Beer on DVD no.49
Beer League
Surprisingly, despite the cover this isn't just another silly and
ghastly churn-out from the Porky's college comedy sausage machine. If
you can manage to stomach ten minutes of the dialogue there's a
tolerable story beneath. Well maybe it's some way from being politically
correct, it has been cited as "slob comedy at its very best". A beer
league is an amateur baseball or slow pitch softball league, deriving
its name from the fact many of the players tend to be overweight and/or
of below average physical condition, and consume massive quantities of
beer [Urban Dictionary]. Artie Lange is Artie, a jobless drunken ex-docker
who plays softball (less tough sort of baseball/rounders)
for a local team in smalltown New Jersey. If
you can recall the members of Top Cat's gang you've got a good idea of
the calibre of the guys in the team. Always bottom of the league they're
faced with their total relegation after the season-opening match between
them and local rivals degenerates into a brawl yet again. It's
new-found love in the form of Linda (Cara Buono) entering his life that
lights the flame of self-esteem for Artie.
Do or die, the team attempt to rally together and, in a deciding
who goes - who stays play-off, they do almost manage it. Hard to
believe it, Laura Metcalfe who plays Artie's mother is actually only 8
years older than him: now that's what you call character acting. Finally it's not the beer, it's the tequila that
these p***heads consume with it, that makes them such complete idiots.
Plenty of clips can be viewed on youtube e.g.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzbtyIF4SVY
. It was worth every penny I paid for my copy in the pound shop.
You've probably already gathered whether this movie is for you or not,
and it definitely needs its 18 certificate, whether you think that's
over or under the age.
to be printed in O-to-K , 2016 text ©RKW