For Love of the Game (1999)

A washed up pitcher flashes through his career.

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writers:

Michael Shaara (novel), Dana Stevens (screenplay)

Stars:

Kevin Costner, Kelly Preston, John C. Reilly

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Costner	...	Billy Chapel
Kelly Preston	...	Jane Aubrey
John C. Reilly	...	Gus Sinski
Jena Malone	...	Heather Aubrey
Brian Cox	...	Gary Wheeler
Addie Daddio	...	Waitress
J.K. Simmons	...	Frank Perry (as JK Simmons)
Vin Scully	...	Himself
Steve Lyons	...	Himself
Carmine Giovinazzo	...	Ken Strout (as Carmine D. Giovinazzo)
Bill E. Rogers	...	Davis Birch (as Bill Rogers)
Hugh Ross	...	Mike Udall
Domenick Lombardozzi	...	Tow Truck Driver
Arnetia Walker	...	Airport Bartender
Larry Joshua	...	Yankee Fan in Bar

Storyline

A baseball legend almost finished with his distinguished career at the age of forty has one last chance to prove who he is, what he is capable of, and win the heart of the woman he has loved for the past four years.

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Plot Keywords:

baseball | pitcher | detroit tigers | girlfriend | baseball movie | 

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Taglines:

Billy Chapel must choose between the woman he loves and the game he lives for.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Universal

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 September 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

For the Love of the Game

Filming Locations:

Aspen, Colorado, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$13,041,685 (USA) (17 September 1999)

Gross:

$35,168,395 (USA) (26 November 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Beacon Pictures, Tig Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

137 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Throughout the film, everyone is talking about what a great pitcher Billy is. One person even says to Billy "You've got a room reserved for you in Cooperstown". There is a visual representation of Billy's past triumphs in the film. During the montage scene of Jane constantly asking Billy questions, in the scene when she asks him how he likes his chicken, the camera pans over to Billy and on the wall to the right, there are three plaques mounted on the wall. Those plaques are Cy Young Awards. The Cy Young Award (Named after the all-time leader in wins with over 500 victories) is given to the pitcher in each league who is the best in the league for that year. Essentially, it means that Billy was the best pitcher in the American League (the league the Tigers are in) on at least three different occasions. The winner of the award is usually the league leader in wins and other major categories like lowest ERA (Earned Run Average) and most strike outs.

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Goofs

Billy Chapel warms up in the bullpen prior to his final game wearing the 1997 uniform of the Detroit Tigers. However, when he takes the mound, and for the balance of the movie, he's wearing the 1998 Tigers uniform. The difference is a prominent quarter-inch navy blue piping on the front of the jersey (around the collar and parallel to the buttons).

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Quotes

Jane Aubrey: Do you lose very much?
Billy Chapel: I lose. I've lost 134 times.
Jane Aubrey: You count them?
Billy Chapel: We count everything.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood's Top Ten: Batter Up! (2011)

User Reviews

9 on a scale of 10

I would have to say that I have seen very few movies better than For Love of the Game. My favorite genre is Romantic Comedy. This wasn't a comedy, but it was feel good. It was light drama and it was extremely well done.

Costner portrayed an aging baseball player with a romantic attachment to the game that reminded me of Robert Redford in The Natural - another movie I rated a 9. The symbolism of the movie was the notion of ending a romance for the game and transferring that romance to a woman. For him, at least, there was room for only one at a time. And, fortunately for her, his career was at the very end. Fortunately for us, we got to see his last game interspersed with flashbacks.

The movie was brilliantly done with respect to the actual game of baseball. I cannot recall having seen a sports movie that did such an excellent job of maintaining accuracy about the game. I honestly could have believed I was watching an actual game. The plays were realistic. The situations realistic. And, Vin Scully was sensational doing the play by play.

I've only rated a few movies as 10's in my life. One of them was Field of Dreams - another Costner vehicle. This movie wasn't far behind FOD. In fact, it was nearly as magical and it was a lot more romantic. Why the reviewers of IMDB only give it a 6.7 is beyond me.