Bull Durham (1988) User Reviews

Doing her bit for the national past time

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 17 August 2015]

Bull Durham only received Oscar recognition in one category that of Original Screenplay. But that screenplay is the basis of the film that broke the mold for baseball films.

When you think of baseball films you think of heroic type films like the biographical stories of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Grover Cleveland Alexander and Monty Stratton. Or some funny, but still reverential films like Kill The Umpire or It Happens Every Spring. None of these films will ever have a character like Susan Sarandon, a well known baseball Annie which is what the players have dubbed their groupies. You could never have a character like her with the infamous Code in place.

Sarandon is frank, she loves sex, she loves baseball and she sees herself doing her bit for the national past time. Her concentration this year is on Tim Robins who is a promising Sandy Koufax like pitcher before Sandy got control of his pitching and gave us five of the best seasons ever seen before announcing his premature retirement.

Also giving Robins his concentration is veteran catcher Kevin Costner hired specifically for that purpose by the Raleigh-Durham Bulls. Between Sarandon and Costner they turn Robins into someone fulfilling his promise. But baseball is a most unsentimental game as Costner knows and Sarandon's avocation is also one with some heartbreak.

Best scene in the film is Costner describing what it's like in the Major Leagues, 'the big show'. As he says "the 20 best days in my life". Like actors, athletes on team sports want to play in whatever major leagues there are. If not they're like Costner, hanging on because of the love of the game.

Costner has the philosophy of Stan Musial who was quoted as saying he knew it was time to quit because the pain outweighed the fun of getting paid to play a sport. I suspect that Musial would have felt the same had he been a journeyman player like Costner rather than the Hall Of Famer he is.

No way that Christian athlete William O'Leary would have been a character in a film made under the Code auspices. Younger groupie Jenny Robertson makes a point of showing him what he's missing.

Ron Shelton who was a minor league ballplayer drew from some rich memories of those times to give us Bull Durham. It's both a serious and also irreverently funny look at those who participate in our national past time and the women who service them.

The Three Stars Steal the Film

[Michael_Elliott · 6 November 2011]

Bull Durham (1988)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

A washed up minor league catcher (Kevin Costner) shows up in Durham where he's been asked to take a major league arm (Tim Robbins) and try to teach him some common sense. Along the way the two men try for the affections of a local groupie (Susan Sarandon) who tries to offer them more than just sex. There's a terrific sequence early in the movie where the Sarandon character takes home the two men and informs them of the "rules" she has laid down. Each season she takes "care" of one player and these rules just don't sit right with the veteran player and this leads to one of the funniest speeches from any film of the 80s. BULL DURHAM falls a bit short of being a great film but it's still a very special one that manages to mix in plenty of laughs, some mild romance and of course baseball. I know a lot of people bash this film for not being about baseball or that the sport gets left behind the romance but I've never agreed with this. I think the screenplay by director Ron Shelton does a terrific job at building up the minor league lifestyle and I think the film captures the perfect look and feel of the small town, small stadiums and the small life. I really love how the film manages to put the characters in a situation where the end results can be the same no matter if they're trying for the major leagues or if they're just trying to make it one more game in the minors. The movie is full of wonderful, dirty moments including the type of foul-mouthed profanity that the screenwriter is probably best known for. The screenplay allows all three characters to be so different that it really does seem as if each one is the main character. Costner turns in another wonderful performance here as the catcher who has pretty much done a lot of small things and resents the fact that this rookie could do so much more but he usually just throws it away. The relationship between Costner and Robbins makes for a very fun time and you can't help but enjoy the older/young brother banter. Both actors are terrific in their parts and really bring them to life. Saradon, a wonderful actress, really gets to go all out here with the charm and even if you object to her groupie status you still can't help but enjoy the character. The film mixes a lot of things but at its heart the thing is just a good comedy. I don't think the romance is as strong as it could have been but this is just a minor issue. Fans of baseball or the stars should get a kick out of the film.

Best comedy about professional baseball

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 14 July 2014]

It's the professional pitching debut of Ebby Calvin 'Nuke' LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) for the A ball Durham Bulls. He has a million dollar arm and a five cents head. They bring in veteran catcher Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) to mentor the young pitcher. Only he's too old for this stuff. Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) is a baseball philosopher and team super fan. Every year, she picks one player to hook up with and guide. Much to Crash's dismay, she picks Nuke.

