(I checked "spoiler" just in case, but I don't think I give away anything major.) I am not a baseball fan, but I loved this movie when it was first telecast, although I never got to see the film in its entirety due to the vagaries of TBS's broadcasting schedule; one night I caught the first 75 minutes of it, but no ending; another night I caught the final hour so I at least knew how it came out! Alan Arkin is crusty, cantankerous Harry Willette, a former baseball player who has not spoken to his former teammate and best buddy Raymond Maricle since Ray was traded to another team and Harry suspected him of cluing in the new team about his special pitch, therefore a crucial game was lost that would have sent Harry's team to the World Series. When Harry finds out Raymond is being inducted into the Cooperstown Hall of Fame, he is enraged and sets on an odyssey across country—but not before he finds out Raymond has died. For the remainder of the film, as Harry makes a picaresque journey to places in his past to pick up memorabilia, with his wife's nephew and a baseball-fanatic young woman in tow, Raymond's ghost accompanies Harry and flashbacks to their friendship are shown. This is a slow-moving, sweet and funny film about grudges, friendship, and forgiveness. Arkin, Graham Green as Raymond, Charles Haid as a vituperative ballplayer, Anne Wedgeworth as a former girlfriend, and Hope Lange as Harry's long-suffering wife are all superb. I searched for a copy of this wonderful film for years so I could finally see it complete, and finally found it in a Region 4 (Australian) DVD. Thank God for region-free players! This should be available in the US for all baseball fans.
Review of Cooperstown
