Major League II is a travesty and an ignoble sequel to the beloved Major League. In the original, a bunch of second-rate players are able to win their division against the NY Yankees. It was fun, grounded, and showed strategy in baseball. The sequel looks at their attempt to repeat their journey to an ALCS. It starts with the team acquiring the hot shot Parkman (David Keith) as an extra catcher. He is a major-league jerk who is both condescending and arrogant towards our favorite Indians. Jake Taylor (Tom Berrenger) returns along with Vaughn (Charlie Sheen), Cyranno (Denis Haysbert) and Lou (James Gannon) as the manager. Corbin Bernson returns as Roger Dorn, who buys the team from the former owner, Rachel Phelps (Margaret Whitton). Omar Epps replaces Wesley Snipes as Willie Mays Hayes. Two new characters are introduced: Rube (Eric Burskotter) is a new rookie catcher who has trouble throwing the ball back to the pitcher, and Tikkaki Ishibashi plays Japanese Baseball player Issura. There are so many problems with this movie, it is hard to know where to begin. First there are too many characters in this version too keep track of. Of course, the second problem is that while the first one was about the whole team, this one focuses on Rick Vaughn's character who is struggling with becoming a rounded pitcher with focus and diversity. He needs a shrink to help him with his sophomore slump, and becomes derided by fans and fellow teammates. However, with too many cast members, this is hard to create focus. The next sins are betrayals of baseball and the characters. Some antics of the players are not in line with baseball. For example, if Rachel Phelps is guilty of collusion to put together a bad team to lose enough games and move to Florida, MLB owners would have not permitted her to have partial ownership. Moreover, some things Isurro, Willie, and Cyranno do are illegal in MLB play. The worst sin, though, was character betrayal. Margaret Whitton plays Phelps as a cartoonish Cruella Deville instead of the sly manipulator in the first movie. Manager Lou Brown is no longer a no-nonsense, straight-laced manager but someone with an erratic, anger-ridden personality. Roger Dorn, also becomes cartoonish with over-acting and becoming a wining fool instead of a smarmy egotist. Even Bob Eucker (Harry Doyle) is not the same person as he was in the first film, becoming a disinterested alcoholic. Don't go into extra innings with this mess of a sequel. Stick with the first one - and I think the third one is better than this suicide squeeze.
Review of Major League II