This is a funny and charming baseball movie. It's got Kevin Costner's great "I believe in..." speech. It's also got all the inside baseball interior-voice and behind-the-glove fun. It loves baseball both in its grandness and the little things. It romanticizes the game as well as its sad lowly grind. It's probably the best comedy movie about professional baseball.

Enjoyable film if not totally successful

[bob the moo · 3 August 2003]

The Durham Bulls are a minor league baseball team who draft in a rookie pitcher who has an arm that holds promise for the majors, sadly his powerful arm lacks finesse. The team bring in veteran catcher Crash Davis to coach him, while rookie `Nuke' LaLoosh is also taken on by Annie Savoy, who makes it a habit to seduce one player a season. However Crash also has an eye for Annie.

It has been a few years since I lasted watched this film and, partly due to the age I was when it came out, I have always had the idea in my head that it is a `great film'™. This idea is not totally unfounded as the film is pretty enjoyable although falling far from being brilliant. What makes it stand out for me is the amusing mix of romance and baseball – both parts being done pretty well. Working best is the sports movie which is affectionate and nostalgic towards America's minor leagues and the men who play all their lives in them. The romantic side doesn't work quite as well and only is given free reign in the final 15 minutes. Annie's babbling of Whitman and astro-physics is a little of a turn off for me and I found it harder to care about the romance as a result.

The relationship between the two men is stronger though and makes for an more enjoyable dynamic around the baseball diamond. Although the romantic side is a little weaker, it is hard to imagine the film with one or other of the strands missing and the two give the film an unique spin.

The cast is good all round. Costner (for he was once great) has an easy charm as Crash which belies the fact that several lines of his dialogue are awfully cheesy. Robbins looks so very different viewed with an eye for his present incarnation, but he is pretty good. However it is harder to buy his dumb-kid routine when we know him to be a much smarter man – and his supposed `unequal' relationship with Sarandon seems more likely now that he's with her in real life. Sarandon is OK but I didn't like her character. She is sexy but I never understood totally what a woman with such intelligence would be sleeping with baseball players for – even if she is a big fan. Some of her lines are poor too, and she sounds like she's just been given big words to say.

Overall this is an enjoyable movie but certainly not a great film as either a romance or a sports movie. Costner is on good form and the baseball banter is good fun even for those who think it's just a fancy version of rounders.

"You throw the ball. You hit the ball. You catch the ball. You got it?"

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 21 February 2017]

I sometimes get this movie confused with "Major League"; they came out within a year of each other and quite obviously, they're both baseball films. Now that I've caught up again with this picture, I'll probably be able to keep them apart well enough. "Major League" had that great 'Wild Thing' sequence going for it, and it would have helped if this one could have snared a catchy tune of it's own. The closest it came was a brief snippet of Credence Clearwater's 'Center Field' song, but it didn't hang around long enough to make a lasting impression.

Of the three principals, Kevin Costner comes across as having the best character here, but I would have held him in higher regard if he didn't let his libido get in the way when it came to Baseball Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon). With all the sex and profanity in the film, there were times that it felt more like a locker room joke than a story about the national pastime. After Crash Davis (Costner) had his tumble in the hay with Annie toward the end of the story, I had to wonder whether General Mills did the right thing signing off on that box of Wheaties on her kitchen table. I don't think the Breakfast of Champions had that kind of competition in mind.

When the film does broach the 'love of the game', the dialog raises the standard of the picture up a notch, as when Crash describes his twenty one days 'in The Show'. I've heard the term used before, and it does seem to appropriately describe a reverence for making it to the Big Leagues. But then you have a scene in which Crash uses that one word that's a no-no with umpires, and it drags the story back down to the gutter again, at least for this viewer.

As a corollary to my summary line above, uttered by team manager Skip (Trey Wilson) to his hapless team in the early part of the story, Ebby 'Nuke' LaLoosh offers up his own version later on when he eventually makes it to The Show himself - "Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes it rains". For me, this might have been one of those 'sometime it rains' pictures. Considering that Kevin Costner starred in the great Academy Award nominated "Field of Dreams" the very year following "Bull Durham", this one more closely resembles a strike-out.

Possibly the best Kevin Costner Baseball Film

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 23 September 2006]

First of all, I still don't know why this film is called "Bull Durham". The team they play for is called the Durham Bulls, but if there's some meaning to bull durham, I'm not familiar with it. So that really confused me.

