Line #62 Film/TheNatural


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_125.jpeg]]
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3	->'''Roy Hobbs''': I coulda been better. I coulda broke every record in the book.\
4	'''Iris Gaines''': And then?\
5	'''Roy Hobbs''': And then? And then when I walked down the street people would've looked and they would've said 'There goes Roy Hobbs, the best there ever was in this game'.
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7	A 1984 American period sports drama film adapted from Bernard Malamud's 1952 novel of the same name, directed by Creator/BarryLevinson and starring Creator/RobertRedford as Roy Hobbs, a supernaturally gifted young baseball talent whose career is derailed when he is shot in the gut by a deranged fan (Creator/BarbaraHershey). Sixteen years later he makes his belated big league debut, but his dark secret threatens to destroy him.
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9	Also in the cast are Creator/RobertDuvall, Creator/GlennClose, Creator/KimBasinger, Creator/WilfordBrimley, Creator/RobertProsky, Creator/RichardFarnsworth, Creator/JoeDonBaker, Creator/MichaelMadsen, and Creator/DarrenMcGavin.
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11	Notable as the first movie to be produced by Creator/TriStarPictures (but not the first released, that honor having gone to ''Where the Boys Are '84'').
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13	----
14	!!This film provides examples of:
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16	* TheAce: Roy in his younger days. He develops into a (very downplayed) BrokenAce after the incident that ruined his early career.
17	* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: One that proved very controversial at the time, at least among fans of Bernard Malamud's book. In the novel, Roy accepts the Judge's bribe to throw the game (though he later regrets it and starts playing legitimately, but still strikes out), the Knights lose, and his career ends in defeat and disgrace. In the movie, of course, Roy hits the mammoth HappyEnding homer.
18	* AdaptationalHeroism: In the novel, Roy eventually accepts a bribe from the Judge and Gus to throw the game, whereas in the film he's too decent and proud a man to do any such thing.
19	* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Memo is a [[KickTheDog dog-kicking]] absolute GoldDigger in the book but in the film seems to have some genuine feelings for Roy, being upset when he throws her aside as opposed to her throwing him aside in the book.
20	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: A male version with Roy, who expresses interest in Harriet (until she reveals herself to be a LoonyFan) and pursues a relationship with Memo despite being cautioned against it. The trope is ultimately subverted when he chooses Iris in the end.
21	* AndThenWhat: Both Harriet and Iris pointedly ask Roy at different times what his plan is for ''after'' becoming "the best there ever was in this game."
22	* ArmorPiercingQuestion: "Did you ever play ball Max?"
23	* ArtisticLicenseSports: After the starting pitcher falls behind in the count to Roy 2-0, in the last at bat, the opposing manager calls in a different pitcher. Although this is not against the rules, substituting a pitcher in the middle of an at-bat virtually never happens unless the pitcher that started the at-bat is injured. However, it has happened before, ''especially'' in important games, when the manager felt the pitcher was too wild, too nervous or both.
24	* TheBenchwarmer: Roy Hobbs is a talented player who spends a long time warming the bench because manager Pop Fisher resents having to field anyone as old as Roy. He proves himself as soon as a player shortage gives him a chance to.
25	* BettyAndVeronica: Iris and Memo, one sweet and innocent, one a sexual temptress.
26	* BigGame: The National League pennant race comes down to the last day, with the Knights and their rivals facing off in the last game.
27	* BlackmailBackfire: The Judge tries to do this to Roy with the photos of the attempted murder-suicide when Roy was a young ballplayer, but, after Roy declines his offer, the Judge in his shock declares that he thought he could rely on Roy's "honor"—which Roy then replies to with "you're about to" before heading back to the field to hit the pennant-winning home run.
28	* BlandNameProduct: The Knights are obviously the [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball New York Giants]][[note]]The now-UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco team, not the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague current New York Giants]].[[/note]], but with the Arthurian theme.
29	* BookEnds: The movie begins with young Roy playing catch with his father in a field on their farm, and ends with adult Roy playing catch with [[spoiler: his son]] in what appears to be the same field.
