A Classic Comedic Sports Film

Rating: 10/10 (18 October 2012)

A blend of comedy, drama and romance, Bull Durham follows the intertwining of three lives brought together by the great American pastime. It is based upon the minor league experiences of writer/director Ron Shelton and depicts the players and fans of the Durham Bulls, a minor league baseball team in Durham, North Carolina. The movie stars Kevin Costner as "Crash" Davis, a veteran catcher brought in to teach rookie pitcher Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh about the game in preparation for reaching the Major Leagues. Baseball groupie Annie Savoy romances Nuke but finds herself increasingly attracted to Crash. Also featured are Robert Wuhl and Trey Wilson, as well as popular baseball "clown" Max Patkin.
Crash Davis is a perennial Minor Leaguer assigned to the Durham Bulls, a hapless team with a long tradition of mediocrity. There he tutors a young, dim-witted pitching prodigy, Nuke LaLoosh in the ways of baseball, life, and love. Each strikes up a romance with Annie, the team's "mascot" who takes it upon herself to sleep with a new player every season. Each has his/her own conflict: Crash struggles to end his career with some measure of dignity; Nuke struggles to make it to the "big show"; and Annie struggles to find something more than a roll in the hay and of course, Crash and Nuke come into conflict over Annie's affections to further complicate matters.
Kevin Costner at his funniest and most charismatic in Bull Durham, a film that's as wise about relationships as it is about minor league baseball.Also,aside from classic performances, witty and insightful script, this is about so much more than baseball and will no doubt prove to be a quiet classic.Obviously,it deserves its status among sports films, but its ongoing appeal reflects that it's something more: an old- fashioned romantic comedy that succeeds in establishing and deepening memorable characters through memorably flavorful dialogue.