Rom-Com Masquerading as a Sports Film

Rating: 6/10 (16 May 2020)

Beware the reviewers labeling Bull Durham "the best sports movie ever" or even "the best baseball movie." Real sports fans know this really isn't a sports movie. It's a romantic comedy that happens to use minor league baseball as the setting. Even Roger Ebert, in his review of the film, wrote that Bull Durham "is a completely unrealistic romantic fantasy." Does that sound like "the best sports movie ever" to you? Yeah, it's not. The people saying this must not be sports fans, I can draw no other conclusion.
Plot in a Nutshell: An aging catcher (Kevin Costner) and a young pitcher (Tim Robbins) vie for the affections of a local harlot/groupie (Susan Sarandon).
That's the basic story of this film. It focuses on a love triangle between these three characters and uses the Durham Bulls baseball club as the backdrop. Oh sure, there are some baseball scenes thrown in, and some baseball terminology that might confuse anyone who's not a fan. But make no mistake: this is a rom-com all the way, and as such, can't be seriously considered in the top echelon of 'sports films.'
And on top of that, it's not nearly as good as some would have you believe. As Ebert noted, it's unrealistic for one. What makes anyone accept that the two ballplayers would even WANT to hook up with the Sarandon character? She is already in her 40s and freely admits her extremely loose morals as it pertains to sexual partners. She's basically a walking STD at this point in her life! No thanks, pal. It also seems odd that the Bulls trust Costner's character to mentor their million-dollar investment, then suddenly have no use for him by the film's end. Don't they have anyone else that could use some mentoring? Why did they trust him in the first place if they think so little of him now? Yeah that doesn't work.
Having said that, it's not a bad film. It has its moments and I would say it's worth one watch. But I wouldn't go beyond that. There is a much-talked-about speech ("I believe in wet kisses" etc.) given by Costner's character in the film, apparently intended to be romantic, as it gets the attention of Annie Savoy (Sarandon). But watching this film now, I was more than a little surprised to hear that part of this famous discourse included the lines "I believe in the c_ck. I believe in the p_ssy." Um, what? Yeah I'm not making this up, that's part of the dialogue. And far from being profound, it sounded laughable, not laudable. Socrates-like wisdom, this was not.
There are SO many 'sports films' better than this. To name a few...Rocky and Rocky II, The Natural, A League of Their Own, Eight Men Out, the original The Longest Yard, the original Brian's Song, Hoosiers, Raging Bull, Slap Shot, Hoop Dreams...there's a lot. A LOT. To name Bull Durham better than those, as Sports Illustrated did back in 2003, is beyond puzzling. It's a sometimes-amusing look at minor league baseball life, and that's really about it.
6/10. Would I watch again (Y/N)? Having watched it for the second time now, no. There's no title fight, there's no championship game. It's just an unconvincing romantic comedy set during a minor league baseball season. And that's just not good enough to warrant any more viewings.