30	* CallBack:
31	** Roy, a young natural talent, strikes out The Whammer early in the film, right after Max calls Whammer the best there ever was. Roy becomes determined to earn that title for himself, and during the climax of the film he is almost struck out by a young pitcher who the radio announcer describes as "a natural", and who will clearly one day become a legend in his own right. The man even looks a little bit like a young Robert Redford.
32	** About a third of the way through the film, the Knights' bat boy Bobby Savoy comments that he wishes he had a bat of his own, and Roy agrees to make one with him. After Wonderboy breaks in the climactic game, Bobby loans him the bat he and Roy made -- named "Savoy Special" -- and Roy sends the next pitch crashing into a lighting tower.
33	* CallingYourShots: Subverted: The Whammer (a Babe Ruth expy) calls his shot in an impromptu showdown with young Roy Hobbs, but goes down on strikes.
34	* CareerNotTaken: New York Knights manager Pop Fisher is introduced lamenting that he should've taken his mother's advice and become a farmer, instead of the manager of a dead-end, consistently losing team. Before the league pennant game, hero Roy Hobbs overhears this, and reminisces at length to Fisher about having grown up on a farm.
35	-->'''Fisher:''' I didn't care nothing about the Series. Win or lose, I would have been satisfied. I'd have walked away from baseball and I'd have bought a farm.\
36	'''Roy:''' Nothing like a farm. Nothing like being around animals, fixing things. There's nothing like being in the field with the corn and the winter wheat. The greenest stuff you ever saw.\
37	'''Fisher:''' You know, my mother told me I ought to be a farmer.\
38	'''Roy:''' My dad wanted me to be a baseball player.
39	* CatapultNightmare: Roy has a nightmare involving the woman who shot him ([[{{Foreshadowing}} while in bed with Memo]]), and jerks awake in fright.
40	* TheConspiracy: A bit of {{exposition}} reveals that Pop Fisher owes a lot of money to the Judge, and bet his share in the New York Knights franchise against the forgiveness of the debt that the Knights would win the league pennant. The Judge conspires with a bookie and Fisher's own niece to fix the Knights' games so Fisher loses the bet, but Hobbs' talent and [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules personal integrity]] become the SpannerInTheWorks.
41	* DarkestHour: [[spoiler:Wonderboy is shattered on a foul ball.]]
42	* DarkIsEvil:
43	** Harriet Bird is dressed in all black when she shoots Roy.
44	** Implied with [[NoNameGiven the Judge]], who refuses to light his office. Roy doesn't hold this belief, saying that the only thing he knows about the dark is "you can't see in it."
45	* DeadpanSnarker: Roy likes to sneak these into conversation now and then.
46	--> '''Max''': You read my mind.\
47	'''Roy''': That takes all of three seconds.
48	* DemotedToExtra: Roy's agent Sam dies of a heart attack from a ball to the chest when Roy strikes out the Whammer in the book and gives his last money to Roy to get to Chicago while later appearing to him in a dream. In the film, he still sets up the match with the Whammer but has no other role.
49	* DestructiveSavior: Roy may have saved the Knights and Pop Fisher's career, but he smashes up a hell of a lot of ballpark with his home runs in the process.
50	* DisneyVillainDeath: Of the family-unfriendly variety. [[spoiler:Harriet Bird jumps out a high window in a black negligee after shooting Roy. The Judge later shows Roy the gory crime scene photographs in an attempt at {{blackmail}}ing him to stay out of the league pennant game.]]
51	* DownToTheLastPlay: Roy's walkoff homer off the lighting tower to win the pennant.
52	* EtherealWhiteDress: Iris standing in the stands in her white dress, looking angelic as the sun sets behind her (her translucent white hat looks like a halo as the sun shines through it).
53	* EvilCannotComprehendGood: The Judge and Max are completely baffled by Roy.
