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13 out of 14 people found the following review useful: A Comedy with much more to offer, 22 April 2005 Author: (caspian1978@hotmail.com) from Attleboro, MA
It is nice to see a movie that attracts more than one kind of audience. This is a comedy, then again a love story. This can be placed in the baseball genre as well as a coming of age drama. Most movies claim to be one or the other and sometimes fail to be. Then again, when a good movie hits a homerun it can not only become a money maker and a box office smash, it can also become timeless. Before they became giants of Hollywood, Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins stars in this great movie as some of the most interesting, yet simple characters. Costner plays an aging baseball player who meets with rookie, soon to be great major league pitcher Tim Robbins. Out of the rafters comes Susan Surandon who, in her own may, is a Muse of the religion of baseball. Together, the three introduce three different worlds upon the audience. Each are believable characters even though they are in a way, fantasy like. A great story with a perfect ending, Bull Durham is one of those hard to find movies that is a crowd pleaser with just about every audience out there.
14 out of 16 people found the following review useful: The movie about the love of Baseball, 10 October 2001 Author: DanB-4 from Canada
Crash Davis loves baseball more than it loves him. He believes in the game. He deserves to be in the show, but he isn't and never will be. But still he plays on, dutifully and to a certain extent, joyfully. Better to play crappy A-ball than sell shoes.That for me is the central theme of this film. It is all summed up when Crash tells Nuke, the wild young star pitcher "You don't respect yourself. That's your problem. You don't respect the game. That's my problem."Take a player that passionate, and a youngster that annoying, add in a sexy yet maternal fan and you have great comedy. Bull Durham works scene after scene, because the film never forgets that baseball is what binds all the characters together.Tim Robbins is nothing short of brilliant and Nuke Laloosh, the rising star youngster who walks 18 batters and strikes out 18 batters in his first minor league appearance - both league records. But Nuke is caught up in his fat contract, his Porsche, and his endless parade of women. Baseball is a sideline. Eventually, Crash's mentoring begins to pay off until he finally realizes that winning is "like, you know, better than losing!"The love triangle between Annie (Susan Sarandon), Crash and Nuke is wonderful and funny, but it mainly provides us with set up for the baseball scenes, like when Sarandon convinces Nuke to wear women's underwear while he pitches. Or my favourite scene, when Annie and Crash take batting practise together, Annie dressed like she is ready for a wedding, but determined to correct Crash's swing. Crash is determined to take Annie home. They flirt and practice batting in one of the best prolonged foreplay scenes ever filmed.The ending is satisfying but the real depth of this film is harmony that the game brings to the characters. **** out of ****.
15 out of 18 people found the following review useful: Not Only a Great Sports Film, A Great Film Period, 13 April 2003 Author: Brian Washington (Sargebri@att.net) from Los Angeles, California
I remember the first time I saw this film. I had won tickets from a local radio station and I saw it at a private screening at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I remember as I was watching it that it was one of the greatest experiences I had in a movie in a long time. This film is not only a great sports film, but it is one of the great all around films I have ever seen. This film has it all from romance to comedy to witty dialogue. Susan Sarandon, Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins all brought Ron Shelton's script to life and the three of them displayed some of the greatest chemistry ever captured on film. This film is a timeless classic.
7 out of 9 people found the following review useful: What all baseball movies should be!, 25 March 1999 Author: Stacey McGovern from Cordova TN
'Bull Durham' is definitely one of those movies you can't get enough of. Not a drama, but more of a sexy, laid back film. Tim Robbins was great in the movie, a little low on brains, but still very vulnerable. Susan Sarandon was very persuasive in this movie, the kind of a woman all of the guys like. Kevin Costner was so great, his theories were untouchable. A great combination of everything that a movie should have to offer. Gives a new meaning to 'home run', and baseball.
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful: All the fun of a night out at the ballpark injected into a film., 4 September 2007 Author: SmileysWorld from United States
There's something to be said about Minor League Baseball.While the Major Leagues have their glitz and glamor,the minor leagues are a bit different.It's not so glitzy.It's not so glamorous.Everything having to do with the minor leagues happens on a much smaller scale.For some,like me,the atmosphere of the minors is much more appealing because you don't have a bunch of millionaires out there saying "look what I can do".What you do have are guys trying to prove themselves worthy of that next step,the Major League level,which means that they are more likely to be giving their all.Minor league ballparks,depending upon which ones you go to,have a lot to offer as far as fun things to do for the family as far as contests and the like.What Bull Durham does for the average movie watcher is project that very atmosphere that I have just described.When you watch the film,you feel like you are at the ballpark having a blast.The three way interaction between the characters played by Costner,Robbins,and Sarandon is a great display of artistry that no one should miss.There are elements of language and sexuality that some may find offensive as well as slams against Christianity that made me personally uneasy,but otherwise this film is a definite fun time.
