Movie Title: Bull Durham
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama
Starring: Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Trey Wilson, Robert Wuhl, William O'Leary, Jenny Robertson
Review: In Durham, N.C., the Bulls minor league baseball team has one asset no other can claim: a poetry-loving groupie named Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon). As the team's season begins, Annie selects brash new recruit Ebby Calvin Laloosh (Tim Robbins), whom she christens "Nuke," to inspire with the religion of baseball. Nuke also receives guidance from veteran player Crash Davis (Kevin Costner), who settles Nuke's erratic pitching and teaches him to follow the catcher's lead.
Bull Durham is a quintessential baseball film that really captures the sport and the mundanity of playing minor league ball where some guys got it while others simply want to hang on. Kevin Costner plays Crash Davis, a veteran catcher who has always been good, but just not good enough. Tim Robbins is Nuke Laloosh, the youthful fireballer who seems destined for Major League stardom if he can learn to harness his emotions. And finally, you have Susan Sarandon playing Annie Savoy, baseball fanatic and Durham Bulls groupie. These three characters exhibit fantastic chemistry as they develop a love triangle, while also each helping each other grow in their own special ways. There is great character development and the dialogue is witty, and oftentimes hilarious. Many people hold this movie as the greatest baseball movie ever made, and that's really my only sticking point. I personally love baseball flicks like Moneyball, The Sandlot, or another Costner classic, Field of Dreams. This movie is an entertaining film with a ton of re-watch value, despite not necessarily being my favorite. There's flashes of heart, and you can never go wrong with the wild and crazy shenanigans in the Carolina League. Annie says, "Baseball may be a religion full of magic, cosmic truth, and the fundamental ontological riddles of our time, but it's also a job." Now I have a job for you: stop being a lollygagger and watch some Bull Durham! It's a minor league story that holds up as a big league hit!
Fun Fact: The "big club" is referenced several times during the movie, though it is never made completely clear what major league team the Bulls are affiliated with. At the time of the filming, the Durham Bulls were a Carolina League Single A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Presently, the Durham Bulls are the Triple A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.