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Bull Durham

Bull Durham

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Minor League Baseball, Major League Hit
Review: Former minor league ballplayer, Ron Shelton crafted a funny, sentimental and romantic comedy based around a minor league baseball team, the Durham Bulls. The film uses baseball as a backdrop for a love triangle between a local lady, a career minor league and a young phenom. Kevin Costner stars as Crash Davis, a savvy veteran catcher who dispenses his wisdom on a young fireballer Nuke Lalush played by Tim Robbins. Between the two of them is Annie played by Susan Sarandon. Every season she picks a player who she dates for the season and dispenses her own brand of wisdom. The film is full of rich and humorous dialogue and unlike most baseball films, offers a fairly realistic look at the game. Mr. Costner has never been better than in this film, where his everyman persona is perfect. He knows his career is winding down and he'll never fully realize his baseball dreams, but he can give back to the game he loves by helping the ignorant Nuke. Mr. Robbins became a star with his hilarious turn as the goofball Nuke and Ms. Sarandon simmers in her lusty role. Comedian Robert Wuhl garnered attention as a cliche spewing bench coach. Bull Durham is an immensely enjoyable, well made comedy that will appeal to a more mature sense of humor.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Pile on the Bull!
Review: Often mentioned as 'one of the best sports movies ever.' I'm gonna go farther and say BULL DURHAM is one of the finest movies of the past 30 years. Ron Shelton directs from his own screenplay. And that screenplay makes modern poets out of baseball players; clever words consistently spewing from the mouths of wanna be Babe Ruths. The language is as integral to the success of the film as the wonderful performances.

At its core, the story focuses on the love triangle involving Annie Savoy (Brilliant Susan Sarandon), Crash Davis (Kevin Costner in a rare unpretentious performance) and Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh (A career launching Tim Robbins). Minor league ball is the backdrop, which allows for grand slam of well-executed comedy and just a touch of pathos. Robert Wuhl's assistant coach is so finely tuned; he can bring you to hysterical tears with his optimistic yes man. The ultimate 'chick flick for guys', Bull Durham is filmmaking at its greatest.

This new Deluxe DVD includes the informative commentary by Director/writer Ron Shelton (Tin Cup) that was on the original DVD release, but it is the commentary by stars Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins that is the big sell here. Robbins sounds to be getting more inebriated as the film proceeds and Costner is surprisingly open, exposing his own foibles and piling on the Susan Sarandon compliments higher then her husband. There is also a new documentary on he making of the film and Minor League baseball in general.

"I'm the player to be named later"

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Baseball + Sex = America's Two Favorite Pastimes...
Review: The story revolves around a woman named Annie Savoy ( Susan Surandon). Every year she selects one member of the Durham Bulls to sleep with, and teach him about the finer things in life. This year gets interesting for Annie however, when she meets an up- and- coming pitcher named "Nuke" Laloosh ( Tim Robbins), and a veteran minor league catcher that is assigned to train Nuke named Crash Davis ( Kevin Costner). She informs the two, that they are this year's "draft picks". When Crash passes up the offer, Nuke eagerly awaits to start up with Annie. But Crash's jealousy soon takes over, and he convinces Nuke that sex with Annie will jinx the Bulls winning streak...

"Bull Durham" has been a favorite of mine for a while now. The baseball action is realistic and fun to watch. The overall story of Nuke and Crash fighting over Annie is great. Not to mention the fact that Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins, and Susan Surandon are all outstanding. The best thing about the film perhaps is the relationship between Nuke and Crash. They are best friends one minute, and fighting each other the next. You gotta love Costner telling the hitters what's coming for Nuke shaking him off. Susan Surandon gives the best performance of her career with Annie Savoy. She is intelligent, extremely sexy, and hillarious. Watching her relate sex to baseball is outstanding. One of the funniest things you will ever see, is when she convinces Nuke to wear garders to enhance his sexual energy on the playing field. But the film has one MAJOR flaw, which is why I could not give it five stars. While I do enjoy the games played in the bedroom, I am a baseball fan first. "Bull Durham" is a love story with baseball thrown in. I would have liked it better if there was more focus on actual baseball.

