they become self-actual ized. The primary shift comes for Dottie and Kit, o f course, but there are others equally validating. The film continues to acknowledge the harsh reality of the 1940s with a scene showing several African-American women watching from out side the fence. One of the balls goes out to them, and an African-American woman picks it up and bums it in to Dottie. Much passes between their eyes. Another difficult reflection was the interac tion with a child who accompanied his mother on the tour. Too many jokes were at the expense of the child’s well-being. Things become progressively more interest ing, building to a World Series and an ultimate competition between the two sisters. When it’s over, you may not want to leave the theater — at least until there are women playing professional baseball again. So, go ahead, stay and watch the credits and see a few wonderful minutes of older women hitting the ball and running the bases. Then go home and write Fay Vincent (Commis sioner of Baseball in this country) a letter de manding that women be allowed to play...in real uniforms! W hat I ’m doing to fight the OCA I initiate conversations at work, with people I don't know that well, about why the OCA must be stopped. Sandra de Helen
