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John Goodman, Kelly McGillis, Trini Alvarado, Bruce Boxleitner, Peter Donat ... see more see more... , James Cromwell , J.C. Quinn , Bernard Kates , Michael McGrady , Stephen Caffrey , James Andelin , Larry Cedar , Ron Dean , James Deuter , Matt Doherty , James "Ike" Eichling , Ralph Foody , Brett Hadley , Irma P. Hall , Harry Hutchinson , Roy Hytower , Beep Iams , Ken Kells , Dana Lubotsky , Ralph Marrero , Jim Ortlieb , Michael Papajohn , Rick Reardon , Hank Robinson , Gene Ross , Ned Schmidtke , Peter Siragusa , Richard Tyson , Ron West , Laura Whyte , Jeffrey Wiseman , Alan Johnson , William J. Norris , Shannon Cochran , Danny Goldring , Shirley Spiegler Jacobs , Michael Krawic , Bob Swan , Meg Thalken , Steve King , Michael Nicolosi , W. Earl Brown , Nicholas Rudall , Albert B. Smith , Daniel Anderson , John Webb , Joe Ragno

John Goodman is cast as the Sultan of Swat, whose excesses -- especially drinking -- and private demons can (in this context) be excused in view of his genuine love of baseball. The facts never get in... read more read more... the way of a good story for screenwriter John Fusco; we're even offered the umpteenth rehash of "Little Johnny", the largely fanciful tale of the invalid boy who promises to get well if Babe hits him a homer (as in Pride of the Yankees, the cured Johnny makes return a appearance as grownup). The most amusing fabrication is the casting of narrow James Cromwell as the Babe's orphanage mentor Brother Mathias, who in real life weighed 300 pounds. Many of the characters are composites, notably Bruce Boxleitner's Jumpin' Joe Dugan. At least Ruth's two wives--Trini Alvarado as Helen, who suffers Babe's many peccadilloes and dies under strange circumstances, and Kelly McGillis as Claire, who keeps Babe on a very short leash-are depicted with a modicum of accuracy. The baseball sequences are well handled (though there could have been less slo-mo) while Elmer Bernstein's charmingly old-fashioned musical score is right in tune with the film's approach to its subject. The Babe is rated PG; had this been the whole truth and nothing but, and R rating would probably have been in order. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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39% liked it

7,020 ratings

Critics

50% liked it

16 critics

PG, 1 hr. 55 min.

Directed by: Arthur Hiller

Release Date: April 17, 1992

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DVD Release Date: July 1, 2003

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Stats: 222 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (222)

  • FilmFanatik
    December 27, 2010
    FilmFanatik
    John Goodman turns Babe Ruth into an asshole - pretty much sums up the film.
  • SirPant
    September 29, 2009
    SirPant
    Made for TV feel good film. I kept watching so it couldn?t have been all that bad. Goodman is very good but it helps if you?re a fan of baseball (I?m not though so whatever)!
  • sanjurosamurai
    November 23, 2007
    sanjurosamurai
    its been a while but i remember liking this movie. john goodman is always good and the babe is a good time. while liking this flick, it was fairly historically inaccurate, but most of these movies are.
  • kinadeon
    February 11, 2012
    kinadeon
    In the world of baseball, there's no kid out there who hasn't heard the name Babe Ruth. I can't even remember how I first learned about the Sultan of Swat. Maybe Ted Marrugi?

    It was good to learn a little history about the man I knew so very little about. The movie seemed very ... read morerushed, especially the Babe's highlight years with the Yanks. But in the end, it was decent and I'm glad I finally got around to seeing it.

    Man, I can't wait for the season to start. Watching these baseball movies makes me want to go read tons of history and biographies about these teams and players.
  • MovieGuruDude72
    May 11, 2007
    MovieGuruDude72
    Hands down the worst Babe Ruth movie ever made. Not only over the top, but so overdramatical that it tarnishes Ruth's memory.
  • KentAron
    August 11, 2006
    KentAron
    This movie was great. John Goodman's protrayal of Babe Ruth was classic and perfect... just a huge lumbering drunken ass

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Critic Reviews

Steve Crum
June 29, 2005
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

Goodman as Babe Ruth has good moments.

Martin Scribbs
July 14, 2004
Martin Scribbs, Low IQ Canadian

The weakest baseball movie not to star Tom Selleck, Corbin Bersen, or a team of lovable black inner-city tots.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
July 18, 2003
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

Charts the life and exploits of America's first real superstar athlete. Full Review

Bob Bloom
May 1, 2003
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

A terrible bio-pic, almost as bad as William Bendix in The Babe Ruth Story; Goodman is all ham; inaccuracies abound; no real sense of the game is evident.

Scott Weinberg
July 26, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Not one of the best baseball biopics out there, but Goodman makes it fun.

Owen Gleiberman
September 7, 2011
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Click to read the article Full Review

September 3, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Stephen Jay Gould
May 21, 2003
Stephen Jay Gould, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Click to read the article Full Review

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