Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream
((Wed. (12), 5:05-7:05 p.m., TBS))
Cast: Bobby L. White Jr., Glen Griswold, David Crawford, Steve Coulter, Carol Mitchell-Leon, L. Warren Young, Larry Thompson, Lenny Herb, Bart Hansard, Nicole Torre, Michelle Benjamin-Cooper, Frank Roberts, Denny Wright.
Henry (Hank) Aaron was the best home run hitter to play professional baseball -- his seemingly unassailable record of 755 lifetime homers testifies to that. He was also a spectacular all-around ballplayer, a fine human and a committed citizen. TBS' exhaustive film hammers home all those points, yet fails to confer on the Hall of Famer the crown of mythic greatness it, and he, so clearly desire.
"Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream" is a docudrama in the truest sense of the word. It offers a combination of footage of the ballplayer in his prime, testimonials from an impressive array of admirers -- from Sandy Koufax to former President Jimmy Carter -- and dramatic re-creations.
These elements create the desired effect of reminding viewers just how terrific an athlete Aaron was, and illuminate his generally overlooked contributions to the civil rights movement. But "Chasing the Dream" also leaves a bit of a bad taste. That's because while it illuminates much, it obscures much as well. For instance, no mention is made of the fact that following his retirement Aaron went to work for Turner Broadcasting, which made this project. Even worse, the dramatic re-creations appear without explanation or identification.
It's as if the filmmakers wanted to fool viewers into thinking that although Aaron grew up in deep poverty in Alabama, there are lots of home movies of his childhood days playing ball. Scratches on the "old" footage create a sense of dishonesty, not authenticity. There isn't even a clue that the first-person narration is provided by actor Dorian Harewood, not Aaron.
Viewers can be excused for feeling manipulated, particularly since such efforts aren't necessary: Aaron's record speaks for itself, and when it doesn't, real archival footage and the testimony of his peers do.
Director-writer Mike Tollin skillfully intercuts between Aaron's on-field heroics and the nation's social upheaval during the '50s, '60s and '70s.
That mix of sports and civil rights is emphasized during the final third of the film, which focuses on Aaron's dramatic pursuit of Babe Ruth's home run record and the racially tinged anger it triggered. Viewers end up feeling at once impressed by his consistency and courage, and put off by his self-pity in other areas.
He seems to feel he's not given enough credit for what he achieved in his career, yet he fails to recognize that statistics don't tell the whole story.
Aaron and his TBS hagiographers can't seem to tell the difference between being the best and being the greatest.
The latter goes beyond statistics to include such intangibles as charisma and magic. Muhammad Ali, at the height of his boxing career, didn't call himself the best -- this dynamic personality was simply The Greatest.
Sure enough, one of the film's most profound observations comes from former baseball star Willie McCovey, who praises Aaron, yet points out that he lacked the flair of his contemporary Willie Mays.
In the end, "Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream" is a persuasive portrait, but the definitive biography of the home run king will have to wait for another telling.
Editor, John Ganem; art directors, Richard Wester , Karen Young; research, Shonda Rhimes; sound, Shirley Libby; music, Ed Smart.
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