Second, this may be Kevin Costner's best baseball movie. I really enjoyed "Field of Dreams" a lot, but this one seemed to have more spirit to it. I guess it depends what you want... Tim Robbins co-starring or Ray Liotta.

Otherwise, a great film. Kevin Costner is Crash Davis, a catcher who has spent way too many years in the minor leagues. He is training Nuke (Tim Robbins), a pitcher with a lot of potential. And then there's Susan Sarandon, who creates a love triangle when she enters their relationship, claiming sex with her can create a better ball player.

Tim Robbins has consistently made great movies, even disposable stuff like "Nothing to Lose". And Kevin Costner is an epic actor (which can get on some people's nerves at times). So their interaction is both wonderful and grand, even though there's nothing new about baseball movies or older people teaching the new guy.

Susan Sarandon was the worst part of the film. She could have been removed entirely. Why Nuke is attracted to her is unknown ,because she's like Skeletor. And then why is Crash Davis attracted to her, when she's slept with most of the guys on the team? Old, ugly and promiscuous... I don't get it. And as the film goes on, her part gets bigger and bigger. And since she does the voice-overs, I almost wonder if this is her story disguised as a baseball film.

There were many scenes that are quite memorable... and I really liked the bull that gives you a free steak.

But in the end, after all the fun is over, the sadness sinks in. We realize Kevin Costner will never go anywhere. Maybe he'll fall in love and have kids. Maybe he'll be in the minor leagues forever. But he can never get back to the majors... he is the tragic and fallen hero seeking redemption through Nuke. I won't wax philosophic about that more than I already have, but his character is very deep when really considered.

Don't let the boring box cover or Susan Sarandon scare you off. This one is a home run.

Bull Durham

[jboothmillard · 7/10 · 6 July 2010]

Kevin Costner was in quite a few films focusing on baseball, including Field of Dreams and For the Love of the Game, and this is the one that features in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. Basically Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) is latched onto the "Church of Baseball", and it is tradition for her to select an up and coming player from the Durham, North Carolina baseball team, the Bulls. The Bulls have introduced Ebby Calvin LaLoosh, later nicknamed 'Nuke' (The Shawshank Redemption's Tim Robbins) as the pitcher to the team, and Annie has chosen him to share her bed throughout the season. But the wild pitcher can't control his right arm swing quite right, so veteran major-league catcher Crash Davis (Costner) comes to teach him some control. With Nuke having more control of his powerful, he is described as having a million dollar arm, the Bulls are on a winning streak, and Crash convinces Nuke if he sleeps with Annie it will spoil the streak. With Nuke not being with Annie, she instead hooks up Crash, who was her original choice for star player to be with, but jealousy soon becomes an issue and a love triangle is forming. In the end, Nuke has risen to stardom that he is assigned to a higher place, Annie decides that she should probably just enjoy baseball as a game and not a way to hook with star players, and ageing minor Crash may only be able to get a job as manager for a team which he accepts, but he and Annie still stay together. Also starring Trey Wilson as Joe Riggins, Batman's Robert Wuhl as Larry Hockett, William O'Leary as Jimmy, David Neidorf as Bobby and Danny Gans as Deke. Costner is good as the old pro who coaches the rising star pitcher, Sarandon does well as the player loving groupie, but for me, Robbins stole the show with his powerful swings and lovable slightly dim-witted nature, it also shows baseball as a good game, it is certainly a sport comedy drama to see. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Writing, Original Screenplay, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for "When a Woman Loves a Man". Kevin Costner was number 93, and Susan Sarandon number 25 on The 100 Greatest Movie Stars, and the film was number 97 on 100 Years, 100 Laughs. Very good!

This Isn't About Baseball

[ccthemovieman-1 · 2/10 · 28 June 2007]

I love baseball games, stories, novels and, yes, movies about the sport. However, there are exceptions to most things and that's the case here (and "Major League") because it's not really a baseball story.....just a tale about low-life people. It's no surprise that Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and Kevin Costner play the leading roles in this sleazy film. It goes right along with their real-life backgrounds, especially Sarandon and Robbins.

Soo....instead of an old-fashioned nice sports story, or a clean comedy about baseball, all you get is sleazy dialogue about a female owner of a team whose sole aim is to jump in bed with this promising rookie. And "promising" doesn't mean his baseball talent.

