The Babe follows the life of George Herman Ruth (Babe Ruth), the legendary American baseball player who was renowned for his extraordinary ability to hit home runs. The film follows his life from the early years when he was abandoned at a strict catholic orphanage by his father as he was uncontrollable and labelled as a terror. We see the initial discovery of his ability to hit the ball harder and further than most kids which led to him being discovered, at the age of 19, by a talent scout who signs him up for the Boston Orioles, a minor league baseball team.

Although I am not a huge fan of baseball, The Babe is a thoroughly enjoyable movie, mainly down to John Goodman's portrayal of Babe Ruth. Unlike other baseball movies, such as "Field of Dreams" and "For Love of the Game", The Babe follows the real life story of legendary baseball player George Herman Ruth and in doing so is as much educational as entertaining. Where the film does seem to have problems is that it portrays Ruth as basically an out of control, overgrown child who gets to big for his boots and does not really dwell on any of the positive aspects of his career. Although this side of his life was as legendary as his ability on the field, there are many more aspects of his life that are not demonstrated in the film. One of these which was shown, and one which Ruth is most famous for, was his promise to a sick child in hospital to hit the ball twice clear out of the stadium.

Probably the best thing about the movie is John Goodman as George Herman Ruth, and without him this film would by no means be as enjoyable as it is. Although the film is essentially a drama and not a comedy, Goodman's portrayal of Babe is at times laugh out loud funny as he behaves like a kid in a candy shop. Even though the film concentrates on the negative sides of his character, Goodman brings tenderness to many of the scenes, none more than in the scene where he dishes out new shoes to hundreds of orphaned and poor children. Alongside Goodman are Trini Alvarado as his first wife Helen and Kelly McGillis as his second wife Clare. Both of which are well played and substance to the movie, but are never really explored to their extent. The same can be said of Ruth's relationship to fellow baseball player Jumpin' Joe Dugan, played by Bruce Boxleitner, although critical to the film is never exploited to its full potential.

The soundtrack to the film, although not very prominent is typical of the sounds of the era and the few pieces which are actually used really help to set the mood of the movie.

Director: Arthur Hiller
Producer(s): John Fusco
Writer(s): John Fusco

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