Sex, love and baseball

With baseball season right around the corner, the famous romantic baseball movie “Bull Durham” comes to mind. The 1988 film about minor-league baseball and romance is celebrating 20 years since the film hit theaters with an anniversary DVD release. The film is directed by Ron Shelton, who actually played five years in the minor leagues. Although the romantic-comedy genre often gets a bad rap – and many times deservingly so – “Bull Durham” is a romantic comedy that is a classic and has something for both male and female viewers.

The film stars Kevin Costner as Crash Davis, an aged veteran in his 12th season in the minor leagues. He is downgraded to the Single-A league, a lower class of the minor leagues, to play for the Durham Bulls and work with rising star Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh, played by a very young Tim Robbins. It is Davis’ job to help tame Nuke, a rookie pitcher in the minor leagues, who has a legitimate shot at making it to the big leagues, or “The Show” as Davis calls it.

Susan Sarandon plays Annie, an intellectual, spiritual and romantic woman. Every season, she has a fling with one man from the team, but the film’s romantic tension begins when Crash and Nuke both take an interest in Annie. The rookie Nuke gets the girl at first over the veteran Crash, who splits, saying he’s been around too long to do a “tryout.”

Annie begins her romantic encounter with the not-so-bright Nuke – who Crash refers to as “meat” – by reading poetry. She tries to teach the kid to be spiritually connected, providing several spiritual and other ideas to help him become a better pitcher. This results in some bizarre improvement ideas for Nuke, such as attempting to breathe through his eyelids and wearing a garter to feel more at ease.

At times the trio of Costner, Robbins and Sarandon seems like an odd family, with Robbins as a child being taught by Costner and Sarandon. This is particularly twisted when one considers that their relationship is really a love triangle and not a family at all. Costner’s character at first begrudgingly tutors Robbins’ young and immature character, due to jealousy and what Crash calls his lack of respect for the game of baseball. Eventually the two bond and start to get along, although never completely; the gulf between them remains too wide.

One of the many memorable scenes in the film occurs when a few of the players gripe that a rainout would help end their losing streak. Crash bets each of the players $100 that he can get them a rainout. Later that night, Crash and three other drunken players turn on the sprinklers, flooding out the stadium. The four players then proceed to round the bases and slide into them fully-clothed and soaked in mud. Crash lives moment to moment and makes his life as a minor leaguer fun and carefree. His free spirit and laid-back swagger give the film its distinctive character.

Crash’s carefree attitude toward the game also creates tensions between him and Nuke. Another comic scene illustrates the film’s dramatic tensions and comic resolutions in an exchange between Crash and Nuke on the field. Crash, who plays catcher, has his signs shaken off by Nuke. Crash calls time and tells him not to shake off his signs. When Nuke proceeds to shake off his signs again, Crash tells the batter what the pitch is, giving up a home run.

Many of the scenes in the film are of the baseball games themselves. That is one of the film’s best qualities. The close-ups of Costner and Robbins help make the game scenes particularly interesting and much more exciting than watching a real baseball game on TV. In one of these scenes, the audience can get into Costner’s head and hear what he is thinking as he is batting.

Unlike other films of the era, this movie is timeless. Although it was made in the late ’80s, the old-fashioned style of Susan Sarandon, coupled with the North Carolina setting, don’t make it appear to be an ’80s film – with the exception of Nuke’s flashy and ridiculous fashion sense.

“Bull Durham” has plenty of engaging baseball scenes, along with humorous dialogue that helps the viewer get a sense of what playing in the minors might be like. The many romantic scenes in the film provide a great mix of action and relaxed ones. Costner reminds us of his great acting talent throughout the film, and the younger Robbins plays a more innocent part in this film than he does in later roles such as “Arlington Road” and “Antitrust” – two movies where he plays outstanding roles as bad guys.

This witty baseball classic remains enjoyable for sports fans and nonsports fans alike.