Let me start by saying I am a native Chicagoan and a life-long Cubs fan. If these two titles apply to you, then buy this film -- you won't be sorry!
But thinking how it might look to anyone else, I have to say, it's a bit of a jumble. The film is advertized as an examination of what it means to be a Cubs fan. We've seen this before: interviews with fans talking about tradition, loyalty, character, etc. And we get that here, and it's a bit better than most -- they they interviewed professional actors like Joe Mantegna and Bonnie Hunt, people who can speak coherently on-camera. Interestingly, they tried to tie Cub fans to the history of the city: the immigrants who flocked to Chicago to rebuild after the 1871 fire brought a work ethic and a can-do spirit that is reflected in the character of the city today, and in the nature of Cubs fandom. Well, maybe.
But as a result of this approach, parts of the film look like a travel promotion for the city. And while Chicago has never looked better, you start to wonder what all those beauty shots of the lakefront have to do with the Cubs. And the history of the city provided by the film is very abbreviated -- lots of important bits are omitted. It's like they came up with this great idea, but couldn't follow through.
Another thread in the film is Cubs history -- again, trying to tie this to modern fandom. Surprisingly, this is probably the weakest aspect of the film. They talk a LOT about the 1908 team, but don't even mention the 1906 Cubs, who set a record for winning percentage that still stands. Plenty on the championship teams of 1929-1945, but very little on the long dry spell of the '50s and '60s, when modern Cub-dom was born, and absolutely nothing on the brief respite of the Durocher years. And unless I blinked and missed it, I don't think there was any mention of the 1984 team that broke our 39-year postseason drought.
(Another glaring omission: the relationship with the White Sox, which is a huge part of being a Cubs fan, is reduced to a brief mention of the recent interleague play.)
So, it's a pretty messy mixture of the fan experience, team history, city history, and travel promotion, with a couple of digressions into Wrigley Field, Steve Goodman, etc. But then -- inexplicably -- they graft on a tribute to the 2008 Cubs: player profiles, interviews, season in review. From the standpoint of the film's theme, examining what it means to be a fan, this makes no sense at all. And from the standpoint of commemorating the 2008 team, of being a time capsule of the season, it is dreadful. They don't show you anything, not even the playoff loss -- they just mention that it happened.
So, a real mixed bag. I got the sense they were trying to do 2 or 3 different films, and spliced them all together. Still, despite its flaws, I think it makes a good effort at trying to understand the passion of the Cubs fans. If you can follow the many threads, and not get distracted by the sidebars, I think you'll find it interesting.
Unless you're a Sox fan. But then, you probably wouldn't be reading this review, anyway.
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