We’ve all done it. We know we shouldn’t. We know it is dangerous. Dwight (Mark Ruffalo) is racing to get his 10-year-old son home after a ball game went into extra innings. He is talking on the cell phone to the boy’s annoyed and anxious mother. And he is going too fast around the curve, just as his son slips out of his seatbelt to change the channel on the radio. Ethan (Joaquin Phoenix) has a 10-year-old son who is standing too near the edge of the road, freeing some fireflies from a jar.

And the unthinkable happens. A sickening thud. The driver’s son hits his head on the dashboard. And the car keeps going. The father speeds away, in shock and denial, seeing to his boy’s bruises and still trying to get him home on time, desperately, irrationally, magically thinking that maybe if his boy is safe, the other one will be, too.

But he is not. As Luke Arno (Eddie Alderson) is being returned to his mother, holding a bag of frozen peas to his swelling eye, the other boy’s mother and sister are huddled in the back of a police car, shattered by grief.

From the opening shots of the American flag fluttering gracefully from a barn in the Iowa morning mist, to the closing scenes of cheering crowds at the baseball field, The Final Season is one great big corn-fed cliche.

The movie tells the story of the small town of Norway, Iowa (population 586) which, despite its small size, consistently manages to field a winning baseball team due to pluck, hard work and good Iowa values. As one crusty old timer puts it, “In Norway, our baseball tradition is as rich as the Iowa soil.” The school is going to be closed as a result of some nasty legal tricks and budget cuts by people far away who don’t appreciate the special character of a small town. So this is to be the last hurrah for the Norway Tigers.

Despite its small size, Norway is large enough to contain every stereotype known to man: the tough and disrespectful city kid whose life is transformed when he is exposed to good country values; the sharp city slickers who want to shut down Norway’s school (including the beautiful young professional woman in a business suit who succumbs to the homespun charm of the team coach); the father who made the crucial play in a ball game many years ago, watching his son step up to the plate in the exact same situation; the aging coach who hands over his team to his young and unsteady replacement, and many more. Yes, you’ll meet them all here in Norway.

The plot of “The Final Season” does not have much to commend it; this same story has been told better hundreds of times before. The script is often unbearably hackneyed. (“Every player who ever wore a Norway uniform is going out there with you today…”) The characters are so stereotyped that there is not much room for quality acting. Norway is a Nuance-free Zone.

But what this movie does have is montages of healthy, graceful teenage boys leaping, running, catching, and playing under the big Iowa sky. It shows them working as a team. It has baseball. And sometimes, that can be enough.

Parents should know that there is brief strong language, smoking, and a drug reference, all disapproved of.

Families who see this movie should talk about the role of sports in community-building.

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy “The Sandlot.”

Joseph Campbell believed there was “one great story of mankind” and he spent his life collecting the great myths and parables of world cultures and religions and showing us the connections between them. His work has influenced everyone from Hollywood screenwriters (George Lucas cites him as the inspiration for the “Star Wars” movies) to abstract expressionist artists, diplomats and politicians, and, through his appearances on PBS, millions of people around the world. The Mythos series, the culmination of his work on the way that myths reveal and guide us, is inspiring and illuminating.

Joseph Campbell: Mythos I: The Shaping of Our Mythic Tradition — an exploration of the psychology, history and biology of myth, and an introduction to the Western mythos.

Joseph Campbell: Mythos II: The Shaping of the Eastern Tradition –an introduction to the great mythic traditions of South and East Asia

Charlton Heston, who died this morning at age 84, had the screen presence for larger than life, heroic roles, and often appeared in films with religious themes. He will be best remembered for his Oscar-winning performance as Ben-Hur and for appearing as Moses in The Ten Commandments. He also played John the Baptist in The Greatest Story Ever Told. Heston created audio recordings of the Bible and provided voice talent for a series of animated Bible stories for children.

I am especially fond of his performance in the brilliant Touch of Evil as a policeman who lives on the border, literally and metaphorically, and in a rare romantic comedy, “The Private War of Major Benson.” Whether he was leading a circus (The Greatest Show on Earth) or a stranded team of astronauts (Planet of the Apes) or even trying to survive as the last man on earth (The Omega Man), his conviction and commitment made him the essence of a movie star.

My friend Hoppy Gillmore of Fargo’s Froggy 99.9 has posted his list of the all-time best baseball movies, one for each inning. Here’s his list, with some comments from me in italics.
9. The Bad News Bears
Anyone who played Little League ball has lived this movie. Thanks Coach Flieth for spending your summers on the diamond with us!
I know people love this one, but it is not on my list. I’m all for anti-hero movies that subvert the usual underdog formulas, but hearing kids use bad language and seeing adults misbehave in front of them just isn’t that funny.
8. The Sandlot
If you ever played neighborhood ball as a kid you’ve lived this movie as well. For me it was the empty lot next to Paul and Mitch Heinen’s house in Hillsboro.
I love this movie — it’s my DVD pick of the week!
7. A League of Their Own
“There’s no crying in baseball!” I never knew about this piece of baseball history until I saw the movie.
There may be no crying in baseball (one of my favorite lines ever), but I cry in the last scene of this movie every time I watch. Ignore the sibling rivalry theme and enjoy the love of the game and the brilliant performances from everyone — Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Bill Pullman, Madonna, and Rosie O’Donnell.
6. For Love of the Game
This one’s good for women too because there’s a love story built into the story of baseball. Even my wife will sit down and watch this one.
Agreed!
5. Major League
“Juuuuust a bit outside!” According to Chris Coste’s new book, The 33-Year-Old Rookie (http://www.chriscoste.com/) this could be a very accurate portrayal of minor league ball.
Silly fun, and I love it when they play “Wild Thing.” (But stay away from the sequel.)
4. 61*
Yeah, I’m a homer. Billy Crystal’s tribute to who will ALWAYS be the single-season home run king.
Terrific movie.
3. The Natural
One of the first baseball movies I remember watching. Who wouldn’t want to run the bases under a shower of sparks from the home run ball you hit that went into the lights?
Love this one, too. Parental note: some mature material.
2. Field of Dreams
“If you build it, they will come.” The father-son playing catch at the end brings back memories of my dad and I doing the same thing whenever he’d grill. In-between flipping burgers we’d play catch.
This is a movie that makes grown men cry. Touching and inspiring.
1. Bull Durham
Kevin Costner’s “Crash Davis” spews the best baseball philosophy around. He’s the Yoda of baseball.
One of the great, great grown-up love stories ever put on film — love of baseball as well as romantic love. And I get a kick out of knowing that this is where Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins became a real-life couple!