Match à deux

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. : )

Interesting enough story from Neil Simon, but by the time we get to the ninth inning...no hit. Something derailed this project early; mediocre script and below par acting. Michael O'Keefe plays Darryl Palmer, a member of the Atlanta Braves that is in a terrible hitting slump. He falls hard for a beautiful aspiring rock star played by Rebecca De Mornay. The romance inspires the slugger to start hitting away at a home run record. The championship is now riding on the slugger's success, but there is trouble brewing between the ballplayer and singer.

O'Keefe does a pretty good job of playing an arrogant, self centered ball player. On the other hand, De Mornay is nice to look at, but just does not fit the material she has to work with.

It is hard to believe that Simon, the acclaimed writer he is, did not give us at least one character we could really care about. Also in the cast are Randy Quaid, Lisa Langolis and Martin Ritt.

If you want a good baseball/romance movie try BULL DURHAM or FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME.

Right fielder for the Atlanta Braves falls for an aspiring rock singer with big dreams; she becomes his good luck charm and marries him, but also wants him to succeed on his own without holding her hand. The combination of director Hal Ashby with screenwriter Neil Simon should've been more interesting than this! The picture has no rhythm: Ashby's timing is shot, he can't build any momentum with the love story, and his actors appear desperate. Tepid leads Michael O'Keefe and Rebecca & De Mornay give ruinous performances (she sings nondescript versions of Prince and Bruce Springsteen songs that wouldn't have garnered applause on Star Search). Supporting cast including Martin Ritt (the director going back to acting) and Randy Quaid fares no better (Ritt's coach decides the best medicine for a heartbroken O'Keefe is to "get him laid", and three girls in a nightclub are rounded up like cattle). A handful of highly-acclaimed filmmakers from the 1970s seemed to bottom-out in the '80s--the decade just left them behind. Ashby is unfortunately one of these casualties, but what was Neil Simon's excuse? * from ****

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.

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.