Believe it or not, there was another movie called Angels in the Outfield made in 1951.  However, that is not the main oddity on which I would focus for the moment with the 1994 version, the subject of today’s review.  Besides, Hollywood recycles films all the time.  Further, you have to admit that it is convenient that there is a Major League Baseball (MLB) team that goes by the name Angels.  This fact proved too convenient for Disney, who bought the rights and seemingly the team.  Their motivations, of course, were not anything Spiritual, though it must be allowed that their efforts in this department are passable.  More on Spirituality later.  For now, the strange coincidence I thought of only after watching this sports flick is the influence of the Mouse on professional athletics.  For example, not long following the release of The Mighty Ducks (1992), we get the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1993.  When 1994’s Angels in the Outfield came out, the team was called the California Angels.  Yet, their stadium is in Anaheim, which is the headquarters for the Walt Disney Corporation.  Hence, in 1996, two years after Disney makes this film, they become the Anaheim Angels, with the Mouse purchasing them outright in 1997.  Since then, they have changed their name a couple of times, becoming the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and now just the Los Angeles Angels.  They still play in Anaheim, though, so I do not get the “Los Angeles” part since they are two separate cities.  What does any of this have to do with today’s flick?  Not much, but such are the data that runs through my brain while viewing certain motion pictures.

To be fair, Angels in the Outfield opens on boys Roger Bomman (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and J.P. (Milton Davis Jr.) riding their bikes around Angel Stadium, the Anaheim home park for the California Angels.  They are foster brothers, living in the home of Maggie Nelson (Brenda Fricker).  She is waiting for them when they get back, especially for Roger, whose father, Mr. Bomman (Dermot Mulroney), is waiting inside.  Roger believes his time is come to go away with dad, but Mr. Bomman instead says that he cannot take his son.  As Mr. Bomman mounts his motorcycle to leave, Roger wonders when they will be together.  Dad replies by saying when the Angels win the pennant.  This seems impossible given that the team is in last place and in disarray, scenes of which are sprinkled in to this point.  That night, and bless his little heart, Roger prays that he can one day have a family, adding one for J.P., too.  The following day, they are part of a group of boys that go to the Angels next game.  Immediately, things do not appear to be going the way of the hometown faithful.  Then, with a line drive flying over the head of left fielder Ben Williams (Matthew McConaughey), a light shines from above and two angelic creatures lift the player into the air to make the catch.  To everyone else in the park, it looks as if Ben had defied gravity.  Only Roger sees the Divine intervention.  As he is trying to explain what happened to J.P., he is visited by Al (Christopher Lloyd), who tells Roger that only he is privy to these visions.  The game ends on a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the ninth inning, with another unlikely event occurring.  J.P.’s ticket is selected for being one of the lucky fans to come down on the field and get a picture with the Angels’ manager, George Knox (Danny Glover).  Roger comes along, and while standing next to George tries to get the cantankerous coach to understand what had happened in the game.  Unsurprisingly, George is dismissive of the notion that Heavenly creatures influence the outcome.  However, in talking to the players seemingly affected by these events, he gets the idea that, if nothing else, the kid might know something.  As such, George goes to Maggie’s home to offer Roger and J.P. tickets to the next game.  They are sat next to the dugout, but George treats Roger’s suggestions mostly as an annoyance.  This comes to a head when the game on the line and Roger sees an angel giving a massage to the team’s worst hitter, Danny Hemmerling (Adrien Brody).  Against his better and experienced judgment, George puts Danny in the game to bat.  After looking overmatched with the first two pitches, the winged being halts the next pitch in midair, allowing Danny to hit a slow dribbler in the infield.  The ball then zigs and zags around while Danny keeps running the bases, eventually scoring the winning run.  Now convinced, George arranges for J.P. and Roger to be at all the home games, and to call while they are on the road.  With help from on high, the Angels catapult themselves to near the top of the standings.  With only two contests left, all they need is one more victory to secure the pennant.  On the day of the penultimate game, Roger is called to court.  This means missing out on being at the park, but the boy also believes his original prayer is about to be fulfilled.  Unfortunately, it is only to have Mr. Bomman officially give up custody of his son.  A disappointed Roger goes home with Maggie, and is greeted later on by George.  In the morning, more bad news comes in the form of headlines discussing the prospect of angels being behind the team’s success.  This is the result of the team’s jealous radio announcer, Ranch Wilder (Jay O. Sanders), overhearing J.P. discuss the cherubs with George.  The Angel’s owner, Hank Murphy (Ben Johnson), is about to fire the manager over the accusations, but at the press conference, everyone rallies behind George.  Thus, at the last game, J.P. and Roger are back in the dugout.  Yet, Roger gets one last visit from Al saying that the team must win on their own.  They do this based on the strength of their aged pitcher, Mel Clark (Tony Danza).  The team’s happy conclusion becomes personal after the game when George tells J.P. and Roger that the boys are being adopted by him.

Hooray for our foster system working, albeit in an idealized film like Angels in the Outfield.  It is one the answer to our abortion crisis, but it almost seems silly to make such suggestions these days, sadly.  While I appreciate that aspect of the movie, a more specifically Catholic argument arose in my brain while watching it.  Before continuing, I do not wish to diminish how good it is to see people praying on screen, or George defending the existence of God when Roger wants to give up after being abandoned by his dad.  What I worry about from the events portrayed is the potentially damaging notion that prayer is some kind of magical, wish fulfilling formula.  Can God send His angels to help a struggling baseball team go from worst to first?  Of course He can.  Is it likely that He would use some of the worst players to make this happen?  This part is not only believable from a Faith perspective, it is also Biblical.  Scripture is full of examples of certain persons being the last ones expected to do anything for God’s Glory becoming an instrument in the hands of the Almighty.  Take the man who wrote many of the letters of the New Testament, Paul.  Up until his conversion experience (Acts 9:1-19), he had persecuted followers of Jesus.  It seems silly to compare that to Danny Hemmerling making contact with a baseball, but the unexpected is commonplace for God.  What is missing from the movie, despite the presence of angels and the pep talk George gives Roger, is God.  Miraculous events do not happen simply for the sake of something amazing taking place.  They are meant to lead people closer to God.  For an Angels’ fan, winning baseball games and getting close to a championship might seem like a higher, Divinely inspired goal.  I can speak from personal experience on this matter being a supporter of the Chicago Cubs.  Yet, championships mean nothing without a relationship with God.  If what you see happening on the diamond does not lead one deeper into His heart, then they are just whimsy.

At the same time, I do not wish to suggest that what you see in Angels in the Outfield lacks any ability to evangelize.  It could be that, if such things actually happened, a person could genuinely thank God and be stronger in their Faith because of it.  The point I am trying to make is that this does not appear to be the goal of the film.  It is rather about good, wholesome fun, and there is nothing wrong with such material.