You Have A Big Chin

For some reason, insignificant movies quotes are bubbling to the forefront of my consciousness. This one happens to be from the 1994 Disney remake of Angels In The Outfield. The movie stars Danny Glover as George Knox, the manager of the Anaheim Angels, a team that is struggling to win a game. The main antagonist is the field announcer, with the unlikely name of Ranch Wilder, who was the player that ended Knox’s baseball career by injuring him during a game. Ranch likes to try to manage the team from the announcer’s booth which infuriates Knox all the more. The players don’t respect the coach and the coach is pining for the good old days when he was an up and coming star. The movie also stars Tony Danza as a washed up pitcher and Christopher Lloyd as the leader of the Heavenly Host that come in to turn the team around. The main character is a young boy named Roger who went on to star in the sit-com 3rd Rock From the Sun, Joseph Gordon Levitt.

The plot is that Roger is in a foster home. He receives a visit from his father. He asked is dad when they will be a family again. His dad replies, “When the Angels win the pennant”, and races off on his motorcycle. Roger and his room mate, J.P. are always sneaking into the Angels games so they can watch but get a chance to go for free. While at the game, which is going poorly, Roger sees Angels swoop down from the sky and assist the baseball players, which allows them to win. Roger tells the manager, Danny Glover, that Angels are helping the team and he becomes the team mascot. The Christopher Lloyd has a heart to heart with Roger about telling anyone else. The Angels turn the Angels around and they are in a race for the pennant.

Roger and George develop this great friendship during the course of the movie. Just as the season ends, Roger is summoned to court where his father gives up his legal rights and makes his a ward of the state. Roger is crushed because the Angels are so close to winning the pennant. While Roger is in court, the Angels lose a crucial game. J.P. attends the game as the mascot and is upset that the Angels lost. Ranch Wilder is in the locker room and he sits down to interview J.P. who spills his guts about seeing Angels helping the team. After Ranch introduces himself, J.P. says, “You have a big chin.” To which Ranch replies, “Everyone is a critic.”

This is a great family movie and has a great ending. The title ends up offering multiple meanings and you can see the implications from each of the characters angles. Plus you get to see Matthew McConaughey before he became a big star.

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