A Second Chance

Not a bad film about the mistakes of youth and the regret that follows with the game of baseball playing in the backdrop.

The film feels low budget and the editing of the film is pretty poor but if you ignore that you'll be pleasantly surprised by the overall films message. The film can feel a bit long at times but again that could have been fixed by a better editing process. Joe Manganiello is good in his role. Some really good baseball scenes that will entertain any baseball fan.

Note- If you are a New York Yankees fan, you'll love the imagery and cameos throughout the film.

Also great cameo by Former San Francisco Giants Closer Brian Wilson - Who for some reason is Uncredited in this film.

Sonny Stano (Joe Manganiello) has been in prison 18 years. When he was young, he got into a fight and ended up killing a guy. To make matters worse, he had been a hot baseball prospect for the New York Yankees and as a result of his crime, he lost that chance. However, after being released from prison, he is given a chance to work as an assistant coach for a minor league team. Amazingly, through this, he manages to impress his bosses and they decide to offer him a contract...as a player. But at 38, does Sonny stand a chance of making the majors? And, what about his life outside of ball...can he manage to create a good life for himself or is he destined to just do what many ex-cons do....end up back in the joint?

This is an interesting film since the love interest for Sonny is played by Sofia Vergara...Joe Manganiello's real life wife. As for Manganiello, his performance is VERY subdued and his character is not exacty a talkative guy. I know this will frustrate many viewers, though for an ex-con, his behavior was not unusual. Apart from Manganiello's very restrained performance, I also think some viewers probably disliked the ending...which is very vague and anything but what you'd expect. I didn't mind this at all..and liked how the story concluded.

Overall, the film isn't perfect but it does offer something I really like....it's different. The film generally avoids the usual cliches and the story is engaging.

By the way, Sonny plays for the Staten Island Empires...which is supposed to be a farm club for the Yankees. In reality, the farm club in Staten Island is also called the Yankees...not the Empires.

An american story about second chance for a baseball player after 17 years in prison as consequence of involuntary murder. Familiar names in cast, decent crafted romance , pretty realistic, indeed, with some indulgence, succes story with some critic moments for hero and drops of humor.

A nice film , more seductive for references and for some suggestions about characters, for their memories about early youth and their generous premises destroyed by a tragic accident and for predactibility fair used.

A baseball story, indeed , but careful to not transform the story only in pretext.

So, pretty nice , good spoons of unrealism and the expected final.

This is a story of redemption of a man who unintentionally murdered a man and ruined his potential baseball career as a top prospect. After 19 years in the clink, he's out and trying to ease back into life. He finds a job as a minor league coach and realizes he still has game and can crank a fastball a long way. Will he be able to make a miraculous comeback while battling angry people who still have a bone to pick? This was certainly a positive feeling movie that handles topics without finesse yet is still rather palatable. Sort of like slammin' down a Big Mac in the car during a road trip. There were some genuinely good baseball scenes but some characters arcs are rather abrupt an unsurprising. Far from award-winning, it is still a decent story that leaves you upbeat. It was interesting to see Sofía Vergara not in her "Modern Family" character; a first for me.

So, look, this movie isn't going to win an Oscar. But, if you have a heart and meet it on it's own terms, you might just find the message in this movie. Manganiello and Vergara have a genuine chemistry. And there's enough in the story to make you believe in second chances... if you give it a chance.