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‘A League of Their Own’ With Bill Simmons and Mallory Rubin

April 26, 2022 · A League of Their Own (1992) · Comedy · Drama · Sport · 1:46:01 · ▶ Listen on Spotify

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

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Hall of Fame Plaque

Bill Simmons▶ 5:20The movie's timeless quality, being ahead of its time on women's sports, capturing great performances at peak moments (Tom Hanks pre-legendary run, Madonna at fun career point), and its preservation as an eternal document that will be passed down for generations
Mallory Rubin▶ 6:08The film as a perfectly preserved lasting and eternal document that will never tire of rewatching and looks forward to sharing with future generations, with timeless quality due to its historical setting and high-quality baseball scenes

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 18:47Referenced Personal Best (1982) with Meriel Hemingway as Olympic high jumper, written/directed by Robert Towne, discussed box office performance and sports movie evolution from 1974-1996
Bill Simmons▶ 1:10:14Trivia run: a stunt double did Geena Davis's split catch (you can see they cheated); the peeing sound was Penny Marshall with a hose and a bucket, not Hanks; Hanks gained 30 pounds at a nearby Dairy Queen while Rosie O'Donnell was told to eat as little as possible; Madonna was moved from third base to the outfield because she couldn't handle ground balls; and Brenda Feigen's autobiography accused Penny Marshall of stealing the movie ('she screwed another woman just the way the worst male directors do').
Mallory Rubin▶ 13:06Discussed deleted scene of Dottie and Jimmy kissing, Tom Hanks' age concerns for the role, movie based on real All American Girls Professional Baseball League, documentary about the league inspired Penny Marshall to make the film
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:09:34Jimmy Dugan is loosely based on Jimmie Foxx (with a little Hack Wilson) - Foxx hit 58 homers in 1932 (the movie says Dugan did it in '36), had 534 career HRs to Dugan's 487, and actually managed in the AAGPBL. Called the Penny Marshall hose-and-bucket fact one of her favorite bits of half-assed internet research ever.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 22:17The first two Dottie Kit scenes establishing the sisters and their relationship, and the tryouts scene where they meet Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell
Mallory Rubin▶ 23:07The Oregon recruitment sequence with Ernie's caustic approach and the Dottie-Kit dynamic, and the tryout montage

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 29:22David Strathairn — Apex Mountain for a guy named Ira, referencing David Strathairn's character
Mallory Rubin▶ 29:30Discusses other Iras but doesn't definitively agree or disagree with the pick

What's Aged the Worst

Bill Simmons▶ 51:06Using different actresses for the older versions instead of aging makeup on the original actresses, and Kit's character being annoying and winning despite bad behavior
Mallory Rubin▶ 51:35Hooch quitting the team after marrying Nelson - calls it 'an all-time What's Aged the Worst' and 'a big L for the female gender'

Joey Pants Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:02:40Mark Holton — Mentions two candidates: the guy who played Squiggy (baseball announcer) and Grown up Stillwell (played by Chubby from Teen Wolf), but says Stillwell is better
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:03:31Joey Slotnick — Joey Slotnick, credited as Doris fan number two

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:39:17Geena Davis
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:39:27Geena Davis — Geena Davis as Dottie, though mentions Madonna and Rosie as a duo could make a case

Movies Referenced (27)

Bull Durham (1988)

4 mentions · Mallory Rubin, Bill Simmons▶ 14:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Teen Wolf (1985)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:02:43IMDb ↗Lb ↗

The Firm (1993)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 29:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Blue Chips (1994)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 5:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Fargo (1996)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:15:44IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rocky (1976)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 17:38IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Apollo 13 (1995)

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 10:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

As Good as It Gets (1997)

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 4:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bad Boys (1995)

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:06:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Beautiful Girls (1996)

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 43:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Black Widow (2021)

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:00:29IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Field of Dreams (1989)

1 mentions · Mallory Rubin▶ 17:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (6)

Penny Marshall

19 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin · Known for Big, A League of Their Own▶ 2:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Stephen Berkman

2 mentions · Mallory Rubin, Bill Simmons · Known for Cold Mountain, Mirror Mirror, Killers of the Flower Moon▶ 46:29IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Chloe Cherry

1 mentions · Mallory Rubin▶ 1:25:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Chris Corner

1 mentions · Mallory Rubin · Known for The Saint, Open Your Eyes▶ 1:21:03IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Francis Ford Coppola

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II▶ 1:08:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ken Burns

1 mentions · Mallory Rubin▶ 16:19IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (41)

Tom Hanks

17 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin · Known for Cast Away, Big, Forrest Gump▶ 2:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rosie O'Donnell

11 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin · Known for A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, Tarzan▶ 26:01IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Geena Davis

10 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin · Known for Thelma & Louise, The Long Kiss Goodnight, The Fly▶ 7:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Lori Petty

8 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin · Known for Tank Girl, A League of Their Own, Free Willy▶ 8:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Christopher Walken

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin · Known for Catch Me If You Can, The Deer Hunter▶ 1:01:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sandra Bullock

5 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Proposal, Miss Congeniality, Speed▶ 1:04:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John C. Reilly

4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Chicago, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Guardians of the Galaxy▶ 8:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Philip Wrigley

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin▶ 1:07:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bill Pullman

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin · Known for Independence Day, Spaceballs▶ 34:17IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Johnny Bench

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin▶ 1:27:01IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jon Lovitz

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for A League of Their Own, Rat Race▶ 47:39IMDb ↗Lb ↗

3 Little Women

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin▶ 1:20:17IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (1)

Taylor Worst

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin▶ 51:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (2)

Christophe Legal

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Pink Panther▶ 1:00:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Grantland

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Taking of Pelham 123, The Other Guys▶ 1:41:27IMDb ↗Lb ↗