Probably shouldn’t be much of a surprise that “Wild Thing” Ricky Vaughn wasn’t throwing almost 100 MPH naturally, so it’s really a good thing Lou Brown (and LensCrafters) taught him some control before he killed somebody.
Charlie Sheen, who will be in town Friday for ‘An Evening with Charlie Sheen & Screening of “Major League”’ at MGM Northfield Park, admitted on The Afternoon Drive that he did indeed use some PEDs to get his sub-80s fastball up a few ticks before filing the movie – and he also admitted to the guys that even 30-plus years after the release of the first film, he’s still surprised by how it resonates with generations of baseball fans.
“You can never predict how a film is going to carry itself through the years, but it’s such an honor to be part of something that to this day is the cinematic gift that keeps on giving,” Sheen said. “It’s a trip because it’s turned into a multi-generational experience; I meet adults now that I met as children, and they’re introducing me to their children who they just introduced the movie to. It’s a rite of passage I’m at the epicenter of. We knew we were sitting on a gem as far as the script, but again, you can never really predict how something will transfer from the script to the screen.”
Apparently, Sheen’s brother, Emilio Estevez, joined Charlie for a screening before the movie premiered, and at one point told his brother, “dude, it’s a hit” – and it still is.
“It’s held up so well because at the end of the day, it combines two themes people are drawn to: the underdog theme and the traditional love story theme,” Sheen said. “One of my favorite shots of the whole movie is (Rene Russo as Lynn) standing there showing the empty ring finger.”
Sheen hasn’t exactly made the best impression in the public eye over the last few years, but he’s now once again WINNING at life and in Hollywood – but among his projects in the future probably won’t be another Major League sequel.
“There was a script about 10 years ago that was terrific, but when you get to a certain age, 10 years is kind of like 20 years when you were younger,” Sheen said. “Ten years ago, a couple of us still playing or coaching was a little more believable, but not so much now – so it would have to be a TV show or on one of the streamers, or maybe just leave it alone.”
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That’s when he dropped the bombshell: he’s not a fan of the sequel, so much so that he thinks parts of Major League 2 are ‘unwatchable.’
“We did 2, and 2 is not even in the same conversation – parts of it are unwatchable,” he said. “It was a crowded house, there were too many characters and they tried to cover too much ground giving everyone an arc, so it was muddled. And besides – how many great novels are re-written decades later? That stuff is deemed fairly untouchable, but when it comes to movies, everyone always wants to update things…but that out-of-date stuff, man, it’s historical!”
Listen to Sheen’s entire appearance above, including his admission of PED use…and if you don’t want to see a red tag in your locker, check out 'An Evening with Charlie Sheen & Screening of "Major League"' on Friday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. at MGM Northfield Park!