The Sandlot is the best kid’s movie ever made and if you think otherwise, well, you’re wrong. I’m sorry, but there isn’t a counter-argument here. The Sandlot is just too good. There are too many one-liners to even count. The soundtrack of 60s doo-wop blends perfectly with the film’s summer nostalgia vibe. The narration couldn’t be any better, even if Morgan Freeman were doing it. But most important of all, this movie is timeless. It’s as good today as it was 23 years ago. And if you don’t believe me, I will prove it to you right now. Here are 10 reasons why The Sandlot is the GOAT.
10. Wendy Peffercorn
Topanga Lawrence, Kelly Kapowski, Winnie Cooper, that chick from My Girl — none of them hold a candle to Wendy Peffercorn. As far as my childhood fantasies go, she was the queen of the screen.
She took those white shades and that cherry red lipstick and made them iconic…and that red suit and matching bow…and lotioning…oiling…oiling…lotioning and smiling…smiling…I CAN’T TAKE THIS NO MORE!
If I couldn’t swim, I, too, would risk my life for a kiss. I do not find this unreasonable.
Michael Squints Palledorous walked a little taller that day, and we had to tip our hats to him. He was lucky she hadn’t beat the crap out of him. We wouldn’t have blamed her. What he’d done was sneaky, rotten, and low. And cool. Not another one among us would have ever in a million years, even for a million dollars, had the guts to put the move on the lifeguard. He did. He had kissed a woman, and he had kissed her long and good.
9. The 4th of July Scene
Is this what 4th of July was like in the 60s? Because if so, I want to go back. My childhood 4th celebrations were never like this. They were hot and humid and no matter where we went to watch fireworks, it was packed with people in sleeveless shirts swapping shoulder sweat.
Where was my block party with tables of free food and streets lined with firecrackers and Ray Charles’ “America the Beautiful” playing spontaneously from the heavens? It’s not fair, dammit.
8. The Rivalry
What were the Tigers thinking rolling up on the Sandlot like that? Not even their fancy bikes and matching unis could save them from getting destroyed in the most quotable word war in film history and then getting blown out on their own field. Losers.
7. The Celebration
We were all walking on air that night. It had been a solid victory. In fact, we beat the crap out of those guys. So we all went to celebrate, and we did on of the stupidest things any of us had ever done.
The amount of barf in this scene should be enough to turn any viewer off of chewing tobacco forever. But that’s not how it worked, at least for me. I don’t know why, but it still seemed cool. I remember thinking, man, how can I get my hands on some Big Chief?
6. The Legend Of The Beast
As a kid, this scene was legitimately terrifying. It was dark and eerie and not at all like the summer nostalgia vibe depicted throughout the rest of the film. But watching this movie at 31 years old, I realized something: this is by design.
The story is told through Squints’ perspective, from his imagination, not reality. This is why Hercules is played by a giant puppet and why Mr. Mertle is a chubby white guy with full use of his eyesight and why the Beast’s kill count added up to about a 120…173 guys.
5. The Ball Retrieval Contraptions
It was my last chance, so we quit messing around and pulled out all the stops. I collected every piece of Erector Set I had, and it finally became science against nature.
4. Benny’s Revelation
Remember, kid, there’s heroes and there’s legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart, kid, and you’ll never go wrong.
3. The Secret Weapon
Only one kid in history had ever attempted what Benny was about to…and he got eaten. So we were worried, real worried. Even when benny brought out the secret weapon, shoes guaranteed to make a kid run faster and jump higher: PF Flyers.
True story: A few years ago, I bought a pair of PF Flyers. They were an Amazon Deal of the Day and not at all as cool as you’d imagine. I have yet to wear them out of the house.
2. The Chase
This is one of the greatest chase scenes in film history. It lasts for two montages! Not even Mad Max: Fury Road has a double montage chase scene. Anyway, although it’s entirely on foot, it still has all the carnage you’d expect from typical chase scene. Just take a look at the damage:
- A bike
- A paperboy
- The hood of a 1960 Chrysler Saratoga
- 27 trash cans
- A movie theater window
- A projector screen
- 7 picnic tables covered in food
- A man on stilts dressed like Uncle Sam
- A giant ass cake
- Benny’s jersey
- The junkyard fence
1. The Ending
We all lived together in the neighborhood for a couple more years, mostly through junior high school, and every summer was great. But none of them ever came close to that first one. When one guy would move away, we never replaced him on the team with anyone else. We just kept the game going like he was still there.
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