Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: After being hit by a baseball, a star player finds himself transported to the past where he reunites with the friends he made at the sandlot.
Review: Narrowly surviving the blight to cinema that was "The Sandlot 2," I had virtually zero expectations for a part 3. I mean, seriously?! However, if you can set aside the pitiful production quality, this was a surprisingly fun and charming movie. I will add the caveat that you need to stick with the story a bit--give it time to get going since the opening scenes are TERRIBLE with an embarrassing portrayal of a future Benny. Now, don't get me wrong, SL3 is far from good in a traditional sense, but it has heart and that means something to me. I'd even go as far as to say that, had they dropped everything related to the franchise and made this a stand alone kids movie, my rating would actually go up due to the removal of the franchise retcons that annoyed me.
Essentially, the premise is a combination of "Back to the Future" meets "Mr. Destiny" which, in turn, was a derivative of "It's a Wonderful Life" anyway. Luke Perry plays a cocky sellout, named Tommy, who is, admittedly, a baseball legend. When he's struck by a ball while being an asshole, his mind is inexplicably put into his childhood body back in 1976. They don't really play up the nostalgia factor in the way a serious drama would, and I'm okay with that I guess. Instead, Tommy uses his knowledge of the future to make better players out his friends who have inherited the sandlot from Benny's crew. Mercifully, everything with part 2 is completely ignored. Sure, you could try to argue its existence fitting into the timeline, somehow, but that would take a huge leap in logic. And let's be real, are there really any fans of part 2 out there?!
What I liked about this entry is that it's a return to form with emphasis, once again, returned to baseball and the love of the game. None of this Marcie from Peanuts and stupid fucking rockets. Oh hell no! We have a reappearance of Squints minus Wendy Peffercorn (womp womp), the fake Benny is tolerable I suppose, and the new characters were actually likable. The film is not subtle at all with its message about friendship and such, yet, I can understand the necessity of this level of cheese within the framework of a kids movie. Another fun aspect is that the stakes are intensified with the sandlot kids versing a little league team with the sandlot itself hanging in the balance. Many of the plot and character dynamics are significantly better than I would have imagined. Although the ending is painfully corny, with Tommy returning to his adult form except beloved and with all his friends, I am a sucker for these kind of endings. This kind of ending simply works and allows the film itself to become good, clean family fun.
Although I'm praising SL3 considerably, you must be well aware of the horrific production quality; shit, it looks like the worst episode of "Goosebumps" from the '90s. The actors are acceptable enough, but it's hard to ignore the general bouts of idiocy spread all over the story with numerous lame jokes and pathetic scenes. Then there are the retcons that annoy me with Benny seemingly washed up in the '70s despite his look at the end of part 1. Plus, Benny and Smalls had the tightest bond from what we saw. Mr. Mertle having a haunted house full of baseball traps? Uh no. Believe me, I'm going easy on the film in a lot of ways. Despite the massive shortcomings, I actually think SL3 is decent and would actually recommend checking it out for fans of the original. Obviously, avoid part 2 like the plague--(shudder) that was one of the worst movies I've ever watched which is saying something.
Notable Moment: While the entire sequence of breaking into Mr. Mertle's house was moronic in theory, I, for some reason, found it strangely amusing in its stupidity. What can I say, I'm a weirdo.
Final Rating: 5.5/10
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