55
Metascore
27 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- The Sandlot lays down life’s little lessons with the feathery touch of a sacrifice bunt. During the ball-retreiving scenes, as the gang learns to work as a team off the field, the movie never loses its quick pace or its sense of fun. Old baseball wisdom: The best teams win with strong fundamentals. So do the best movies.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThese days too many children's movies are infected by the virus of Winning, as if kids are nothing more than underage pro athletes, and the values of Vince Lombardi prevail: It's not how you play the game, but whether you win or lose. This is a movie that breaks with that tradition, that allows its kids to be kids, that shows them in the insular world of imagination and dreaming that children create entirely apart from adult domains and values.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterDuane ByrgeThe Hollywood ReporterDuane ByrgeA scruffy underdog yarn that will appeal not only to kids but also to their thirty- or fortysomething parents.
- 60Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonKids will understand this stuff. If you can remember your younger, goofier roots, so will you. Sandlot isn't well made but it's alive with dopey, summertime spirit.
- 50Los Angeles TimesPeter RainerLos Angeles TimesPeter RainerThis “Field of Dreams” field has been plowed so many times that the land is no longer arable. Isn’t it time to cultivate a few new cliches?
- 50The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinNothing about his modest coming-of-age comedy demands anything like this awestruck approach.
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineThe comedy is broad, cartoonish, and quite funny in a faux "Little Rascals" manner. The movie is almost completely derivative, but that's part of the fun.
- 40EmpireEmma CochraneEmpireEmma CochraneIt's hard to believe that a bunch of scrappy kids would really be scared of a big dog, which leaves the premise of this film floundering. However the kids prove to be plucky enough to give the film some kind of motivation but the direction lacks in humour or excitement.
- 40VarietyLeonard KladyVarietyLeonard KladySweet and sincere, the film is also a remarkably shallow wade, rife with incident and slim on substance.
- 40Time OutTime OutChock-a-block with cute reminiscence - which is a shame, because if it weren't so knowing, this would be quite a likeable little comedy about nothing in particular.