Walk into one of baseball's cathedrals like Wrigley Field or Fenway Park and breathe the air. There's something beyond the smell of the infield grass, the beer, and the peanuts. For most baseball fans it's a time machine back to the more innocent days of childhood.
I had these same feelings during the opening credits of Bull Durham with blues in the background while we flip though classic photos of Ruth, Robinson, Rose, and other legends. Then Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandan) tells us that she believes in "the church of baseball" and makes the remarkable connection between the 108 beads in a rosary and the 108 stitches in a baseball.
A little later Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) recounts a home run that he once tatooed off a slider in the 9th inning on a 3-2 that one of the coaches tossed him in a game.
Whoa, I thought! Somebody behind this movie knows this game and loves it. It turns out to be director/writer Ron Shelton, who once played 2nd base in the minor league organization of the Orioles. Shelton's realistic baseball dialogue and true to life scenes are highlights of this film, which I am convinced is the best baseball movie that has ever been made. While others will argue that The Field of Dreams or The Natural is superior, I feel that Bull Durham captures the true nature and spirit of the game more than any other movie I've seen.
While baseball aficionados will likely appreciate the film more, there is a great deal of humor and a love triangle to keep casual fans and non-fans entertained.
Plot
Set in the Carolina leagues, local community college English teacher, Annie, looks out each spring for the most promising prospect to educate in the ways of love, so that she can instill a lifetime of confidence into him and grant him the greatest season that he's ever had. In return, she gets a 142 game season to feel young and pretty before seeking the next year's prospect.
The competitors for Annie's affections in Bull Durham are Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), a young talented pitcher with "a million dollar arm and a 5 cent brain" and veteran catcher Crash Davis, the "player to be named later" who is closing in on the minor league record for career home runs.
As things turn out, Annie and Crash end up with the same project; namely to transform young Nuke into a mature pitcher, who can make it to the big leagues. Annie believes that if she can expand Nuke's mind, give him wisdom, and teach him how to make love, then he'll become a successful pitcher. Annie uses her English skills to philosophize, read poetry, or rationalize why Nuke shouldn't be upset when she cries out "Crash" when making love with him. Davis has the same task of mentoring the young pitcher, without the sex.
Acting
The plot is fairly predictable fare, but that's not what makes this film stand out from other sports moviesd. One of its strengths comes from some great acting primarily by the lead characters, but also supported with an excellent cast.
I'm not a huge Kevin Costner fan, but his low key, relaxed acting works perfectly in this film. Costner even looks like a baseball player when he swings the bat, and his on-screen chemistry with Sarandan establishes him as a leading romantic actor. After this film, anyone else making a baseball movie attempts to cast Costner as the lead -- and he's done two more: The Field of Dreams and For Love of the Game. (one of these two films is actually well done)
Susan Sarandan has been outstanding in every role I've ever seen her in, and she works flawlessly with both Costner and Robbins here. Her character practically worships baseball -- her home contains virtual baseball shrines, she knows baseball lore like the horrible Robinson for Pappas trade, and she attends all the home games, writing notes to the players when they're not bending their backs enough or bringing their hips out too early. While she acts as a wise "earth mother" to Nuke, she melts into an equal with Crash. If we need any other proof of Sarandan's acting ability, observe her passionate scenes with Costner, and then reflect that she actually fell in love with Robbins during the shooting, and they have been together ever since.
While Robbins had acted in a few movies before, Bull Durham marks a major breakthrough in his career. (He needed something good after Howard the Duck) He plays the big athletic stud as a goofball innocent, and carries it off exceptionally. Watch his playful eyes dart around the room as Sarandan philosophizes with him. He could have come across as arrogant, but Robbins succeeds in portraying Nuke as a likable jock who can switch instantly from feigning machismo to revealing his vulnerability-observe his initial meeting with his new catcher.
Baseball moments
While the acting is excellent, the thing that draws me to watch and re-watch Bull Durham is dozens of moments that capture the spirit of baseball. Writer/director Shelton has sifted through his minor league experience and shares some wonderful scenes.
If you've ever wondered what managers and players say to the umpire to automatically get them tossed out of the game, the "secret" is revealed. How about those conferences on the mound? Do you think that they always involve strategy like deciding who's going to cover second on a hit and run play? Or is it possible that they need to deal with curses on gloves, fathers watching in the stands, or what to get a teammate for a wedding present.
Every boy who's ever played the game - which is most everyone - has dreamed of making it to the major leagues. I know that I used to play imaginary major league baseball as a St. Louis Cardinal in my back yard. We see some great scenes in Bull Durham that reflect on the dream of making it to the majors - or, as they say "to the Show." When Crash reveals that he was once in "The Show" for 21 days, all his teammates hush and gather round to listen to Crash's tales just like it is a Boy Scout gathering around the campfire.
We later see a young man's dreams get shattered when the manager calls him into the office to do "the toughest job" a manager's got to do - the organization has decided to make some changes. We can tell that the manager has done this before, and he will do it again. It's all part of baseball that is captured by a writer who has actually experienced it.
Not that Bull Durham is continually philosophical and poignant. There's also a lot of humor and fun interspersed throughout the movie. I love the scene where Crash wants Nuke to keep the hitters off balance, so he has him plunk the Bull mascot deliberately - "I just don't know where it's going… I wouldn't dig in too much if I were you." I know that this happens in baseball!
Overall
There have been numerous movies about baseball over the years. Baseball reflects America as no other sport does. As Walt Whitman once wrote: "I see great things in baseball. It's our game, the American game. It will repair our losses and be a blessing to us." No other baseball film captures this spirit better than Bull Durham.
We are truly blessed that Shelton shares his baseball knowledge and wisdom on celluloid. He later attempts it with Cobb, but not nearly as well. Bull Durham has the look and feel of one of baseball's true ballparks - the ones you find in Boston, Chicago's north side, in minor league stadiums, and in spring training parks. Now that I've re-watched the video again, I feel refreshed with baseball tradition once again. So refreshed that I've got to touch real baseball nostalgia again before the start of the season - I'm blessed to live in Phoenix, so I'm off to a spring training game. There's nothing like fun at the old ballpark.
If you live somewhere other than Florida or Arizona, rent the video for an appetizer!
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