Dark and unsympathetic biopic of baseball great Ty Cobb

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	• Cobb Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Wuhl Warner Home Video, 2003 average customer review:based on 37 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Like Being Spiked By A Runner Swiping Third Base

Ty Cobb was no angel in the outfield and writer/director Ron Shelton delivers a masterpiece on one of the most respected and reviled professional athletes ever.

Tommy Lee Jones portrays Cobb in this no-holds-barred account of his final years, as cancer was destroying the "Georgia Peach" from the inside and his vile, crazed actions shredded any grudging respect that a controversial, all-time great should receive in the ninth-inning of life.

Cobb biographer Al Stump is played by Robert Wuhl. Stump is as much a confidant as a writer attempting to piece together the real story from fiction, fact and fear fueled by Cobb's unstable rantings - oftentimes induced through a prodigious consumption of alcohol.

At one point, in a rambling diatribe, Jones belts out the line, "Life's too short to be a diplomat." And that was Cobb coming in spikes-high into third base...on the diamond of life.

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Cobb

This is a great movie. The language is strong so I do not recommend it for children. Ty Cobb was bestrayed well in this movie.

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Dark and unsympathetic biopic of baseball great Ty Cobb

Ty Cobb was certainly one of the greatest ballplayers to ever put on cleats, but this film does not him justice. As a historical biopic it falls far short. Cobb comes across without a shred of humanity and is dislikeable from his first appearance. This really isn't a baseball story per se, it's more of a character study with a baseball backdrop. The story starts near the end of Cobb's life as reporter Al Stump is summoned to Cobb's Tahoe hunting lodge to write the life story of the great ball player (all of which is based on a true story and you can find Stump's books on Amazon). The vast majority of the movie is spent on the interplay between Stump and Cobb as Stump (and the audience) discover what kind of man Cobb really is (and it ain't pretty). Throughout the film we get a few vignettes of Cobb's life, his career in baseball, his early upbringing, the accidental (?) slaying of his father by his mother, but we basically learn that Cobb was a drunken, racist pig. Stump is torn as to whether to write the hero-worship story that Cobb wants, or whether to write the true-to-life story that presents Cobb to the public as he really is, warts and all.

There is a lot to like about this film. The performances of both Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Wuhl (who is the main character in the tale in spite of the title and billing) are outstanding. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that this is probably one of Tommy Lee Jones' best performances in his long and varied career. He convincingly makes Cobb dislikable from the get go. Roger Clemens makes a guest appearance as well. In this film, Cobb represents everything that is wrong with professional athletes. The arrogance, the sense of self-indulgence and self-aggrandizement. They are only baseball players, and batting titles in the grand scheme of things aren't that important. Cobb may be rich and famous, but I wouldn't want to have lived his life. If even half this film is true, he must have been a pretty sorry man. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge baseball fan, but some (many) pro athletes lose perspective, and the man presented in Cobb took this to the extreme.

The faults of this film are many, however. The story bounces along as Cobb commits one outrageous, druken, racist act after another, becoming more despicable to the audience. In fact, the story is essentially the same series of scenes repeated throughout the film. Stump/Wuhl is torn about the story he wants to write, Cobb commits another self-indulgent, offfensive act, Stump and Wuhl argue about it, then patch things up and it happens again. The film really drags at times. Additionally, for a film purportedly about one of the early stars of baseball, you'll learn almost nothing about Cobb as a player, and even less about the dead-ball era in baseball more generally. This film is largely a character study, and I would have liked to know more about Cobb's baseball days. Don't be misled thinking that this film is largely about Cobb's playing days, because it isn't. This is a decent film that even a non-baseball fan can enjoy as a rental. No need to add this to your collection though, even a hardcore baseball aficiando isn't likely to be watching this over and over.

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One of Jones' best performances to date

The movie opens in a bar with half a dozen writers sitting around a table giving their 'best of' lists. They cannot agree on much--but all but one of them called out Ty Cobb's name as the best baseball player.

One of the men is called away from the table and he's jubilant. Ty Cobb has called him to do a book about his life.

Al Stump (Robert Wuhl) is quickly of two minds. There's nothing heroic about Cobb--although he understands greatness and has achieved it. Cobb goes from one misbehavior or abuse to the next without question, pause, or apology--he doesn't accommodate others and he doesn't let up.

Stump's got a problem. He's got two stories to tell--the one Cobb wants told and the real one. Which one does he want to tell--Cobb's or the one Cobb's told him in confidence? And which one should be told?

If you ever question Tommy Lee Jones' acting ability, watch "Cobb" and "Valley of Elah". Both performances show the actor at his top form and not just 'playing himself.'

"Cobb" is a hard film to watch--it's two hours of bare knuckle fighting and abuse, but it's well worth the time for the performances.

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Amazing!

"Cobb" is simply the best baseball biopic ever. Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Wuhl are excellent as Cobb and his annointed biographer Al Stump. The recreated baseball scenes of the deadball era are right up there with "Eight Men Out" as far as realism goes. Jones is "scary" good in his portrayal of Cobb, arguably the greatest ballplayer ever (I'm pretty convinced he was). This movie is an underappreciated classic of the sports movie genre and a great profile of the genius/madness that was Ty Cobb. The extras are short but interesting. Recommended!!

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Tyrus Raymond Cobb played baseball like a man charging a machine-gun nest. He gave no quarter, took no prisoners. And when his Hall of Fame career was over, Ty Cobb attacked life the same way. Tommy Lee Jones portrays the legendary - and equally cheered and detested - Georgia Peach in this acclaimed film from writer/director Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, Dark Blue), also starring Robert Wuhl and Lolita Davidovich. From its recapturing of the outfielder's playing days (Roger Clemens portrays a rival pitcher) to its recreation of a 1961 Hall of Fame banquet, Cobb is a movie grand slam.

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