54	* TheFilmOfTheBook: Bernard Malamud's novel is considerably darker in tone (Hobbs becomes an arrogant {{Jerkass}} as a result of his sudden fame, whereas he remains a goal-oriented NiceGuy in the movie) and has a [[spoiler:DownerEnding in which Roy turns out to be completely useless without the Wonderbat at the end, striking out and is about to be disgraced by Mercy's (highly-inaccurate) report]], whereas in the movie, [[spoiler:he gets the Knights to the World Series]].
55	* FirstGirlWins: Roy refuses to throw the game and run away with Memo, and the final scene shows him playing catch with [[spoiler: his son]] while Iris watches with a smile.
56	* FisherKing: No, not Pop Fisher. Roy -- the team goes has he goes. When he's on a hot streak, everyone plays well (and acrobatically, no less!). When he's slumping, everyone gets mired in a slump.
57	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
58	** Max is introduced reading a news story about two famous athletes who were both shot with silver bullets. Harriet enters the train-car moments later and begins eyeing Whammer. [[spoiler:After Roy strikes out the Whammer on a bet, she switches targets and shoots him instead.]]
59	** The first time we see Roy miss a pitch is at the carnival when Harriet (along with Max and Whammer) comes over to watch his throwing. This foreshadows the slump he goes through later, during his relationship with Memo.
60	* ForgottenFirstMeeting: Max forgets meeting Roy 16 years earlier (though insists he knows him from somewhere), but Roy remembers him well and tries hard to avoid him. When Max figures it out he tries to use it as blackmail.
61	* FriendToAllChildren: Roy goes out of his way to be kind and friendly with every child he meets.
62	* FuneralCut: After Bump Bailey crashes through the outfield wall while chasing a deep fly ball and doesn't get up, it cuts directly to his funeral.
63	* GaussianGirl: A male example for the early scenes where 48-year-old Robert Redford is asked to play a teenager.
64	* GiveMeASword: A baseball bat, this time, when Roy finds himself in need of a bat after Wonderboy shatters on a foul ball. "Go pick me out a winner, Bobby."
65	* GoingHomeAgain: Roy Hobbs finishes his lone season of Major League Baseball after hitting a dramatic, pennant-winning homerun to be with his ChildhoodSweetheart and son at his family farm.
66	* HeroOfAnotherStory: The young pitcher who faces off against Hobbs in the final game, and who nearly strikes Hobbs out, is described by the game's radio announcer in the same terms that Hobbs is described at the beginning of the movie. This pitcher is another "Natural", and its clear that, given time, he'll end up being one of the greatest players in the game, just like Hobbs.
67	* HisStoryRepeatsItself: [[spoiler: Memo]] pulls a gun on Roy during her VillainousBreakdown. She doesn't shoot him, but he's understandably unnerved at the sight (considering what happened to him sixteen years before), and he visibly relaxes after taking it away from her. Then he hangs a lampshade on the parallel by telling her [[CallBack she was right]]; they have met before.
68	* HowWeGotHere: A subtle example. The film opens with a scene of Roy boarding a train as an adult, then flashes back to his childhood and days as a young, up and coming pitcher. After the incident that ends his career before it even starts, the film cuts to sixteen years later and shows Roy arriving at the Knight's ballpark in the middle of a game, wearing the same clothing as the opening scene.
69	* HypocriticalHumor: The Judge berates Roy for [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules turning down his bribe to throw the game]] by declaring "I thought I could rely on your honor!"
70	* ICallItVera: "Wonderboy", Roy's bat. And later, Bobby's "Savoy Special".
71	* ICouldaBeenAContender: A main theme. Roy had the makings of a superstar and was only able to show it late in life.
72	* LaserGuidedKarma:
73	** Gus and the Judge. The Judge loses his share of the team to Pops in the film and gets a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown in the book. Gus also loses a lot of money he bet on Roy (having made a phone call earlier saying to bet "everything), although its implied he makes and loses big bets regularly.
74	** Max is making a drawing of Roy striking out, depicting him as the goat -- Roy fouls a ball straight back into the press box, glass shards flying everywhere, as if he knew what Max was doing and is sending him a message.
75	* LighterAndSofter: The movie has a HappyEnding, unlike the book.
76	* LivingLegend: Becoming one is Roy's biggest dream in life. [[spoiler:He succeeds.]]