The sport takes a back seat to sex in this movie, plain and simple. The dialog is very profane filled with blasphemy and all of that seems to be the real focus of this film, nothing else. It's almost like an "in" joke among these elitist Hollywood people who made this.

I am sorry that Costner, who does have some reverence for the game and knows how to play it, lowered himself to play this role. Making fun of baseball, or its owners or players is fine - but this is just below-the-belt humor and not really very funny. This movie is praised way more than it's deserved to be.

Low Key Romantic Comedy

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 14 July 2010]

I've done my best to like this over the years because a number of people whose opinions I respect have recommended it. I can see why. I mean, here is it -- 1988. And what has been showing up on the screen? Rambo, Bruce Willis, Ahnold, Freddy Kruger, Pumpkin Head, Batman, the guy with the hockey mask and the butcher knife, Lund Dolfgren, Chuck Norris saving the US from the North Vietnamese, Jamie Lee Curtis screaming while monsters slaughter her slutty friends, Piranha, Jaws, Jaws II, Bruce Loses His Cherry, and -- well, I don't know what all.

And here, in the middle of all this garbage, comes "Bull Durham," a leisurely examination of non-stereotypical people in a milieu (minor league baseball) that no one knows or cares about. The story itself isn't much we haven't seen before, but the characters are anything but formulaic.

Tim Robbins is new to the Durham Bulls. He pitches fast balls with a great deal of "heat" but he's wild and easily distracted. Kevin Costner is the newly arrived catcher, recently sent down from the major leagues, who has a thing or two to tell Robbins. They are also in competition for the heart and body of Susan Sarandon, a kind of local baseball groupie who schtupps the best player of the season and is always true to him in her fashion. She has a degree from Alliance Junior College, has New Age tendencies, and quotes from Blake, Whitman, and a number of other wordsmiths. There are a number of sexy scenes. The romantic and the athletic competition exist in equipoise.

As you can see, it's not exactly what you'd expect in a movie about baseball or any other sport. It has a certain charm, but very low in key, rather like some unexpected and interesting rock formation you stumbled across on the Appalachian trail. You're compelled to stop and admire the thing for a while.

It was written and directed by Ron Shelton, who has convinced me he knows baseball, or at least has invented a colorful argot for it. It must have been successful because it spawned a number of cruder imitations, funnier but with considerably less of its fey quality. In the rip offs, the characters are no longer quirky. They're bizarre. I have in mind especially "Minor League." The template may have originated with "Semi-Tough," back in 1977. But the 1970s were a good decade for movies, whereas 1988 was part of a decade in which the screen swam in schlock. So, Shelton, good on you, and good on the angels who provided the dough.

Bull is Durable ***

[edwagreen · 8/10 · 14 September 2014]

You often wonder why certain guys never make it in baseball given the fact that they have potential. We see this in the film.

Kevin Costner is absolutely wonderful as such a player. An experienced catcher, he has what it takes, but only lasted in the major leagues for a brief period. He is resigned to the Durham minor league team where he meets up with fan and announcer Susan Sarandon who acquires a great southern accent for her role.

Tim Robbins is the pitcher that Costner is assigned to work with. His appearances are memorable. Strikeouts and walks are the same high amount. Watch out when he throws, anyone there is vulnerable. That's what happens to the film-the vulnerability of the Sarandon-Costner- Robbins relationship comes into question.

A fairly engaging story

[Gordon-11 · 13 May 2011]

This film is about the happenings of two baseball players' year in a minor league team.

"Bull Durham" is only fairly engaging, which is a surprise as it is a sports movie. The reason is that it is not really about baseball. In is in fact about two baseball players and a woman with a thing for baseball players. Hence, the poignant scenes of victory are not prominently seen in "Bull Durham". Fortunately, the three main characters are equally interesting. Susan Sarandon is particularly memorable as a temptress, her desperate exclamation after her failure to seduce Tim Robbins is intense and also comical at the same time.

A fun look at baseball and falling in love.

[michaelRokeefe · 5 April 2000]

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.