6 out of 8 people found the following review useful: A diamond in the rough, 19 May 2002 Author: Dennis Littrell (dalittrell@yahoo.com) from SoCal
I thought I read the book, or at least I dreamed it, but this is NOT adapted from something by Larry McMurtry, although it sure seems like it oughta be. It is one hell of a funny, crafty, too real for life, kind of movie. The brilliant script, full of clever one-liners, was written by Ron Shelton (White Men Can't Jump (1992)), who actually played minor league ball in the Orioles farm system. Shelton also directed and did a bang-up job. This is a funny movie that is really funny.What I recalled (when I found out this wasn't from Larry McMurtry) was a baseball novel for juniors that I had read when I was a kid about a crafty, veteran minor league catcher who had once made it to the big leagues but got beaned and never got over it, always bailing out from an inside curve ball. (This was in the days before batting helmets.) He fell back to the minors and went from team to team and town to town, hitting a ton until somebody figured out that his knees would buckle if you brushed him back a bit, and then he'd have to move on. Kevin Costner's part reminds me of that guy (without the beaning phobia). Susan Sarandon plays Annie Savoy, a baseball groupie in her sexual prime who likes to read poetry and give the players hitting advice. She is just wonderful as she plays sexy mom to the boys, a new one every summer, just so she can avoid any kind of real relationship or commitment. And so along comes Crash Davis (Kevin Costner, one of the more underrated and less flashy stars of our time), playing an itinerant catcher who has managed to hit nearly 300 minor league home runs. He is tough and savvy and once made it to the Show for 21 days. Tim Robbins plays Ebby Calvin "Nuke" "Meat" LaLoosh, a not too bright, wild-armed phenom who needs more than a little guidance. He gets a lot from both Crash and Annie, who are intent on schooling him in their differing expertise. Nuke is just the hunk Annie needs to keep her from falling in love with Crash, but...well, this is a romantic comedy, so you can be sure that love will find a way.The baseball shtick and the interior dialogues of Robbins and Costner during the games ("Why's he want the heat? I wanna throw the deuce..." And, "Don't think, ... Get that...woman out of your head--Time out!") are really funny, and the bit where Robbins shakes him off and Costner, as an object lesson for his young pitcher, tells the batter what's coming next allowing the batter to hit it out of the park (or onto the Bull Durham sign to win a free steak dinner--is this genuine Americana or what?) are a crack up. But also great are the scenes with Sarandon as she philosophizes ("I believe in the Church of Baseball") and wise-cracks her way through the boys of summer, especially the scene where she ties Nuke up in bed and reads him some Walt Whitman. Now THAT really tires the boy out! Another great scene is on the bus when Crash lets the other players know that he once made it to the bigs where "...you hit white balls for batting practice and the ballparks are like cathedrals." Beautiful.Best dead-pan one-liner is when Crash catches Nuke in the locker room trying to adjust the panty hose girdle that Annie has talked him into wearing under his uniform: "The rose goes in the front, big guy."By the way, the great rock and roll soundtrack includes the galvanizing baseball song, "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man" by John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival fame. (Or maybe the title's "In Center Field": "Put me in coach. I'm ready to play, today, in center field.")It's a shame that Shelton did not win the Oscar for this script, it's really that good. (Ronald Bass won for Rain Man.) The characters are just fascinating and full of life, and not just the three leads. The bit players are funny too, including the hard-talking, middle-brained manager, the mindless pattering coaches, the sweet young groupie girl who makes it with all the players as fast as she can. Even the team clown is good.The irreverent characterizations, the sweet story, the realistic atmosphere of baseball in small town America (only slightly burlesqued), and some fine acting all rolled together make this one highly diverting little film, actually one of the best baseball films ever made. See this with your best babe. She'll like it as much as you.
