Film Review: Bull Durham

Director: Ron Shelton

Having been introduced to Baseball by my flatmate last year before the season started in April; I started a crash course in the rules and strategy of the game which included reading some books (including Moneyball twice). After a season it meant it was time to see some of the more renowned Baseball movies that are out there, so having already seen Field of Dreams many times I stayed with Kevin Costner and went for Bull Durham. The film is based around the experiences in the minor leagues of writer/director Ron Shelton which means the film is very realistic from a baseball sense.

Kevin Costner as ''Crash'' Davis who plays Catcher

Early in the film it is established that Ebby Calvin LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), who is called ''Nuke" after deciding he needs a nickname, who is the wayward star pitcher at the minor league Durham Bulls. He is known for drinking and sleeping around before games so the team decide to bring in experienced minor league player ''Crash'' Davis (Kevin Costner) to educate him on how to be a major league talent. Crash immediately improves Nuke's game but insists on calling him Meat which is a derogatory term in Baseball (meaning novice or rookie). Each year, Annie (Susan Sarandon) decides to tutor and sleep with one player as part of her spiritual guidance in the ''church of baseball''. She chooses Nuke which complicates thing further between him and Crash.

The three main characters within the film are great in their roles, Roger Ebert once said that only Susan Sarandon could have played this kooky role and I'm inclined to agree with him. Costner is at his best as the experienced and slightly cynical Crash Davis but Tim Robbins as the arrogant yet slightly weird Nuke, some of the funniest moments come when Nuke is trying to stop himself thinking too much between pitches so talks to himself in his head. The relationship between Crash and Nuke adds some very funny moments to the film.

''Nuke'' LaLoosh played by Tim Robbins argues with Crash Davis

Crash speaks of the 21 greatest days in his life when he gets to play in 'The Show' (Major League) and all the players in the team instantly listen to what he says. It is the dream of every player in the minor league to play in 'The Show' in front of thousands of people at big stadiums like Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park. This was part of the realism of playing in the minor leagues as well as the vernacular the players and coaches use that made the whole thing feel real and authentic. Crash teaches Nuke that every batter can hit fastballs in the big league so he needs to learn other pitches as well as teaching him what to say in interviews to give people what they want to hear. Its lessons that are still true to this day within Baseball and other sports.

3/4 a good movie and a very good baseball movie.