Major League II (1994)

I don't generally associate the cinematic oeuvre of Charlie Sheen with principles of classic Greek drama, but that was before I saw Major League II and realized that this only intermittently nutty sequel to 1989's more consistently nutty Major League is not so much about the further comedic possibilities inherent in the sociologically compelling microcosm of a baseball team as it is about major hubris. Consider: The story goes that the wacky underdog players who hustled their way to a championship in the original League-among them Sheen, Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen, Dennis Haysbert, and Wesley Snipes (in a role now played by Omar Epps)-have become a bunch of wacky, smug fatheads with big salaries and punk fielding skills in danger of blowing it all again. And consider: The thinking goes that any successful comedy warrants a follow-up. Wrong, guys. As the Greeks said, take me out of this ball game. D+

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