77	--> "There goes Roy Hobbs, the best there ever was in this game."
78	* LoonyFan: Of the very creepy variety. [[spoiler:Harriet Bird turns out to be the briefly-mentioned lunatic responsible for killing star athletes with silver bullets.]]
79	--> "Are you the best there ever was?"
80	* AMasterMakesTheirOwnTools: At the beginning of the movie, lightning strikes an oak tree outside the family home. Obviously, the thing to do is to turn the wood into a regulation baseball bat and use it to start a career as a professional baseball player.
81	* MissingMom: Roy's mother is never seen or mentioned, which raises some interesting questions about who exactly took care of him after his father's death.
82	* MoodWhiplash: Bump Bailey's death occurs during a game where he's playing exceptionally well, and the coaches are congratulating each other on successfully motivating him to play better. Then he crashes through the outfield wall while chasing a ball and it cuts to a radio announcer describing his funeral while his ashes are scattered on the field. The whole thing comes completely out of nowhere.
83	* MundaneMadeAwesome: The film makes games in which Hobbs plays seem like Ragnarok. Hobbs knocks the cover off of balls, wedges the ball into the net when he pitches, and at the end his home run hit destroys the lighting fixtures, causing explosions of sparks to rain down on the field as he rounds the bases.
84	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
85	** "The Whammer", played by Joe Don Baker, is obviously inspired by Creator/BabeRuth: they look an awful lot alike and the Whammer has a reputation as a tremendous home run hitter (though this is an InformedAttribute courtesy of Roy's right arm).
86	** Roy Hobbs is something of a CompositeCharacter inspired by both Ruth and Ted Williams. Both are a tremendous pitcher and a fearsome slugger, much as Ruth was in real life. Williams was also a decent pitcher who was quickly changed to a left fielder while still in the minors, wore the number 9, and hit a home run in his last at bat of his career. Williams also said that he wanted people to see him walking down the street and say "There goes Ted Williams, the best there ever was."
87	** Max Mercy was basically "what if Walter Winchell did sports instead of gossip?".
88	* NoodleIncident: Baseball players are renowned for being hilariously superstitious. For the Knights, the number 11 is unlucky for some unexplained reason, and their supply manager warns Roy off.
89	* OhCrap: When the reliever comes in, Roy gives one -- the pitcher is basically himself, 20 years ago. He's obviously thinking that only a natural can defeat a natural.
90	* OneSeasonAthlete: Although Roy did play semi-pro ball and was on his way to a tryout with the Chicago Cubs, his time with the New York Knights can be considered as an example of the trope.
91	-->'''Fisher:''' Most guys your age, they retire!
92	* {{Paparazzi}}: Sportswriter (and sports cartoonist) Max Mercy comes off as this, seemingly just as interested in baseball scandals and scoops as in baseball itself, and unknowingly aids and abets TheConspiracy on a number of occasions.
93	* PutMeInCoach: Knights manager Pop Fisher is initially highly reluctant to let his absurdly old rookie play in a game. He finally relents for batting practice after Hobbs loses his temper at him when Fisher announces he's sending Hobbs down to the Knights' minor league farm team, and Hobbs' talent for long fly balls convinces Fisher to let him try it for real.
94	* RedemptionQuest: After a terrible mistake and tragedy end his baseball career before it begins, Roy finally makes his way back to the game and hopes to redeem himself before it's too late.
95	* RunningGag: "I shoulda been a farmer." Fisher says this whenever he's annoyed.
96	* ScaryShinyGlasses: The Judge's dimly-lit office allows him to do this pretty often, better seen when he tries to bribe (and blackmail, just to be sure) Roy to take a dive.
97	* SerialKiller: Unfortunately for Roy, his whole life is turned upside down by running into one of these. We never find out [[spoiler:why is it that Harriet Bird hunts down great athletes to shoot them dead with silver bullets]] beyond the obviously implied "[[LoonyFan she's nuts]]".
98	* ShoutOut:
99	** Roy's statement that he wants people on the street to say "There goes Roy Hobbs, the greatest hitter who ever lived" was something Ted Williams stated.
