Bull Durham | | Cast : | Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins | | Director : | Ron Shelton | | Studio : | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | June 15, 1988 | | DVD Released Date : | March 09, 2004 | | Language : | Spanish (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 23, 2005 | | Summary | Overrated | Content
 | I went out of my way to get this movie because I had heard and read so much about it. Pretty much all the reviews here are in line with what I've read. I'll start my critique with Annie Savoy quote:
"Making love is like hitting a baseball: you just gotta relax and concentrate. Besides, I'd never sleep with a player hitting under .250... not unless he had a lot of RBIs and was a great glove man up the middle."
Some people might find lines like this amusing, poetic, or interesting, but to me it doesn't make much sense because no girl in reality is going to say something like that. The groupies that hang around major league ball players aren't going to stop hanging around a guy just because he is not hitting above .250. This part is very unrealistic.
Annie Savoy: "I believe in the Church of Baseball. I've tried all the major religions, and most of the minor ones. I've worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms, and Isadora Duncan. I know things. For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball."
To me, you don't mention the Buddha's name, Allah, Brahma, Jesus (that came a little later) and then mishmash it all into wax nonsense. To me that's like cursing in vain, "F" this, "F" that, this is taking a very laissez faire attitude towards talk in general. Nothing wrong with this here. Plenty of nonsensical talk in Caddyshack too, but nobody ever mentioned Buddha, Jesus, Allah, and Brahma in one breath. By the way, there's plenty of cursing in this movie which doesn't earn it any more points in my book.
The first time we meet Ebby Laloosh he is having sex in the locker room before the game. Sex as you may guess is a big part of this movie but it's not a few subtle flings interspersed here and there like in great sports comedies like Caddyshack. Annie Savoy is rocking the boat constantly throughout the flick. It only ends when Crash Davis finally gives in and does her towards the end of the movie.
Some are saying this is one of the greatest comedies for a baseball flick which means that there must be very few baseball movies with any comedy in them because this movie was not funny. Let me sum up Crash Davis (Costner). His first encounter with Laloosh (Robbins) which set the tone for the rest of their interactions could basically be summed up as follows: "Don't think!" It is a very serious message. Davis spends the rest of the movie "teaching" Laloosh:
Crash Davis: "Relax, all right? Don't try to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring! Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic"
Crash Davis: "This game's fun, OK? Fun goddamnit. And don't hold the ball so hard, OK? It's an egg. Hold it like an egg."
Eddy Laloosh: "Why's he calling me meat? I'm the one driving a Porsche."
I think the last line by Laloosh sums up his relationship with Davis throughout the movie. He is constantly fumbling around, tusseling with his own self control and inexperience as well as jealousy towards Davis. He is hardly amusing. This begs the question: if two of the biggest stars of the movie aren't generating laughs, where are they coming from?
There were a few comedic moments with Robert Wuhl but he is a stand up comedian (and comic writer) by trade, no surprises there. There may have been other lighthearted moments interspersed throughout the flick, but I would not characterize this movie as a comedy at all.
I played little league baseball and have been a die hard baseball fan since before the age of 9. I can honestly say I was shocked by how accurately the baseball players and games were portrayed. The use of "meat" by Davis as well as other common baseball terms could only be ascertained by someone who had actual experience or knowledge of baseball. If you are a pitcher or hardcore baseball fan I do recommend this movie because there are many aspects that you will be able to relate to. When Davis tells Laloosh "not to think" or not to try to "strike everybody out" these are actually things that baseball coaches tell their pitchers. I could greatly appreciate the movie from this perspective and to tell the truth I loved every minute of it. I LOVE the game of baseball and to listen to lines like:
"Christ, you don't need a quadrophonic Blaupunkt! What you need is a curveball! In the show, everyone can hit heat."
This is so true in real life baseball. Many pitchers come up because they have great fastballs (like Felix Rodriguez of NY Yankees). But it wasn't until he developed a slider that he started to be effective. Unless you are Mariano Rivera many pitchers need at least two pitches to keep hitters off balance.
This is one of the paradoxes of this movie. From a baseball perspective the movie is so accurate and lifelike it makes me want to believe Annie Savoy when she says things like:
"Well, actually, nobody on this planet ever really chooses each other. I mean, it's all a question of quantum physics, molecular attraction, and timing. Why, there are laws we don't understand that bring us together and tear us apart. Uh, it's like pheromones. You get three ants together, they can't do (...). You get 300 million of them, they can build a cathedral."
I find her lines and constant sex to be a big detraction from the rest of the action. A groupie is a groupie, they spend all their time hanging around (in this case) minor league ballplayers. How can you take them seriously?
I am glad I saw this movie. I can put this one to rest (for good) as I don't plan on watching it ever again. Because of the constant overt sex (it's not subtle or graceful at all) and foul language it would be hard for me to recommend even if I had a nephew who was a baseball fan. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 21, 2005 | | Summary | Baseball sex and spirituality | Content
| One of the few comedies I'm able to go back to over and over and over again. The movie has a heart and a soul & its great for baseball fans. Not the most realistic baseball movie but captures the feel of the sport better than any other baseball movie. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 24, 2005 | | Summary | Funniest Baseball Movie Ever Made | Content
| It's time for Major League Baseball players to get ready for "The Show", and yet I can't help but think about this funny screwball comedy about minor league baseball, written and directed by former minor leaguer Ron Shelton. For Shelton this was truly a labor of love, realistically depicting life in the minor leagues with ample doses of humor. Kevin Costner gives one of his finest performances as veteran minor league catcher "Crash" Davis, who has spent only 21 days in "The Show" (Major League Baseball) and is near the end of his own career. It is Davis' mission to train a promising young pitcher with a million dollar arm but a dim bulb of a mind to go with it, Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins). Robbins offers the funniest - and among the best - performances in his career as LaLoosh, whom the majors think may be the next Nolan Ryan or Sandy Koufax. Vying for their affections is English school teacher - and diehard Durham Bulls fan - Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon), who seeks out the most promising rookie each season and has an affair with him; though this time, both she and Davis realize that LaLoosh doesn't deserve her affections. "Bull Durham" is a hilarious mix of metaphysics, poetry, love and baseball - though not quite in this order - that's blessed with an excellent cast, script and direction from Ron Shelton. It's among my favorite films from the 1980s and unquestionably one of the best baseball movies ever made. |
| Rating | | | Date | September 08, 2004 | | Summary | Very Funny Movie | Content
| This is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Kevin Costner plays an aging catcher who has spent most of his career in the minor leagues. He's being sent to Durham to break in the bonus baby pitcher. The two end up competing for the affection of a local baseball Annie, while trying to win some games and develop the bonus baby into a real pitcher.
Kevin Costner should be required to make at least one sports movie per year. He's made some great ones over the years and this is one of his best. Tim Robbins is great as the bonus baby and Susan Sarandon is very funny as the baseball Annie.
Every baseball fan should see this movie. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 09, 2004 | | Summary | best baseball film | Content
| Bull Durham is the best baseball film ever made, hands down. You could even go as far to say that it is one of the best films period. Young Susan Sarandon and Kevin Kostner are a real treat to watch in this love affair with baseball set in the Minor Leagues of North Carolina. If you love sports, and obviously baseball in particular, this movie is a must see. |
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