Bull Durham

Cast of Characters:
Crash Davis – Kevin Costner
Annie Savoy – Susan Sarandon
Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh – Tim Robbins
Joe Riggins – Trey Wilson
Larry Hockett – Robert Wuhl

Director – Ron Shelton
Writer – Ron Shelton
Producer – Thom Mount & Mark Burg
Distributor – Orion Pictures
Running Time – 108 minutes
Rated R

Despite what looks like another miserable, sparsely-attended losing season, the Minor League Durham Bulls still have one thing going for them and that is Mr. Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), their impetuous hotshot rookie pitcher who has, as his pitching coach Larry Hockett (Robert Wuhl) describes, “a million dollar arm with a five cent head”. Seeing the MLB potential in their young prospect and not wanting it to go to waste, the Bulls bring on twelve-year veteran catcher Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) to take him under his wing and give him guidance.

As you’d expect, Nuke and Crash’s differing philosophies on the game get the two off to a rocky start, and what better way to resolve that than with a complicated love triangle monkey-wrenching all that up? Enter devoted baseball enthusiast and die-hard Durham Bulls fan Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon), who each year selects one of the prospects to be her lover. She’s just doing what she can for the team ’cause if you’re good enough in the Minors, eventually the “Big Show” calls you up and when it comes to Annie, as she puts it, “There’s never been a ballplayer slept with me who didn’t have the best year of his career.”

So, I guess she’s like Lucky Charms… magically delicious.

Writer/director Ron Shelton is hardly a stranger to sports movies, having also written and directed White Men Can’t Jump (basketball), Cobb (baseball), Tin Cup (golf) and Play It to the Bone (boxing), as well as just writing The Best of Times (football), Blue Chips (basketball) and The Great White Hype (boxing).

Outside the world of sports, he gave us the criminally underrated, Kurt Russell-led crime thriller Dark Blue… annnnd the dreadful Just Getting Started, which somehow brought Academy Award winners Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones together in the worst film of 2017.

Hey, even Steven Spielberg had a few bad days at the office.

What most viewers may not know about Shelton is that he played in the Minor Leagues for the Baltimore Orioles organization from 1967-71. That fact becomes more than evident when you watch Bull Durham, his “rookie” directorial effort that would score him his only Oscar nomination to date for Best Original Screenplay. They say write what you know, and right from the opening scene, Shelton’s love and knowledge of America’s pastime is on full display.

That’s exactly what makes Bull Durham such an excellent watch, one that cranks out a two-run homer as not just one of the greatest baseball flicks of all-time, but also one of the greatest rom-coms of all-time. This is a topic Shelton cares deeply about, and that care translates over to the characters as well. Sure, as a rom-com, the only two things this film really needs to check off the list is humor and romantic chemistry, yet while it certainly accomplishes those two aspects in spades, it’s still nice to get a film that can also provide authentic insights into those little behind-the-scenes details of baseball. Whether it’s seeing what actually occurs during those mound conferences between the pitcher and catcher, coaches meetings (both Trey Wilson and Robert Wuhl get a few moments to shine as the team’s manager and pitching coach, respectively), or some unconventional ways of achieving a rainout, Bull Durham is guaranteed to deliver more than a handful of laugh-out-loud moments.

And for those that start to think that some of those moments stretch credibility for the sake of comedy, Shelton himself has confirmed in multiple interviews that many of the film’s so-called unlikely scenarios are based on incidents that actually took place during his playing days.

Which makes you wonder about that live rooster.

You’ll get it when it comes up.

