American documentary It Ain’t Over, released in 2022, follows Yogi Berra, the Hall of Fame catcher for the New York Yankees. Sean Mullin wrote the script and directed the film. The movie had its Tribeca Festival premiere in June 2022, and on May 12, 2023, it was shown in theatres across the country.
The major plot of the vibrant, captivating, and poignant documentary “It Ain’t Over” is essentially revealed up front by Lindsay Berra, the granddaughter of the subject, baseball great Yogi Berra, who is polite but somewhat offended.
She remembers her grandfather and her watching the 2015 All-Star Game. Willie Mays, Johnny Bench, Sandy Koufax, and Hank Aaron were the four special guests at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati on that particular day, and they were all regarded as the best players alive. Definitely all legends. However, Lindsay and Berra who was, in all important ways, a modest man—felt ignored. Because Berra was just as good a player as any of them, according to the movie’s extremely compelling argument.
Lindsay thinks that Yogi’s childlike, giving nature had eclipsed his extraordinary talent, which is why he didn’t make this cut. As the video by Sean Mullin makes clear, Berra won three times as the Most Valuable Player while playing catcher for the New York Yankees, a club that dominated the game in the 1950s. He earned 10 World Series rings and was an All-Star for 15 straight seasons.
However, Berra was not like the baseball heroes of the past. He read comic novels in the locker room and had a laid-back smile. At five foot seven, he lacked Joe DiMaggio’s size and strength. Several sportswriters are interviewed here, and Roger Angell says of Berra, “Everything about him was round.” (Many players provide their opinions, including Derek Jeter, who considers Berra’s surprisingly straightforward guidance to “hit it when you see a strike.
Despite everything, he was an amazing player. Even though he didn’t start out as a catcher until he signed with the Yankees, his low centre of gravity, mental sharpness, and rigorous training under coach Bill Dickey made him perfect for the position. You did indeed accurately read “mental acuity.” A competent catcher must mentally calculate every aspect of the game. The movie’s portrayal of Game 5 of the 1956 World Series, in which Berra caught pitcher Don Larsen’s perfect game (which, until last year, was the only no-hitter in World Series history; the more recent feat required three different pitchers), is an exhilarating display of Berra’s baseball brilliance.
His lavishly loving and endearingly repetitious love letters to Carmen Berra, with whom he was married for 65 years, are read aloud here. He was also a dedicated family guy. He was a combat hero who served in a rocket boat off the coast of Normandy on D-Day in World War II. Despite being injured, he decided against applying for a Purple Heart so as not to concern his mother.
The always unavoidable popping forth of Berra’s folksy malapropisms, or Yogi-isms, is what gives his exemplary life its impetus. The phrase “It ain’t over ’til it’s over,” which some people dispute Berra really said, is the source of the movie’s title. However, the finest of them are as profound as Zen koans when you actually think about them.
Reviews It Ain’t Over (2022)
In order to show me all the homes owned by people like Stephen Colbert, a friend of mine who lives in Montclair, New Jersey, took me around the upscale area on the hill one evening. When we reached a fork in the road, my companion stated, “You get to Yogi Berra’s house no matter which fork you select.” Then, in order to demonstrate me, he drove me around the circle road. It was hilarious, especially in light of one of Yogi Berra’s (many) well-known sayings, or “Yogi-isms”: “Take the fork in the road when you get to it.
Yogi-isms are frequently dismissed as illogical gibberish, instances of miscommunication, word puzzles, or just expressing the obvious. However, upon closer inspection, they are all true. The message was always evident, and the meaning was never ambiguous. My personal favourite, which I have occasionally used, is “It felt like deja vu all over again.” Yes, it’s humorous, but you understand precisely what he means. The most well-known Yogi proverb is presumably “It ain’t over till it’s over,” and Sean Mullin’s new documentary “It Ain’t Over” is titled after this proverb.