A Classic Comedic Sports Film

[sunwarrior13 · 10/10 · 18 October 2012]

A blend of comedy, drama and romance, Bull Durham follows the intertwining of three lives brought together by the great American pastime. It is based upon the minor league experiences of writer/director Ron Shelton and depicts the players and fans of the Durham Bulls, a minor league baseball team in Durham, North Carolina. The movie stars Kevin Costner as "Crash" Davis, a veteran catcher brought in to teach rookie pitcher Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh about the game in preparation for reaching the Major Leagues. Baseball groupie Annie Savoy romances Nuke but finds herself increasingly attracted to Crash. Also featured are Robert Wuhl and Trey Wilson, as well as popular baseball "clown" Max Patkin.

Crash Davis is a perennial Minor Leaguer assigned to the Durham Bulls, a hapless team with a long tradition of mediocrity. There he tutors a young, dim-witted pitching prodigy, Nuke LaLoosh in the ways of baseball, life, and love. Each strikes up a romance with Annie, the team's "mascot" who takes it upon herself to sleep with a new player every season. Each has his/her own conflict: Crash struggles to end his career with some measure of dignity; Nuke struggles to make it to the "big show"; and Annie struggles to find something more than a roll in the hay and of course, Crash and Nuke come into conflict over Annie's affections to further complicate matters.

Kevin Costner at his funniest and most charismatic in Bull Durham, a film that's as wise about relationships as it is about minor league baseball.Also,aside from classic performances, witty and insightful script, this is about so much more than baseball and will no doubt prove to be a quiet classic.Obviously,it deserves its status among sports films, but its ongoing appeal reflects that it's something more: an old- fashioned romantic comedy that succeeds in establishing and deepening memorable characters through memorably flavorful dialogue.

Performance

[tedg · 15 August 2003]

Spoilers herein.

Movies are to many people largely about performance. Actors certainly think so. Spectator sport is about performance as well, though most athletes don't think so. They think is has something to do with "the love of the game," and sometimes personal challenges.

Movies about baseball are often performances about performing because it isn't much of a team sport. And this is the most obvious case because:

-- It adds the extra dimension of sex as performance (to "educate" the baseball performance which produces the actor performance) which dimension is underscore by the capture of Tim Robbins in much the same manner as Nuke was captured.

-- It features that speech by Annie about what she believes in (the Church of Baseball... a religion full of magic, cosmic truth, and the fundamental ontological riddles of our time...), followed after some time by what Crash believes including: "... that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap"

-- Crash calls the majors "the show"

-- The only real teaching Crash gives Nuke is about the TeeVee cliches

-- We have three kinds of actors. Costner who wants the world to come to him, so only offers what he thinks is appealing; Robbins who throws himself into the psychological space of the viewer (at 90 miles and hour), and Sarandon who cheats by attracting us into her actorly Bermuda triangle. They play these roles in the story as well.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Crash, Nuke and Annie Savoy.

[hitchcockthelegend · 9/10 · 26 November 2011]

Bull Durham is written and directed by Ron Shelton, it stars Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Robert Wuhl and Trey Wilson. Music is by Michael Convertino and cinematography by Bobby Byrne.

Annie Savoy (Sarandon), small town groupie of the Durham Bulls minor league baseball team, takes a different player from the team into her bed each year and in the process imparts her considerable knowledge of the game on them. This year is tricky, though, two candidates catch her eye. One is young air-head, but talented, pitcher Ebby Calvin LaLoosh (Robbins), the other is the wise older veteran of the leagues Crash Davis (Costner), who has been employed to be the Bulls' catcher and mentor to LaLoosh. Annie and the two men's lives are about to change considerably.

It's a rare old thing is this, a sports movie that manages to be funny, tender, romantic and spirit lifting all in one. Writer/director Ron Shelton draws on his own real life experiences of the minor leagues to tell his story with skill, whilst cloaking it in authentic looking splendour. His tale is boosted by three excellent lead performances from Sarandon (savvy and sexy), Robbins (ebullient naivety) and Costner (charismatic and natural), with the added bite that, refreshingly in a male dominated environment, it's Sarandon's Annie who is the centre of the story (she narrates also). True enough to say that some of the sports dialogue will not be to everyone's liking, erm hello non baseball fans, but in the main it's a wholesome and mature romady that keeps on giving rewards with each subsequent viewing.

Clearly about more than baseball, it's a film that's easy to love and laugh along with. 8.5/10

Well acted by the trio of stars.

