Scooter Chronicles

On Saturday afternoon, Marcia and I watched “Bang the Drum Slowly”, starring Michael Moriarty, Robert De Niro, and Vincent Gardenia.

Thanks to David Landers and his post at IMDB, here is the plot description:

The story of a New York pro baseball team and two of its players. Henry Wiggen (Moriarty) is the star pitcher and Bruce Pearson (De Niro) is the normal, everyday catcher who is far from the star player on the team and friend to all of his teammates. During the off-season, Bruce learns that he is terminally ill, and Henry, his only true friend, is determined to be the one person there for him during his last season with the club. Throughout the course of the season, Henry and his teammates attempt to deal with Bruce’s impending illness, all the while attempting to make his last year a memorable one.

Marcia and I expected a real “tear-jerker”, but were sadly disappointed. It didn’t come across quite the way we expected. That’s not to say that it wasn’t a good film. On the contrary. But knowing what was happening helped make it seem anti-climatic. Also, the character nearing the end seemed to be a little low on the emotion themselves. Again, not that it wasn’t a good film.

It was quite unique to see De Niro in a film before he was a big-time star. But you could see the talent coming out. Same with Michael Moriarty. Also, I felt that Vincent Gardenia did a good job as the manager Dutch Schnell.

Still a classic though, and maybe that hype led to our over expetations.