We move from the old woman throwing up to the lively scene at the Suds Bucket roadhouse where the gals engage in some upbeat dancing with a live band. Mae, played by Madonna, of course, has the moves. Beer is involved as well, and it’s clear that the men at the bar are enjoying the good time, too. It’s a bunch of good, clean fun, yet the league had a ban on all this stuff. Boo! A girl’s gotta let loose once in a while.
We’ve also assumed Doris and Mae came into the league as pals from before, and with a line so quick you might miss it, Doris says they met at her father’s dance hall in upstate New York. “She was a dancer; I was a bouncer.”
Dottie later shows up in a car outside with a young fella driving who looks like he’s 13 years old or something. He’s clearly a teenager and promptly hits on the much-older-than-him Dottie. Gross. She offers to smack him around to try to shut it down, but that just seems to turn him on further.
Let’s ‘haul buns’
She goes inside to warn her teammates that Lowenstein is on his way to bust them in all their dancing, beer-drinking, make-out fun. They’re out of the league if they’re caught, apparently. While they rush out with Doris telling them to “make like a bread truck and haul buns,” Dottie does a quick count and inquires as to Marla’s whereabouts.
She goes inside to warn her teammates that Lowenstein is on his way to bust them in all their dancing, beer-drinking, make-out fun. They’re out of the league if they’re caught, apparently. While they rush out with Doris telling them to “make like a bread truck and haul buns,” Dottie does a quick count and inquires as to Marla’s whereabouts.
They nervously point to an intoxicated Marla singing “It Had to Be You” on stage with the band. Doris innocently says they just gave her a dress before Mae finishes with a laughing “and a lotta liquor.” Dottie promises to get Marla off the stage, but not before we see a few more seconds of the intoxicated Marla’s devoted singing to a fellow named Nelson who can’t stop staring at her. The gentleman even offers to take her home. We get a little more singing from Marla before the scene brilliantly ends with an older band member putting his hand over his face in dismay at the pathetic performance at the microphone.
There are a couple of Catholic church scenes in the movie, and this one must be right after the Suds Bucket adventure because Mae confesses everything, causing the priest to drop his bible twice.
Jump to Dugan hitting at the field alone with a pitching machine. He gives himself a pep talk aloud, sarcastically telling himself not to drink. “Why would I wanna drink? I’m a goddamn peach.” Then he hits a groundball only good enough for a double-play ball, and he claims he’s hitting like a girl. He’s not drunk though, or at least not he has been in the rest of the movie so far. Maybe that tide is turning.
Jump to Dugan hitting at the field alone with a pitching machine. He gives himself a pep talk aloud, sarcastically telling himself not to drink. “Why would I wanna drink? I’m a goddamn peach.” Then he hits a groundball only good enough for a double-play ball, and he claims he’s hitting like a girl. He’s not drunk though, or at least not he has been in the rest of the movie so far. Maybe that tide is turning.
Dottie, the woman in charge
Time for a new ball game. Mae legs out a triple against Racine, diving head-first into the bag. Dugan, who appears more alert but is still disengaged by reading a newspaper in the dugout, utters in a surprised tone “triple” before spitting out some more chew. Yummy.
Time for a new ball game. Mae legs out a triple against Racine, diving head-first into the bag. Dugan, who appears more alert but is still disengaged by reading a newspaper in the dugout, utters in a surprised tone “triple” before spitting out some more chew. Yummy.
Dottie, ever the leader, is managing the team and issuing baseball signs to the Peaches hitters. Dugan looks up from his paper long enough to see the sign Dottie gives Marla at the plate. In his true blunt fashion, he blurts out toward Dottie “Hey, what are you stupid?” Doris has her back though, saying that somebody has to run the team, “you know, someone who actually watches the games.” Dugan is just incredulous that Dottie is calling for a squeeze bunt with their best hitter. (How does he know who their best hitter is?)
He gets up from the bench and snaps at Ellen Sue to ask for a sign while also making it clear for the first of multiple times in the movie that he hasn’t bothered to learn anyone’s names. He simply calls her “blonde girl.” Dottie insists the squeeze play will work, but Dugan dismisses her with a dismissive and always classy “stop thinking with your tits, you want a big inning here.” Then he and Dottie get into a sign-off as a confused Marla dances in and out of the batter’s box.
Ultimately, Dugan prevails. “Who is the goddamn manager here? I am” Dottie is not slow on the uptake: “Then act like it, you big lush!”
When Marla swings away to drive in the run, Dugan cheers with a boisterous “Way to go, whatever your name is!” Dottie acts like a lady and tips her cap, but Dugan doesn’t want his players to think he’s come around fully just yet.
“But I still say, you’re not ball players.”
A League of Their Own commentary, part 1: 'Mule!' 'Nag!'A League of Their Own commentary, part 2: 'So we can make a buck...'
A League of Their Own commentary, part 3: 'Go where things happen'
A League of Their Own commentary, part 4: 'OK, some of them are goin' home'
A League of Their Own commentary, part 5: 'Still a fall-down drunk?'
A League of Their Own commentary, part 6: 'What a hitter'
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