[Hey_Sweden · 8/10 · 14 June 2013]

"Bull Durham" is one of those engaging sports films that can be enjoyed no matter if one isn't a fan of the sport in question - in this case, baseball. There's all the love in the world for this great American pastime, but there's also some interesting and literate discussions going on all the time in this smart and witty comedy, as well as some memorable characters whom we like and find easy to watch.

Kevin Costner plays "Crash" Davis, a veteran minor league catcher who's hired by the Durham Bulls to act as a mentor to their new pitcher Ebby LaLoosh (Tim Robbins). Ebby is in need of some direction, as he may be truly talented but has ego and discipline problems. At the same time, sexy Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon), the Bulls' loyal groupie, takes an interest in Ebby as she makes a habit of hooking up with one young player every season and helping the man to mature. Naturally, some sparks fly as the two guys both get attracted to Annie.

Writer / director Ron Shelton truly knows the territory, having been a minor league baseball player himself, although he doesn't in truth feature a lot of game action. His dialogue is often very funny and often very profane. A lot of humour comes from Annies' manipulation of the naive Ebby, whom she nicknames "Nuke" and has him do things like wear a garter, thinking this will improve his game. And while the film does get serious at times, it never becomes too maudlin. As was said previously, the attraction comes from watching three intriguing characters and three fine performances. With fine support by Trey Wilson and Robert Wuhl, Costner, Sarandon, and Robbins make the most of the material. There's also some endearing goofiness from the real-life "Clown Prince of Baseball", a man named Max Patkin. And to top it all off, there are some very sexy scenes in this thing, especially towards the end. All in all, this likable story has a little something for everybody, and is well worth a viewing.

Eight out of 10.

Base On Bulls

[writers_reign · 8 September 2011]

As multi-layered movies go this is up there with the best. Less than a week ago I took exception to a film that didn't know whether it wanted to be a farce, a drama, a slice of life a la Warners in the 30s or a modern take on Romeo and Juliet. As a result it was rubbish. Utilising some of the same elements Bull Durham is a fine, feel-good movie delivering both laughs, romance, and sex. In terms of baseball on celluloid we've had a reasonable amount of Major League, a lesser amount of Little League but I personally am unaware of any movie that focused on the Minor Leagues until now though I am happy to be corrected. Apart from the three leads, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and Kevin Costner, the supporting cast is largely unfamiliar but all deliver fine performances. There's a fairly distant echo of the Billy Wilders about it in the idea of late-blooming seriousness coming out of light-hearted comedy but it really stands alone as a fine example of entertainment.

Laid Back Comedy About a Laid Back Sport

[evanston_dad · 6/10 · 28 July 2008]

An amiable baseball comedy that's as laid back as the sport it's about.

Kevin Costner displays his knack for playing regular guys who'd be fun to sit back and have a beer with. Susan Sarandon smokes up the screen as his love interest.

But the film's funniest moments come from Sarandon's real-life husband, Tim Robbins, who gives a goofy and off-the-wall performance as a professional ball player.

Writer/director Ron Shelton received an Academy Award nomination for the film's screenplay.

Grade: B+

A Film About Sex, Life and Baseball--But Not Necessarily in That Order

[Uriah43 · 7/10 · 17 September 2017]

"Ebby Calvin LaLoosh" (Tim Robbins) is a promising young baseball pitcher for the Durham Bulls of the Carolina League who has an awesome fastball but suffers from a severe lack of control. As a result a veteran catcher named "Crash Davis" (Kevin Costner) is sent down to the Carolina League to somehow develop him into a first-class, major league pitcher. Along with that the Bull's biggest fan, "Annie Savoy" (Susan Sarandon) takes Ebbie into her home to teach him about sex, life and baseball--but not necessarily in that order. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a pretty good comedy which benefited from the baseball background to a large extent. I especially liked the performance of Susan Sarandon who was both funny and sexy at the same time. Likewise, both Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins also performed rather well. In short, I thought that this was a pretty good movie and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

Super cute and hilarious

[HotToastyRag · 9/10 · 18 June 2017]

This one's a total cutie. America's two favorite pastimes, baseball and sex, combine in Bull Durham, a delightful romantic comedy with a real-life happy ending.

