Die Frau des Profis

I would have thought with the creative talents of Neil Simon writing the script and Hal Ashby behind the camera The Slugger's Wife would have turned out a lot better. As a baseball film this one is maybe a single.

Playing the title role Rebecca DeMornay is an aspiring country singer for whom baseball player Michael O'Keefe falls big time. O'Keefe is a guy full of promise who never quite reached his potential. But when she's around O'Keefe starts hitting home runs with regularity, so much so that the Atlanta Braves vault into contention for the pennant and O'Keefe starts to threaten the record of 61 set by Roger Maris in 1961.

Soon O'Keefe insists he be at every game as his good luck charm. But DeMornay also has a career she's worked hard at.

This film might have been better but Michael O'Keefe acts like such an egotistical jerk it's hard to work up any sympathy for his problem. Is it his acting, Ashby's direction, or Simon's script. Take your pick.

Best acting in the film is from acclaimed director Martin Ritt who plays the Atlanta Braves manager. He has some interesting motivational techniques.

The Slugger's Wife will never be listed as a great baseball film.

The premise for this movie wasn't bad: Major leaguer finds love with a rock singer in route to a home run record season. Problem is, the two lead characters, especially the male lead, are totally unsympathetic! The male lead is such a boorish ass that I found myself rooting against him most of the movie. I was hoping Debbie, the female lead, would run off with Randy Quaid! If you have a choice between watching this movie or sliding down a huge cheese grater, well, I might choose the latter. : )

On paper it sounds great: Hal Ashby directing, Neil Simon writing, Michael O'Keefe coming off of three critically acclaimed films, and Rebecca DeMornay coming off Risky Business. But in practice, the movie simply isn't watchable. Bad dialogue, bad acting, atrocious musical interludes; and this is just in the first 20 minutes. Randy Quaid and Martin Ritt appear in thankless roles. Even the baseball sequences are pedestrian. There is nothing redeemable in this production even from a cult perspective. Second-Hand Hearts and Lookin' to Get Out were not great but at least they were coherent. If you are a fan of Ashby's 70's work and are interested in his 80's stuff, I suggest you just watch 8 Million Ways to Die and the concert films.

This movie reeks of ineptitude. The only attraction is Rebecca de Mornay, who at least looks good. So what.

The romance is witless, the baseball scenes are trite. Even the putrid 2003 Detroit Kittens, the worst baseball team since the 1962 Mets, do better. It has no credibility as a romance. The jests aren't funny.

This movie will probably end up on the budget rack in some discount superstores because those stores have been cutting deals with movie companies to pump out as many movies as possible to sell for $6 or $7 as impulse items. Even for free it's no bargain; you have better uses of your time than this.

If you are collecting DVD's, then remember this basic rule: you are better off with one "Casablanca", "Lawrence of Arabia", or "Wizard of Oz" than with four bad movies. Indeed you are better off with one great movie than with fifty bad movies. A bad CD is at worst background music that you don't have to pay much attention to; a bad DVD will disgust you.

I rate this "3 of 10" because the only harm that this movie will do to you is waste your money and take up space better suited to some other purpose, such as getting a really good movie. I save the "1" or "2" for something completely devoid of production values, grossly objectionable, or a failure at its purpose.

I showed this movie at my theater when it came out and had the chance to watch it many times. While not a perfect, or even a great movie, I think most people disliked it because they did not understand what the movie was. I'm not blaming that on the audiences, but it is still a reality. People tend to watch 'Slugger's Wife' expecting to see either a baseball movie or a love story. Both of those are just elements that Simon used to tell his story. Unlike what many people think, this IS another of Simon's autobiographic stories which uses the baseball as a metaphor for his life. This is about his relationship and marriage with Marsha Mason. The record-breaking number of hits is his own record with writing Broadway hits. His own self-centeredness is what caused the destruction of his marriage to Mason, the brilliant performer who succeeded on her own.

I actually enjoy the movie and wish that there had been an actual soundtrack put out for it... I love De Morney's singing and interpretations of the songs she does. Still, if you can see beneath the veneer of a baseball story and see it for the critical evaluation of Simon towards his own self, you might be able to see the brilliance of his story, even if it is imperfectly presented.