“Cobb” is more about an ornery old man than about the greatest baseball player of all-time. Sure, there is the odd newsreel type flash-back, and some reminiscing about a few accomplishments (both famous and infamous), but the bulk of the movie concerns only the seventy-two year old version of the great ball player. He’s still as aggressive, prejudiced and successful as he was in his playing days, but now his main concern is getting his version of himself recorded for posterity.
Ty Cobb (here played by Tommy Lee Jones) was never a popular man and apparently had no friends. Aware that he is dying, he decides it’s time he told his story, mainly to dispel all the negative rumors that had begun to overshadow his greatness on the field. However, the ghostwriter (Robert Wuhl) soon realizes Cobb’s version is less than truthful, and he surreptitiously begins work on a more accurate version. This movie, though it may convey Cobb’s personality, is really about the relationship between the old man and the writer, and how he reconciles the conflicting versions of Cobb’s life.
This movie is a very unflattering portrait of Ty Cobb. He is depicted as an arrogant, misanthropic, alcoholic, womanizing, wife-beating murderer (among many other distasteful things). If you’re looking for a sugary-sweet baseball hero story, this ain’t it; but it is an entertaining story about a great ex-player who could make Albert Belle look like Mother Theresa.
3 / 5 Stars
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Wuhl, Lolita Davidovitch
Director: Ron Shelton
Reviewed by Mike Barkacs
Theatrical Release Date: December 2, 1994