Susan Sarandon, in her totally adorable heyday, plays a baseball groupie with a tradition of having an affair with a different player of the Durham Bulls each season. This season, the lucky man has been chosen, but what happens when a new, handsome, charming, sexy coach shows up and throws a wrench in her plans? What a love triangle! Susan Sarandon torn between Tim Robbins and Kevin Costner—get ready for some steamy scenes! And how darling is this: Susan and Tim became real-life sweetie-pies during this movie and became one of the most famous acting couples in America.

Between Susan's adorable North Carolina accent and a smart, sexy, and hilarious script, Bull Durham is a must-see. Just make sure to put the kiddies to bed first.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to some pretty steamy sex scenes and language, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

Funny but average

[mm-39 · 5/10 · 9 September 2002]

Has its moments, but the movie sucks. I hate the relationship part of the story. The antics in the movie make me laugh. I would watch it for 15 minutes, but not the whole movie. Tim Robbens plays a very stupid guy. 5/10

Offbeat love triangle with solid cast

[Mr-Fusion · 7/10 · 26 April 2017]

For a baseball movie, this was a bit of a curveball, but I liked "Bull Durham" for a number of reasons. One of them being its treatment of baseball as a daily grind; that these are just shlubs in the stadium workplace. Another is the writing; this is some great dialogue and a few of those lines just seem to come out of nowhere. It works pretty well as a romantic comedy, but even better as a clash of wills between two competing players - which takes a somber note as Kevin Costner dishes out wisdom only to find himself spit out the bottom of a middling career in baseball. that aspect drew me in more than I 'd expected.

And I must surely not forget to mention the film's most winning feature: the utterly magnetic Susan Sarandon. The movie just charges right up when she's around.

7/10

A Film Full of Everything

[whpratt1 · 7/10 · 27 December 2007]

This was a great film dealing with baseball and the players involved are Kevin Costner, (Crash Davis) who loves baseball but will never be a success, yet he keeps trying to improve his game. In the meantime Crash meets up with a wild young new baseball player named Nuke, (Tim Robbins) and starts to coach him and is able to see him improve and become a great baseball player. Annie Savoy, (Ausan Sorandon) plays the role of a hot sexy gal who loves baseball players and each year she picks out a new player to have fun with. Annie is very good friends with Crash and she is always making love to him. However, she sets her eyes on this new young baseball player Crash is coaching and decides to set her eyes on him and she does just that. There is plenty of comedy, romance and even scenes in the bathtub and this film will entertain you right to the end of the film. Enjoy.

A Complete Entertainer...

[namashi_1 · 9/10 · 3 February 2012]

'Bull Durham' is A Complete Entertainer, That Easily is among THE Best Sport-Centric Films-Ever. Ron Shelton's Screenplay & Direction, both, are very-well done, while the Performances, are remarkable.

'Bull Durham' Synopsis: Crash" Davis, a veteran catcher is brought in to teach rookie pitcher Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh about the game in preparation for reaching the Major Leagues, While, Baseball groupie Annie Savoy romances Nuke but finds herself increasingly attracted to Crash.

'Bull Durham' is humorous, energetic & most of all, entertaining. The film wonderfully grabs your attention. Ron Shelton's Screenplay is a great blend of energy & humor. His direction, on the other-hand, is very-well done. Cinematography, Editing & Art Design, are nice.

Performance-Wise: Kevin Costner delivers a terrific performance. The actor sinks his teeth into the part & brings it out with flying colors. Susan Sarandon, as always, is fabulous. Tim Robbins suits his part perfectly. Trey Wilson does well. William O'Leary is as usual.

On the whole, 'Bull Durham' is A Complete Entertainer.

Like Kevin Costner But this film is over-rated

[DKosty123 · 3/10 · 29 May 2005]

Kevin Costner is a fine actor, and is believable in a role as a ball player. Problem with this film is a poor script. A fine cast is wasted by the script. The script makes the situation seem not real, and the humor is poorly done.

The late Max Patkin, clown prince of baseball is excellent & I saw him live at a minor league game, he was a class act & the script does not ruin his cameo role in this film. Too bad the whole film was not about Max, as a story about his life would make an interesting film. Bull Durham's problem is the script for the rest of the story this film tells is so mediocre. It is not written well enough to hang jokes on.

This film could have been so much better that I think even Costner realized it & went on to do FIELD OF DREAMS in order to try & make the public forget about this effort. Baseball has been done in comedy form in a lot of films, & I would suggest the film MAJOR LEAGUE as being much better than this effort.