1218. Field of Dreams

Field of Dreams
1989
Directed by Phil Alden Robinson

Wow, did I hate this movie. I actually had no idea this movie was a fantasy story, I thought it was going to be some underdog tale about triumphing over the rival team on a field where anything is possible. When I realized what this film was, or more accurately, what it was trying to be, I prepared myself for another grueling experience with Kevin Costner.

Ray Kinsella lives with his wife, Annie, and a daughter, Karin, on a farm in Iowa. Ray is troubled that he never reconciled with his father before his death. Above all, Ray's father loved baseball. One day, when he is walking through a cornfield, he hears a voice whisper "If you build it, he will come" and sees a vision of a baseball diamond in the field with Shoeless Joe Jackson standing on it. Ray thinks if he builds a baseball field, Shoeless Joe Jackson, who his father idolized, will get to play baseball instead. He tells his wife Annie about this, and she's on board, because she is a Good Wife. I would be looking into involuntary commitment, but that's me. Anyway, he keeps following the voice in his head in order to encounter more baseball player ghosts.

Well, it was interesting watching this after Dawson City: Frozen in Time, because I actually knew what they were talking about with Shoeless Joe Jackson. That's the only thing that was mildly engaging about this movie. Even the cast was behaving strangely, like they knew it was silly.

I think this was included on The List for its famous line, but now that I've heard the context of the line, I'm not all that impressed. I was right to put this one off until the end. 

RATING: *----

Interesting Facts:

Final film of Burt Lancaster.

The line "If you build it, he will come" was rated as AFI's #39 movie quote (out of 100). 

The Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees were scheduled to play a game on the movie's baseball field in 2020. But it was cancelled because of COVID-19.