"Can I Come Back Again?"

I love "Field of Dreams".

The moments before I hear “the Voice” are so terribly exciting I can barely contain myself, and I’ve seen this countless times before.

I have a powerful dream of going to Iowa, seeing the field, and just basking in the glory that is baseball in a field of corn.

The first time I saw "Field of Dreams" was probably around the time it came out in 1989. I was four, so I don’t remember it, but I remember having always loved the movie. As a little girl, my father tried to interest me in baseball, but my appreciation of the sport took years to grow. This movie only fed my nostalgia and hope, making baseball seem like a pretty great idea.

"Field of Dreams" starts with a brief background history of Ray Consella’s life. Baseball has played a large role in his life, but he seems to have tried to put it behind himself. Ray has a good life, living on a farm with his wife and young daughter. He’s in Iowa, a place that looks like a never ending baseball field even without the lines drawn in the dirt. It seems to be a perfect connection between Heaven and Earth. There’s a great exchange in which a character asks Ray “is this Heaven?” “No,” replies Ray, “It’s Iowa”. Damn skippy.

Kevin Costner plays Ray, and it’s about the only time I like him. He’s actually completely believable, and surprisingly likeable. I root for him as he chases after an inexplicable goal. He believes that, if he builds a baseball field on his farm, the ghost of a once great baseball player will return to play. He creates something “completely illogical” and it turns the world into something brilliantly magical.

The movie is beautiful, with long shots of the sky and the fields. It has good one liners, a great supporting cast—which is nifty, even though Costner, for once, doesn’t need it. Amy Madigan is fun and amiable as Ray’s wife, Annie. Ray Liotta and (his magnetic eyes) make a fantastic and believable ghost while James Earl Jones (and his voice) make a hilarious and intelligent reclusive writer. The best scenes in the movie have Jones, and the most beautiful ones have Liotta.

There are heartwarming scenes, and individual triumph. There are acts of heroism, and painful sacrifice. It sends a message all about following-your-dreams, and it’s one of those few times that the theme doesn’t seem selfish or smug. It just seems lovely.

In the end, though, this film is a love letter to baseball, and this review is a similar message to the film. Not everyone will like it, I’m sure. However, if you like baseball, apple pie, family, magic, or feeling happy, then you might share my appreciation for "Field of Dreams".

If you haven’t see it, I recommend watching it. If you have seen it, please, watch it again. Either give it another chance, or revisit something you liked. It’s a neat movie, and besides, almost everyone deserves a second chance, and "Field of Dreams" is all about that.