THE BABE

The source review finds little to recommend here. THE BABE presents Babe Ruth as a gifted baseball player who wasted his life through drinking, womanizing, profanity, violent outbursts, selfishness, and rebellion against authority.

That portrait is not merely unedifying. The review calls it an appalling example for young athletes, especially because Ruth displays no sportsmanship. The film's offensive language and negative role model will anger parents rather than edify children, while the two-star entertainment rating offers little compensation.

The practical answer is simple: skip this film, and choose a more suitable baseball story instead.

THE BABE traces Babe Ruth's life from his childhood in a Catholic orphanage through his baseball career and eventual death. It focuses on a prodigious talent whose personal excesses, foul language, violent outbursts, and disrespect for authority overwhelm the story's potential for inspiration.

Two stars mean the film falls well short as entertainment. The review says John Goodman's rendition pales in comparison to the original film starring William Bendix.

Rather than giving Ruth the needed “heart,” the movie presents him as a drunken, foul-mouthed, self-centered, insensitive braggart. His constant demands for attention and obnoxious jokes make him seem like a buffoon. The source review calls THE BABE an embarrassment to both baseball and filmmaking.

The film presents a humanistic view of a talented man whose abilities do not produce a virtuous life. Ruth's drinking, smoking, womanizing, profanity, rage, selfishness, and rebellion against authority are central to the portrait. The movie removes the possibility of an inspiring sports hero by emphasizing excess and disrespect instead.

The source review also criticizes Hollywood's tendency to dwell on the most negative aspects of American heroes, arguing that this approach produces lousy entertainment and bad history. That criticism reflects a conviction that stories about admired public figures should not confuse fame or talent with moral worth.

The film's central lesson, as described by the review, is a warning about how not to live. Scripture likewise teaches that talent and achievement cannot replace character: “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches” (Proverbs 22:1).

THE BABE turns a gifted baseball player into a profoundly negative role model, while its weak entertainment value gives families little reason to endure the content. For a better baseball biography, consider the source review’s recommendation, THE BABE RUTH STORY starring William Bendix. SKIP IT.