Duo à trois

"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.

There may be many great baseball movies but there's only one classic and it's not Redford's The Natural or Costner's own Field of Dreams. It's Bull Durham, an underrated movie from 1988.

Tim Robbins is a natural fit as a cocky young pitcher and so is Kevin Costner as the veteran ball player whose main job is to coach Robbins into becoming a better player. The humour is first class and it's tough to single out a scene in particular. If you like humour that's not in your face ha-ha, you'll love Bull Durham.

But, wait, I haven't told you about the movie's biggest strength - Susan Sarandon. This is the movie where I fell in love with the woman. As Annie Savoy, she's smart, sassy and incredibly sexy. Her lines are impeccably written and her character is just fun to watch.

What Bull Durham had in humour and spirit, Field of Dreams made up with sentimentality and nostalgia. Nevertheless, I will also consider Bull Durham to be the better film, mainly because the filmmakers weren't trying to make a great film. They weren't trying to give it a glow like Field of Dreams had. They just wanted to make a fun baseball film in the league of Major League and they hit the bullseye!

Crash Davis loves baseball more than it loves him. He believes in the game. He deserves to be in the show, but he isn't and never will be. But still he plays on, dutifully and to a certain extent, joyfully. Better to play crappy A-ball than sell shoes.

That for me is the central theme of this film. It is all summed up when Crash tells Nuke, the wild young star pitcher "You don't respect yourself. That's your problem. You don't respect the game. That's my problem."

Take a player that passionate, and a youngster that annoying, add in a sexy yet maternal fan and you have great comedy. Bull Durham works scene after scene, because the film never forgets that baseball is what binds all the characters together.

Tim Robbins is nothing short of brilliant and Nuke Laloosh, the rising star youngster who walks 18 batters and strikes out 18 batters in his first minor league appearance - both league records. But Nuke is caught up in his fat contract, his Porsche, and his endless parade of women. Baseball is a sideline. Eventually, Crash's mentoring begins to pay off until he finally realizes that winning is "like, you know, better than losing!"

The love triangle between Annie (Susan Sarandon), Crash and Nuke is wonderful and funny, but it mainly provides us with set up for the baseball scenes, like when Sarandon convinces Nuke to wear women's underwear while he pitches. Or my favourite scene, when Annie and Crash take batting practise together, Annie dressed like she is ready for a wedding, but determined to correct Crash's swing. Crash is determined to take Annie home. They flirt and practice batting in one of the best prolonged foreplay scenes ever filmed.

The ending is satisfying but the real depth of this film is harmony that the game brings to the characters. **** out of ****.

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.

This is unfairly forgotten sports comedy . It's far better than the more famous and overrated "Major league". I'm not exactly a fan of sport comedies , but this one is one of the best I've seen.

The movie really heavily on the trio of stars : Kevin Costner ("Dancing with the wolves") , Susan Sarandon ("Dead man walking") and Tim Robbins ("The Shawshank Redemption"). Each of them shines here. Costner is charming and very likable as the smart and bitter old baseball player. Sarandon is incredibly funny as the woman obsessed with baseball and sex . Robbins is very convincing as the incredibly talented , but stuck up young baseball player.

I like that this movie doesn't follow a typical "from zero to hero" story that is so often (TOO often) seen in this type of movies. Instead we got here a story about love triangle between two baseball players and baseball fan . The movie is a character comedy and it's fun to see how the characters interact with each other and change during the movie. There is great chemistry between them.

I love the wisecracks from Costner's mouth , Sarandon is HOT and Robbins is adorable when he throws into the bull.

There is some great music here . Soundtrack is full of great songs like: Bill Haley and The Comets "Rock around the clock" , Edith Piaf "Non , je ne regrette rien" and "La vie en rose" , Ike and Tina Turner "I idolize you" , The Everly brothers "When I will be loved" , Los lobos "I got loaded" and Joe Cocker "Woman loves a man".

The only thing that I didn't like is the religious approach to the baseball. I'm not a fan of baseball and I couldn't really relate to it, but the baseball fans probably will be happy.

A very pleasant , charming and enjoyable comedy. Good way to spend your time. I give it 7/10.