HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Stealing Home'' is a 1988 American
coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
romantic
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
film written and directed by Steven Kampmann and William Porter (billed as Will Aldis). The film stars
Mark Harmon Thomas Mark Harmon (born September 2, 1951) is an American actor, writer, producer, television director and former American football, football player. He is best known for playing the lead role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs on ''NCIS (TV series), NCIS'' ...
, Blair Brown, Jonathan Silverman, Harold Ramis,
William McNamara William West McNamara (born March 31, 1965) is an American film and television actor. Personal life Born in Dallas, Texas, McNamara is the son of a Ford Motor Company employee and an interior designer. He attended Salisbury School, Columbia Un ...
, and Jodie Foster. The movie focuses on a failed baseball player, Billy Wyatt, who discovers that his childhood sweetheart, Katie Chandler, has died by suicide. Billy must confront the past via reminiscence and nostalgia, while also dealing with grief, as he embarks on a journey to fulfill one of Katie's last wishes; that he spread her ashes. ''Stealing Home'' was released theatrically on August 26, 1988 by Warner Bros. Upon release the film was a critical and commercial failure, although David Foster's musical score garnered universal praise. Since its release, with television reruns, and DVD releases, the film has attained
cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...
status, praised by audiences for its melancholic and nostalgic themes, performances, and musical score.


Plot

In the present, Billy Wyatt is a washed-up baseball player in his thirties, living in a hotel with a cocktail waitress. One afternoon, he receives a phone call from his mother, Ginny, informing him that his childhood babysitter and friend, Katie Chandler, has committed suicide. She also tells him that Katie left a will specifying that Billy is responsible for her ashes, claiming Billy was "the only one who would know what to do with them." Saddened and confused, Billy promises to come home that night. Flashbacks to the 1960s show Billy and Katie's relationship. Katie was a slightly older girl who babysat Billy for the Wyatts, who were best friends with the Chandlers. Katie mentored Billy, giving him advice on girls and dating. As a birthday gift, she gave him a baseball pendant on a necklace to always remind him that he is a baseball player. While Billy is still in high school, his father, Sam, dies in a car accident. Two months later, Katie, Billy, Ginny, and Billy's friend Alan Appleby decide to spend the Fourth of July week at the Chandlers' summer home, Seasmoke. During their vacation, Billy feels that Katie is encouraging his mother to move on too quickly, leading to a shouting match between them. The next day at sunrise, Billy seeks Katie's forgiveness, and they spend the rest of the weekend together at Seasmoke. As the weekend comes to a close, Katie encourages Billy to pursue his passion for baseball. In the present, Billy remembers that this was the last time he saw her. In the present, Katie's father, Hank, visits the Wyatt family to deliver Katie's ashes to Billy, who still has no idea what to do with them. Hank suggests a church service. Billy drives to Seasmoke to think and reminisce. Billy reunites with Appleby, and they spend the night reminiscing and carousing while driving around in Katie's car with her ashes, trying to figure out what to do with them. Still unsure, Billy goes to Katie's parents' house to give them her ashes. While there, Billy recalls Katie telling him how she wanted to jump off the pier and fly free with the birds. Billy goes to the pier, runs down the dock, and scatters her ashes just as she described in her fantasy. Billy joins a minor league baseball team, taking pride in grooming the field each morning before a game. The film ends with Billy stealing home, the same thing he did in his last game before his father died.


Cast


Production

The film was mostly shot in the
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
area and in
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
. Exterior scenes, as well as scenes of Billy's house and Alan Appleby's sporting goods store, were filmed in
Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia Chestnut Hill is a neighbourhood, neighborhood in the Northwest Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known for the high incomes of its residents and high real estate values, as well as its private schools. G ...
. Carlton Academy scenes were filmed at Chestnut Hill Academy. The interiors of Billy's childhood home were filmed in a house in Springfield, Pennsylvania. Scenes in Bob's Diner were filmed at Ridge Avenue in Roxborough. Billy and Alan Appleby also sneak into and play baseball at
Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street (Philadelphia), Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating ca ...
in Philadelphia. The opening scene and the closing scenes were shot at Fiscalini Field in
San Bernardino, California San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...
, the home field of the minor-league San Bernardino Spirit. Mark Harmon was a part-owner of the Spirit at the time of filming, which led his character to be shown playing for that team.


Soundtrack


Reception

The film received negative reviews around the time of its release. In her review for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Janet Maslin wrote, "The era is simply established as a dreamily idyllic past, thanks to sand dunes at twilight, waves that crash in the distance, shiny red convertibles without seat belts and a musical score that may make you want to weep, for all the wrong reasons". In his one-star review for the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'',
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
wrote, "I detested ''Stealing Home'' so much, from beginning to end, that I left the screening wondering if any movie could possibly be that bad". On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
the film has an approval rating of 20% based on reviews from 10 critics. When asked about the film in 2006, Mark Harmon said, "That was about a bunch of actors loving a script, going there and burning it on both ends for five weeks just to get it done. That was a fun one to make. I hear a lot about that role. People really found that movie on video."


''Summer of '42''

Ever since the release of '' Summer of '42'', Warner Bros. has attempted to buy back the rights to the film, which they sold to author Herman Raucher in lieu of paying him a flat fee for the script on the belief that the film would not be financially successful. ''Stealing Home'' was greenlit shortly after Raucher denied their latest attempt to purchase the rights, leading to ''Summer'' star Jennifer O'Neill's assertion that ''Stealing Home'' was "stolen" from ''Summer''. Regardless, she said that she enjoyed the film and called it a "lovely film." Rita Kempley, in her review for the ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
,'' also saw similarities with ''Summer'', describing the film as a "pale comedy-drama by mediocrities Steven Kampmann and Will Aldis. Admittedly a pastiche of their memories, the movie bespeaks the dust of '60s yearbooks and greeting card sentiment. Of course, that stuff can be touching ('' Summer of '42'') or quirky ('' Gregory's Girl''), but here only allergy sufferers will leave with soggy Kleenex."


See also

* List of American films of 1988 * List of baseball films


References


External links

* * {{mojo title, stealinghome 1988 films 1988 romantic drama films 1980s sports drama films 1980s coming-of-age drama films 1980s teen romance films American baseball films American coming-of-age drama films American teen romance films Films set in the 1960s Films set in the 1980s Films set in Philadelphia Films shot in Philadelphia Films set in New Jersey Films shot in New Jersey Films shot in Pennsylvania Films about suicide Films directed by Steven Kampmann Films scored by David Foster Films with screenplays by Steven Kampmann 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language romantic drama films English-language sports drama films