The late 80s saw a bevy of baseball themed movies like “Major League,” “Field of Dreams,“ and “Eight Men Out.” While “Bull Durham” is one of the most critically lauded from the era, the story is as dull as an April rain delay, and the finished product is far inferior to the aforementioned baseball films.
“Bull Durham” has a star packed cast featuring three giant names from the era; Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, and Tim Robbins. The movie takes place in the Carolina League during the 1987 season. The Durham Bulls are a typical A-level ball club that boasts a roster of players who want nothing more than to make it to the majors. The atmosphere works. We get the simplicity of minor league baseball, with tawdry stadium gimmicks and bleachers mostly empty but devoted fans nonetheless.
The Bulls prized possession is pitcher Nuke LaLoosh (Robbins) who has a “million dollar arm and a five cent head.” LaLoosh can throw a 100 mph fastball but has no control. He remains cool and cocky despite this, blowing bubbles while hurling pitches into the stands. Aging veteran Crash Davis (Costner) is brought in to mentor the phenom. “I’m too old for this shit.” Crash states as he arrives in A-ball tasked with being a babysitter.
Kevin Costner is the star of the show and one of the biggest names in Hollywood during the late 80s and 90s. What’s great about Costner is that he truly loves baseball and it shows. He’s also a capable athlete, making his appearance on the field or in a uniform or batting cage that much more plausible. Costner plays the role with an envy that’s obvious. Crash Davis is a career minor leaguer who has spent a grand total of 21 days in the major leagues – and is idolized by his teammates for his brief glimpse at stardom. Crash Davis will never be a baseball star and he knows it. He plays the game simply because of his love for it.
Susan Sarandon plays Annie Savoy, the narrator and most useless character in the film. She’s a baseball groupie who has sex with one player each season. “Making love is like hitting a baseball.” She explains at the beginning. “You just gotta relax and concentrate.” Call me a prude, but the fleeting moments of excitement that are present in the story are always interrupted by Annie in the bedroom with her flavor of the month. It’s pointless, dull, and unimaginative. It relies too heavily on late 80s smut and overly promiscuous characters and adds zero interest or “romantic comedy” tones to the product.
The rapport between Robbins and Costners’ characters are good. There’s cheesy dialogue when Crash hits on Annie, and when he offers pearls of wisdom like “If you don’t respect yourself that’s your problem. If you don’t respect the game, that’s my problem.” It’s over the top but enjoyable nonetheless. Some of the story is funny, but the jokes are boring for the most part. And for a baseball film, there’s little in the way of realistic baseball.
“Bull Durham” is a man movie in that it has baseball and sex. That’s about all it has.
