The Sandlot focuses on Scotty (David Guiry)--the archetypical simpering little nerd with so little physical coordination that his ability to walk is something of a miracle--and his attempt to assimilate into a group of lovable oddball rejects. Initiated into a group begun by heroic Ben (Mike Vitar), Scotty chews tobaccy, goes on over-nighters in amazingly well-constructed and cavernous treehouses, and learns how to catch and throw while dodging the neighbourhood bogey: a ball-hawking junkyard dog named "The Beast." After numerous minor "quite a pickle"s narrated by a drawling Arliss Howard (doing his best Daniel Stern), Scotty and company get themselves in the biggest pickle of all: they lose a prized Babe Ruth ball belonging to Scotty's step-dad (Denis Leary) over the fence.

While it has its moments, The Sandlot is treacle of the first order. It's redolent with cutesy pull-whistle sound effects and so desperate to be a high quality rip-off instead of a cut-rate one that it does everything with a sweaty overkill that engenders more irritation than affection. The kid actors are fine but asked to be little more than slapstick variations of the same old same old: the myopic one, the morbidly obese one, the one destined for bigger things, and the future writer.

If you grew up in Rockwell's American utopia, you could probably argue that The Sandlot evokes something of the halcyon surreality of the cult of childhood, but it's such a dedicatedly grating pre-pubescent scream-fest that it's always a heartbeat away from deserving to be shut off and sealed in a yellow barrel. Despite the cameo James Earl Jones makes late in the game (no pun intended), if you're in the market for a movie about fathers, sons, and the national pastime, best just to stick with that other sepia-tinged baseball reverie in which Jones appears--Field of Dreams, of course.

The Sandlot comes to DVD via the good graces of Fox in a handsome 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that looks fantastic. (A pan-and-scan version of similar quality is on the flipside.) The colours are amazingly bright and shadows are well modulated; the abovementioned fireworks sequence is remarkable in terms of clarity; and no edge-enhancement or compression problems exhibit themselves. In other words, image quality is consistent and consistently excellent. The Dolby 5.1 track showcases an adequate mix. Dialogue and other sounds are reproduced with sharpness and a superb clarity. The presentation is rounded out by a six-minute by-the-numbers featurette that's actually more annoying to watch than the film itself, a remastered trailer, and seven TV spots.-Walter Chaw