The term might signify different things to different people, much as yogi-isms make sense when you give them more thought. Yogi Berra was a baseball player, manager, and coach. For the most part of his career, he accomplished this with distinction. However, Yogi Bear, Yogi-isms, and the adorable, silly persona that the media gave him are what people remember him for the most. Frequently, the tone was patronizing, emphasizing his rather un-baseball-like stature he was small, squat, and low to the earth. He was viewed more or less as a mascot for the squad, or a clown, especially because of his fondness for ridiculous ads and product endorsements. He was a formidable presence behind the plate as a catcher and at the plate as well.
Remember that he was the son of Italian immigrants and that, before to being recruited, he served in the World War II (with a New York Yankees contract already signed). He was there when the beach in Normandy was stormed. The title of the documentary could allude to Berra’s legacy, which requires a great deal of polishing.
“It Ain’t Over” begins with a provocative incident. The “four greatest living players” Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench, and Willie Mays—were showered with applause when they took the field for the 2015 All-Star Game. Though I recall my cousin asking, “Where the heck is Yogi?” it was a very emotional moment. Indeed. The song “It Ain’t Over” reiterates what many others have said. It’s unjust that Yogi’s “brand,” which eclipsed his career, should be reduced to nothing more than his endearing regular appearance in the game, wisecracking, making jokes in ads, and engaging in his “brand.
Just have a peek at his impressive statistics. He was a player who won ten World Series titles. Three times he received MVP. Pitcher Don Larsen pitched a perfect game in the 1956 World Series, with Berra crouching behind the plate, virtually overseeing the show. I adore the fact that Larsen didn’t ignore any of Berra’s calls during the day’s pitches that he made. Never one. Both Berra and Larsen share equal credit for the success. In the annals of the World Series, it is the sole flawless game.
Even after several viewings, the video remains exciting: Berra jumping like a child into Larsen’s arms as the audience erupts. As a manager and coach, he kept winning World Series after World Series. If anything, his record is better than that of the four greatest players still playing now (legends all, and rightfully so). Why then the smugness?
A family affair, “It Ain’t Over” features interviews with his kids and grandchildren (his granddaughter is the main voice, leading us through the career). The doctor seems more impassioned and urgent as a result. The Berra family relates the tales with warmth and familiarity, even shedding tears as they go along. These are tall tales, familiar territory, and their family’s storey.
An amazing list of interview topics includes writers, former teammates, and enthusiasts like as Derek Jeter and Roger Angell. I adored the succinct, ebullient remarks made by former MLB outfielder Nick Swisher: “Twelve strikeouts? I doubt if I even performed it in Whiffle Ball!” Joe Madden, a former player and coach, states simply, “Just look at the old footage, dude.” According to Roger Angell, “He eliminated the strike zone.
His support for the integration of the major leagues during a period when it was not a popular position has also been the subject of a great deal of discussion. Jackie Robinson will never forget Yogi Berra’s opening remarks to him, which were, “Welcome to professional baseball, and thank you for your devotion to the country.” There’s more where that came from, such as Berra’s late-life participation with Athlete Ally, a nonprofit advocacy group that assists sports leagues in becoming more accepting of their athletes and LGBTQ supporters.
The song “It Ain’t Over” operates as intended. I will admit that I am a sucker for baseball players chatting up their colleagues and predecessors, sharing stories of their experiences, and expressing professional appreciation. There’s a legacy from the past, a continuation. A detour into Yogi-isms and their construction is included in the movie, with linguists and life coaches contributing. This discrepancy is needless. No literary academic can help you understand why Berra’s quote, “If you can’t mimic him, don’t copy him,” makes perfect sense.
“It’s hard not to be romantic about baseball,” quips the troubled Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) cynically in the movie Moneyball. Perhaps some individuals find it simple. But in case you struggle, it matters to have someone like Yogi Berra. History is important. the actual record. Not Yogi Berra’s reputation, not Berra as a public personality, but Berra as a player. Let’s discuss it.