100	** The whole plot appears to be heavily influenced by Myth/GreekMythology and Creator/{{Homer}}'s writings. Roy is Odysseus, the hero trying to find his way home. Max Mercy is Vulcan, the God of Fire and Forging; he can "make or break" upcoming ball players and is always seen in red or brown clothing. Pop Fisher is Zeus, King of the Gods; his uniform is #1 and both the oak tree and lightning bolt are his symbols. The Judge is Hades, God of the Underworld; he is always in the dark a.k.a. death, and the dead are "judged" in the underworld. Memo Paris is Kalypso, a sea nymph who had an affair with Odysseus and held/distracted him from returning home. Gus Sands is the Cyclops with the one strange eye. Iris Gaines is Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, who patiently and faithfully waited for her true love to return home. {{Lampshaded}} early in the film when Harriet Bird compares Roy striking out the Whammer to something out of Homer. However, Bernard Malamaud explicitly stated it was a King Arthur pastiche.
101	* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: Iris has a secret.
102	* SoreLoser: The Whammer is pretty sore that he got struck out by Roy.
103	* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: To keep the Knights from winning their next few games, Memo offers an unsuspecting Roy a bite of drugged food at a party. He ends up ill and has to be rushed to the hospital, where he spends several days recovering.
104	* TemptingFate: When he finally lets Roy have a chance to bat, Pop says "Knock the cover off the ball." Roy proceeds to do exactly that, hitting the baseball so hard that he literally knocks its cover off.
105	* TimeshiftedActor: Paul Sullivan Jr. as Young Roy, and Rachel Hall as Young Iris.
106	* ThrowingTheFight: The Judge wants his own players to throw the climactic game so that he can force out Pop Fisher and take total control of the team.
107	* TruthInTelevision: Players have indeed hit home runs into scoreboard clocks, light arrays, and through the outfield fence. When Greg "The Bull" Luzinski was playing for the Phillies back in the 1970s, he hit a ball off the Jumbotron. It started smoking and they had to turn it off.
108	* UnluckilyLucky: The Whammer would have been the one Harriet stalked and shot if not for Roy striking him out.
109	* TheVamp: Pop Fisher's niece, Memo Paris, is in cahoots with the conspiracy trying to fix games to take the NY Knights franchise away from Fisher, [[DistractedByTheSexy using her attributes]] to distract the Knights' top players and cost them games.
110	* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory:
111	** Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Eddie Waitkus was shot in the chest in his Chicago hotel room by deranged 19-year-old fan Ruth Ann Steinhagen in 1949. Waitkus recovered from his wound and played for six more seasons in the big leagues, starring with the 1950 "Whiz Kids" Philadelphia team that won the National League pennant. Steinhagen was judged insane and committed to a state hospital for three years, then lived in quiet obscurity until her death in 2012.
112	** Bump Bailey's penchant for suffering injuries was based on Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder Pete Reiser's propensity for accidents. Bump's fatal crash was based on that suffered by Philadelphia A's catcher "Doc" Powers in 1909. (For the record, Reiser suffered a skull fracture after crashing into a wall as well, but survived.)
113	* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: Memo]] pulls a gun on Roy when he tells The Judge that he's not going to throw the game, since it also means that he's refusing to run away with her like she begged him to.
114	* WatchOutForThatTree: How Bump Bailey meets his end, courtesy of an outfield wall.
115	* WholePlotReference: To ''Literature/LeMorteDarthur'', right down to the manager's name being Fisher (FisherKing), the team being called The Knights, Roy's bat being named (as Excalibur was), broken, and "healed" (in this case, a replacement). [[spoiler:Except unlike Arthur, in the movie Roy Hobbs wins his final battle and lives to retire in apparent happiness.]]
116	* WoundThatWillNotHeal: The bullet in Roy's gut, which is still bleeding nearly 20 years after he got shot.
117	* XanatosGambit: Max gloats that he'd be happy seeing Roy get crushed but has a story even if he wins.

Context Film / TheNatural