Movie Review- 42

Robinson Won Rookie Of The Year in 1947

To be honest, I had my doubts about this movie.  When I saw its impending release way back when, my first reaction was it would go one of two ways.  One: yet another glorified rah-rah about someone was far but.  Hollywood would wash it clean of any facts or blow out of proportion a few of the more tasty morsels.  Two: An overly dramatic account of something that by nature was pretty dramatic.  After watching it, I concluded that it was neither. Reviewing 42 might best be done by breaking it down into a couple of different areas.  After all it is a film trying to big things.

Baseball

Baseball really doesn't play a central role in 42. What is shown in a bit glossy and really never shows the game.  The few scenes that include the game were pretty canned. One highlight was the pretty accurate portrayal of Robinson's flailing running style given by Chadwick Boseman. 42 lacks the grit of movies like *61 or Eight Men Out, but an accurate baseball movie is not required.  More emphasis could have been given to Robinson's role on the diamond, but it is easy to forgive the movie for trying to show the whole picture.

Historically Accurate:

Having read a couple of books on the subject, I was pretty satisfied by the details given throughout the movie.  There were a few of the events of the 1947 season that I didn't think would make it into a movie that did.

One of which was the inclusion of the fact that no one knew Robinson was coming up to the Dodger, thus no lockers were ready for him.  It was a home game, and Dodger equipment managers simply did not have time, or space to accommodate Robinson.  In the movie this could have easily been blown way out of proportion, but it was not.  The scene was simple. They stated the fact and moved on.

Another was Red Barber's reaction to Robinson's first at bat as a Dodger.  Barber had had reservation about Robinson (not really shown at all) and had almost left the Dodgers broadcast when it was announced that there was a chance Robinson would be with the club.  Trying not to make a big deal of the event, or the audible booing in Ebbets Field, Barber simply said "Robinson is definitely brunette” and went on with the call.  I liked the fact that they added this to the film and it does include Barber in the whole picture. He was after all one of the greatest broadcasters of all times

On the flip side, the famed game against the Philadelphia Phillies in which Phillies Manager Ben Chapman openly yelled racial slurs at Robinson from the home dugouts was a must.   While the scene did draw significant screen time, it was very accurate.  Chapman did make an ass of himself, and was confronted by Ed Stanky during the game.  What was said during the game by Chapman, Stanky or Robinson has been lost in history but I felt like movie did a good job with one of the defining moments of the '47 season.

Robinson with Chapman

Side note: Harrison Ford's Branch Rickey is dead on

Racial Elements:

This is the crux of the movie, but it was not over the top.  It would have been easy to over emphasis all of the terrible things that happened, but the main story would have been lost in doing so.  Were there events? Absolutely.  Were some of them very bad? Sure. Did the film dwell on even the worst? I did not think so.  For that I am glad.

More than anything the movie showed Robinson overcoming the overt and subvert racism that he faced, and very tastefully.  Rather than a light-switch type scene, you see the gradual changes.  Overall whole racial aspect was done tastefully and not at all hokey.

Despite some minor flaws (cheesy baseball scenes, Pee Wee Reece's famed on field conference with Robinson was at home, and Leo Durocher's affair did not cost him his job), 42 is over all worthwhile. The movie is less about Robinson himself, and more about the people around him.  Do not mistake, Robinson is still the start of the show, but those around the story are not shoved the to side.  The mere mention of Lou Durocher, Pee Wee Reece, or even Ralph Branca shows the elements that supported Robinson as he made history.