7 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Draws You In & Doesn't Let You Go, 7 September 2005 Author: no-skyline from Rochester, England
First of I have to say i'm from the UK, i've never played baseball seen a baseball game or have any ideas to the finer rules of baseball but this will not stop you enjoying this film. This film is about a way of life and you can enjoy it in the same way as you can watch a film about a great explorer without ever having left your own country. For Crash, Nuke, Annie and all the other characters in here baseball is a way of life not a sport and it is to be respected and in some cases worshipped. For me the best scene in this movie comes in the pool hall at the end with three generations of baseball player we know that one day nuke, will be in crash's position and that crash will eventually be in the old guys position it's the baseball way of life. Howevever it's a way of life that's changing and this is shown in the almost forlorn at times shot's of the ballpark and main characters, like the lady says you have to respect the ball player who's just trying to finish out the season.Direction, script and performances (Costner's best performance ever I think even over Field of Dreams and the Untouchables) are superb see this movie you wont regret it. 8/10
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful: A movie about the game, 21 August 2005 Author: Robert W. (Robert_duder@hotmail.com) from Ontario, Canada
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
The tag line for Bull Durham says it all. "It's all about sex and sport. What else is there?" Nothing when it comes to this film. That sounds harsh but there really is nothing else to this film!! Films can be made about a sport, or a sport can be made into a film. What I mean is sometimes certain films are made that completely encompasses a sport, it's all about that particular sport and with Bull Durham Costner begins his infamous Baseball trilogy. Bull Durham really does encompass Baseball, both stars Tim Robbins and Kevin Costner show an emotional attachment to the game that is touching and very real. The only other thing that abounds in the film besides baseball is sex...and I wouldn't even call it romance because I didn't feel any romance between the characters just sex based on baseball.Tim Robbins really gives a stand out performance as Ebby Calvin 'Nuke' LaLoosh. He's young, self absorbed, hot headed and also gives a great comedy performance because of his character. He truly does a great job and is the only one in the film who comes close to having any sort of chemistry with real life love Susan Sarandon...perhaps that's where the chemistry comes from as they met on this film. He also has a great even better chemistry with Kevin Costner. The two butt heads but support each other and become great friends and it's fun to watch the two of them go head to head. Costner, who has always been one of my favorite actors, does a good job playing Crash Davis. He plays the old timer of the film despite being still young, as far as baseball is concerned he is the mentor of the film. He teaches "Nuke" LaLoosh in seemingly harsh lessons but in the end turns him into a big league pitcher. I didn't feel any chemistry whatsoever between Costner and Sarandon but I don't blame him. Sarandon, to me, was so out of place in this film. She has had some wonderful roles in her life but this just wasn't meant for her. I thought she was too old and quite frankly too classy to be playing a "ball girl." She was believable as the experienced lover but just not as the tramp she was made to play. I didn't think she made the good female lead.Ron Shelton who wrote and directed the film did a great job of capturing the spirit of baseball, there is no doubt about that. He created some great characters in Crash Davis and 'Nuke' LaLoosh. Anyone who has a love for baseball is going to in turn love this film but if you're not a fan you might find it a tad drab. Any time Shelton writes or directs he tries to capture the reality of the situation whether it be baseball, basketball (White Men can't Jump), boxing (Play It To The Bone), or police work (Dark Blue and Hollywood Homicide.) He knows about the buddy system and about the topics he creates but Bull Durham is one of his better films. For sports fans a real treat!! 8/10
6 out of 10 people found the following review useful: A fun look at baseball and falling in love., 5 April 2000 Author: Michael O'Keefe from Muskogee OK
A comical story about baseball and sex. How can it miss? The minor league Durham Bull's have had their share of loses and looney characters. Raw talent sometimes is more plentiful than brains. Tim Robbins is a young pitcher, "Nuke" LaLoosh, needing a lot of instruction if he is to make it to the "bigs". Aging catcher, Crash Davis, played by Kevin Costner, is assigned to the team to whip the youngster into shape. The team's number one groupie, played by Susan Sarandon, wraps both players around her little finger.Hilarious situations and the lighter side of baseball. This movie made me a Sarandon fan. Robert Wuhl and Trey Wilson provide backup.
sports haiku, 29 April 2009 Author: T Y from United States
Bull Durham was a really good movie when it came out. But I watched it recently and portions of it are not aging well. There is tension over whether the movie is going to be thoughtful, or whether it's going to be a marketable "product." The "valentine to baseball" moments are writ large (unsubtle!) and Shelton could have left them out because they're just gilding the lily; the movie is already a valentine to baseball. Annie Savoy's outfits are obnoxious in a way the movie is not. Shelton also takes a lot of this from Slapshot. And I think it was Christopher Null who griped that Crash's big famous speech to Annie about his beliefs being overwritten. (It is.) The Bulls team is largely made up of dopes whom thoughtful people would now regard as "meatheads," but how can you give it low marks for all of that, when there's such smartness elsewhere?The movie's charm lies in in wry moments that are written subtly enough to please any smarty. It deserves credit for suggesting that small towners might be aware of William Blake, Kirkegard, Thoreau, alternative sexuality, etc. Even if it's a complete fiction, it's a nice place to occupy for a few hours. And really what makes parts of the film extraordinary is its oblique answer to philosophy, media coverage (intentionally being boring as the highest art of public relations), and movie plot lines. When's the last time you were asked to (allowed to?) identify with the second best character in a Hollywood movie? How often does a sports movie have the nerve to work in a love of books? There is a thread of laconic sensitivity here encompassing futile achievements and humility, that could not be manufactured by a hundred baseball-loving Hollywood execs. "Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air." Thomas Gray, or was it William Blake? You can look it up!Also... I loathe sports. It doesn't matter one bit. Parts of this movie are quite nice.
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