Little Big League

When the owner of the hapless Minnesota Twins (talk about art imitating life) dies and leaves his grandson (Luke Edwards) the team in his will, the 12-year-old decides to manage the team himself. Aside from the obvious headline value of his move, no one seems to like the idea and the kid finds himself battling for his fledgling managerial career. Eventually, however, he wins the confidence of his favorite player (Timothy Busfield) and before long has the team playing like kids: for the fun of it, rather than the money. (Now there's a concept.) Though billed as a family movie, the saccharine level is high enough to scare off most adults. But kids, particularly baseball fans, will eat it up, as much for the appearances of baseball stars like Ken Griffey Jr. and Paul O'Neill as for the plot itself. --Marshall Fine