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Madonna‘s movie A League of Their Own received a warm reception from audiences. On the other hand, the “Like a Prayer” singer publicly criticized the movie. She didn’t think it lived up to two classic movies that she considered works of art. However, the Queen of Pop didn’t completely dismiss A League of Their Own.

Madonna said ‘A League of Their Own’ ‘candy-coated’ a fascinating story

A League of Their Own is loosely based on the history of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which paved the way for a lot of women’s sports leagues. During a 1992 interview with The Guardian, the Material Girl said the film reified the concept of the American Dream. She was asked if the movie was “phony.” “It depends on who’s telling the story,” she said. “There are people that have their own views of America. 

“If someone told the story of my life and they did it realistically there wouldn’t be anything phony about it,” she added. “I think the story the movie is based on is a very good story about these women who, y’know, in the 1940s had a hardball baseball team. It was unheard of. The fact that they, against all odds, came out believing that they were going to make it and that they could play. I mean, the true story is fascinating and amazing, but I think it’s been candy-coated.”

How Madonna would have directed the film

The “Frozen” singer didn’t like how some of the female baseball players in the movie had to quit after their husbands came home from World War II. “It’s sad, disgusting really,” she said. “But the story of the women and how they grouped together and became a team that really built up a stadium, that’s amazing, there’s nothing phony about that. I think if I were to have made that movie I would have made a big stink about the fact that they didn’t go on but I wasn’t the director.”

Madonna said A League of Their Own had its moment. However, she didn’t consider it a work of art like Gone with the Wind or Doctor Zhivago. For context, those two movies are historical epics that were nominated for many Academy Awards and inspired countless other filmmakers. 

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How the world reacted to ‘A League of Their Own’

While Madonna didn’t think A League of Their Own was perfect, it did well with audiences. Box Office Mojo reports the movie made over $13 million during its opening weekend. A League of Their Own made more than $107 million domestically and more than $24 million in other countries. Altogether, the film earned in excess of $132 million worldwide.

These days, the true mark of whether a film connected with audiences is whether or not it inspired a remake or a belated sequel. A League of Their Own was remade as a television series. Like many recent remakes, the new version of A League of Their Own was more diverse and LGBTQ-friendly than the original. Compare the two versions, and you’ll see how Hollywood’s relationship with feminism has evolved over the past 30 years.

Madonna had some criticisms of A League of Their Own, but the free market repeatedly rewarded the film.

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