The virus has certainly messed up our sense of “normalcy.” From work to education, and from fun activities to visiting friends and family – just about everything has been effected in some way.
Another area of our lives that has become a victim of the pandemic is the sports. Sports have been cancelled and delayed. Players, coaches, staff… just about everyone is a possible virus victim. That is because it’s impossible to play some sports (baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, football…) without coming into close contact with another person.
One sport that has been effected is baseball.
I’m not a fan of baseball. My dad was an umpire and I went to A LOT of his games. I had to sit on the bleachers as as a kid and watch the game, just so I could go to the playground afterwards for a little while. I wasn’t old enough to go to the playground on my own, so I had to wait for my dad to finish umpiring the game before I could have fun. For that reason I’m not really a fan of the game.
Available today on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, Xbox and On Demand is the baseball film, Extra Innings.
Extra Innings stars Aidan Pierce Brennan, Alex Walton, Geraldine Singer, Simone Policano, Natasha Coppola-Shalom, and Mara Kassin.
Extra Innings is a beautifully written true-life story about a young man with a burning desire to follow his dream of playing baseball. This poignant film is about a family in crisis, and how honoring family or following your path, can intersect in ways that can change your life and perspective forever.
This film is about family, passion, and doing right thing.
The film is the true life story of a boy named David. David is Jewish and has older siblings. His one brother, Morris, suffers from schizophrenia and lives at home. Back then, having a child with some kind of a “disability” was frowned upon. For that reason, Morris seems to be locked away at home.
David has a sister, Vivian, who moved away to California, much to the dismay of their parents.
David’s family are very “old school,” and want David to follow their religion. They want him to study Hebrew and prepare for his bar mitzvah, but David has other plans. His is exceptionally good at baseball, and would much rather play the game then prepare for his “right of passage” into adulthood. David’s parents are against their son playing baseball.
David’s parents feel like David and his sister Rita are their only hope to carry on the business of the family and their religious beliefs. That is why they don’t want David to follow his passions, even knowing that baseball makes him happy in this dysfunctional family riddled with mental illnesses.
Regardless of how much his parents are against him playing baseball, David plays every chance he gets. He’s so good at it that he is offered a scholarship to play ball on the west coast near his sister.
David’s family faces a horrible tragedy which forces David to make the ultimate decision – does he follow his dreams, or does he give it all up to help his family and to become the man his parents expect him to be? To find out, you need to buy or rent Extra Innings. Look for it where ever movies are sold/rented.
Make sure you have a box of tissues handy when you watch this film. I found it very sad. I felt like I was on an “emotional rollercoaster” between being sad about his family’s situation, to happy and hopeful seeing how much baseball made David happy, and how it was his “happy place” amongst the issues that plagued his family and drained him of hope.
Initially I thought this was going to be a “Hallmark Channel” type of movie, but this film proved me wrong. It’s much deeper and forces you to really think about the situation David was faced with. Hallmark Channel movies tend to be overly cheerful and “fluffy,” if you know what I mean (I don’t mean that in a bad way either… I love Hallmark Channel movies!).
It’s hard to believe this is based on a true story.
Even though this movie is about a man’s dream to play baseball, I think the heart of this film centers on mental illnesses and family. It’s how a family deals with mental health issues and unimaginable tragedy, especially in an era when mental illness was considered “taboo,” and not something that people talked about or seeked help with.
Even though mental illness is more widely accepted with these days, there are still plenty of people and families that don’t want to face the truth when it comes to their mental health, or that of a loved one.
This film is really good. It surprised me, and I appreciate that. I wasn’t expecting the film to be much more than just a film about a guy who plays baseball.
The acting is very well done. You can feel the actor’s emotions and it made their portrayal of their character even more believable and convincing.
Below is the film’s trailer for your enjoyment.
Kimberly
*I received a free screener in order to review the film. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.