I treated myself while the daughter was at prom last night--first a Dodgers-DBacks game downtown and then the movie. I enjoyed one much more than the other.
The movie was good to very good but not great IMO. It was aimed 99% at that year of breaking the color barrier, with only a little background and follow-up, but that's not surprising given time constraints and the message they were hammering home. And its a good message to hammer home.
I went to the 10:00 p.m show and I would say that at least 25% of the crowd was under 18, including many pre-teens. The amount and degree of the racial slurring was very noticeable, and as uncomfortable as it made me feel, I hope the younger set was even more affected by how vile it sounds.
I remember seeing "Brian's Song" when I was 12 and how much of an impact it had on my generation, at least those in my part of the world. Seeing it again much later I could tell how it was far from any cinematic masterpiece, and was often sappy. Still, the message it sent had been received long ago. With 42, I hope the younger people get the message too, even if the movie itself can be picked at by the critics.
BTW: Spoiler alert (j/k). Ostermueller was a lefty.