Of course, the love triangle has been beaten to death so badly it should press charges, especially within the last decade or so in YA (young adult) fiction. However, Bull Durham is an exception, and it comes back to the characters. At face value, they appear as the typical sports/rom-com archetypes we’ve seen a number of times before and after: the grizzled veteran; dumb, cocky hotshot; and the temptress. Over the course of the film, though, the three reveal more texture and nuance than their cliché surfaces appear to show. Crash obviously has an attraction to Annie, but is more puzzled by her “support” of the team and wants nothing of it, which he explains to her during a great monologue on his beliefs that somehow manages to bring together cock, pussy, AstroTurf and the JFK assassination (coincidentally, Costner would go on to star in Oliver Stone’s JFK). Nuke’s getting laid and that’s all he cares about. That is, until he gets a good streak going and goes to great lengths to not jinx it. Annie – who coaches Nuke about the game almost as much as Crash does – is all about being that sexual mascot for the team, but as the film goes on, she begins to question whether she wants something more or not. It’s this emphasis on character first, love triangle second that allows for the overused plot device to work.

Say what you want about Kevin Costner’s many misfires throughout the ’90s (Waterworld, The Postman, Dragonfly), but like his director, the man has a deep love for baseball that has translated into some of his best work throughout his decades-long career. Not only do we have this film, but there’s also the immensely heartwarming Field of Dreams and the vastly underrated For Love of the Game. Bull Durham ranks right up at the top of his resume, with Costner delivering an incredibly charming performance that is arguably a career best. I’m sure The Untouchables fans will fight me on that one, and for sure, he’s great in that movie also, but Costner gets to show a little more charisma and emotional range here as Crash than what he was afforded as the straight-arrowed Eliot Ness.

Tim Robbins delivers a great breakthrough performance as the brash, young pitching prospect who doesn’t seem to realize that the only one holding him back from the “Big Show” is actually himself. Much of the talk about the film’s chemistry focuses on Sarandon vs. Costner/Robbins, and that’s understandable as their chemistry is absolutely electric. That said, the chemistry between Costner and Robbins shouldn’t go unnoticed either, which is another reason why this film’s love triangle works so well. It cares just as much about Crash and Nuke’s relationship as it does the “will-they-won’t they” angle between Annie and her potential suitors. Much like stubborn brothers who constantly butt heads yet still ultimately care for the other, Costner and Robbins form an authentic bond that provides many of the film’s funniest and sometimes poignant moments, most notably in the way Crash sees Nuke’s natural, God-given talent but is frustrated at the way he seems content to just squander it.

“You don’t respect yourself. That’s your problem, but you also don’t respect the game. That’s my problem.”, chides Crash to Nuke when he finally confronts him on the hall of fame arm he’s just pissing away.

Completing the love triangle is Susan Sarandon in one of her most memorable roles, one that should’ve landed her an Oscar nod if not for Sigourney Weaver getting two same-year nominations for both Best Actress (Gorillas in the Mist) and Best Supporting Actress (Working Girl). The role of Annie Savoy could’ve been played up as a one-note Delilah caricature, but Shelton and Sarandon treat her with far more respect as a multi-dimensional character and not your typical rom-com sexpot. Yes, Sarandon certainly oozes confidence, sass and sexiness as Annie, but she also carries herself with intelligence, wit and personality, all perfectly played out in a hilarious scene where she ties a very horny Nuke to her bed… only to then read Walt Whitman to him.

“Who does he play for?”, Nuke asks. Sums up each character perfectly.

Some might find themselves disappointed that this film doesn’t have the predictable big game climax like most baseball movies. That’s not the point of Bull Durham, though. Kinda like Moneyball, this film is not so much about the game itself as it is about the people involved in the game and all the minutia that goes on behind the scenes. That’s what makes this film so great and sets it apart from other, lesser sports films. The characters are able to deliver a double punch of both humor and heart without the need for a big, uproarious victory in the bottom of the ninth.

Closing Statement: Led by Ron Shelton’s brilliant dialogue and three fantastic performances from Academy Award winners Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, Bull Durham is a smart, sexy and authentic romantic comedy that’s every bit as insightful about relationships as it is about baseball. No matter if you’re a dyed-in-the-wool baseball fanatic or someone so sports illiterate you think Steve Carlton’s wicked slider refers to a sandwich he made, this timeless rom-com classic will greatly charm and entertain you both.

Silver Screen Fanatic’s Verdict: I give Bull Durham an A+ (★★★★).

Benjamin’s Stash Tier: Diamond Stash