A Sweet Sports Flick!

Rating: 8/10 (31 October 2017)

I personally don't like sports. They're too superficial to get wrapped up in. And baseball is one of the most boring sports to watch. Other boring sports include tennis, curling, and NASCAR. But baseball is bigger, the most boring of the popular sports. Regardless of if you like baseball or not, Bull Durham doesn't care if you're a fan or not. It wants you to be entertained and just have an all-around good time.
Bull Durham is a three-character driven film about life, love, and baseball. Susan Sarandon gives her first great performance as Annie Savoy. I forget her official position with the team, but she is picks one member of the Durham Bulls to seduce to make a better player. She's a groupie and her reasons behind the sex seem too silly--she uses sex as means of making players on the team better. Is she a sex addict? Is she a libertine? Is she trying to fill a void? I think her sexual ambition was too silly to be taken seriously--the only reason I can not giving this a perfect score.
Kevin Costner plays Crash. He's spent twelve years in the minors and can't never catch a break. He gets drafted to the Bulls and hopes he can make it to the MLB from there. But he may not be as good as he thinks he is.
Caught between Annie and Crash is Tim Robbins, who plays Nuke. Nuke is a talented and immature pitcher who stands a chance of making it big. The main reason Crash got drafted was to train Nuke into honing his craft. Nuke has the speed and agility, but poor aim. And he happens to be the player Annie chooses to be with for the season.
The love triangle is pretty cool as both men are attracted to Annie. Annie wants both of them, but it is unclear who could benefit from her more. As the movie unfolds, this becomes more clear. The scenes where Annie gets with Crash and Nuke are fun. The friendship and training with Crash and Nuke is hilarious. The trio together have perfect chemistry.
Despite the movie being centred on three people, we do get a good look at the other members of the team and their rituals. Some use prayer beads, some use sex, it all depends which one works. Whichever works, stick with it.
A major strength with Bull Durham is that is places the viewer into the escapades of the players. They go to the bars, have some beers, argue with officials, etc. When the lights go down, the viewer becomes a die-hard fan like the ones in the bleachers. The viewer also feels the pressures of the players. But first and foremost, the movie is hilarious. The love story isn't sappy and there isn't a psychological bridge that gets drawn with the players. Comedy is used to fill up and push the movie.
There is too much not to like.
3.5/4