Overall, "Bull Durham" is a great film. The baseball action is realistic, there is non stop laughs, and the acting is superb. If there could have been a little bit more baseball, it would have been as good as "Major League". The Special Edition DVD has some pretty good extras. The making of documentary was great, and I absolutely loved the commentary with Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins! Great stuff there. This is definately a must own for anyone's DVD collection.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A fantastic script in a dated film.
Review: 4.5 stars. Time passes, and what was once a sparkling 5-star film in the year 1987, shows its age. However, the script is still spectacular! There is so much quotable dialogue here as to seem ridiculous. But there is also a fine cast of excellent actors who bring the words and characters to life, even though they have eighties haircuts and wardrobe. This is a charming film about baseball, romance, (...) baseball, breathing through you eyelids, and baseball. This is smart filmmaking in every respect.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: And this ain't no bull
Review: Often mentioned as 'one of the best sports movies ever.' I'm gonna go farther and say one of the finest movies of the past 30 years. Ron Shelton directs from his own screenplay. And that screenplay makes modern poets out of baseball players, clever words consistently spewing from the mouths of wanna be Babe Ruths. At its core, the story focuses on the love triangle involving Annie Savoy (Brilliant Susan Sarandon), Crash Davis (Kevin Costner in an unpretentious performance) and Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh (Tim Robbins). And minor league ball is the backdrop which allows for grand slam of well executed comedy and just a touch of pathos. Robert Wuhl's assistant coach is so finely tuned, he can bring you to hysterical tears. The ultimate 'chick flick for guys', Bull Durham is filmmaking at its greatest. The DVD has an informative commentary by Director/writer Ron Shelton (Tin Cup).

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I hate Susan Sarandon
Review: Not one of the best comedies that would be Mr.Adam Sandler are someone this was average at best and she sucks very badly watch other movies this is just alright nothing to special.
Acting 8/10 Story 7/10 Direction 3/10 Action 3/10 Entertained 3
Overall 24/50 A little Predictable 3 stars

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A great way to spend an afternoon
Review: Highly entertaining movie. A baseball film, yes, but more than that. Susan Surrandon's character is learning so much about herself even as she imagines she is teaching a young man. Kevin Costner's character is as smooth and cool as they come--No wonder Susan's character wants him oh-so-badly! Tim Robbins does a great job as a young doofus who still has our interest and sympathy. Funny and touching.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very Srong and Very Sensual Movie
Review: Ebby Calvin Laloosh (Tim Robbins) has a million dollar arm but no control over it. The poor mascot gets hit about as often as it goes over the plate. So the Durham Bulls brings in Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) to get him on track. Crash has been a long time minor league player and even did a stint in the Show. His career is ending and he is not thrilled to be called in to train the slow witted, strong armed Laloosh. If anyone can get Nuke, whom Crash calls "Meat", to learn how to control his gift, it would be Crash... or maybe Annie.

It is not clear to me just what is the official capacity of Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) and Millie (Jenny Robertson). Unofficially, though, they watch and critique the players on their games on the field and in the bedroom. Annie hooks up with one ball player each season and, for that season, is committed to that one player's improvement in both arenas. When she hooks up with Nuke, sparks fly between her and Crash as they both work on Nuke's performance on the field and it becomes indelibly tied to his performance in bed.

Trey Wilson and Robert Wuhl make a hilarious team as the Manager and Assistant Manager of the Durham Bulls. From Wilson's "Lollygagger" speech to Wuhl's pitcher's mound huddle over how to get a curse off of a player's glove and what to get another player as a wedding gift, these two alone are fun to watch.

This is a movie for adults - Kevin Costner has his great "I Believe in" speech in this movie and Susan Sarandon's relationships are highly sexual ... in a sensual sort of way. It is definitely inappropriate for kids and you'll be blushing till the cows come home if you watch this with your teenagers. But don't get me wrong - it is VERY well handled and is a very strong and very sensual movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very Well Done
Review: One of the things that I enjoyed about this movie was the realism. It showed how cruel the business of baseball can be while also highlighting how much fun the game can be. The director really made this more about the life of a minor leaguer and less about baseball. You get a great look at off-field stories that go on in the "bus leagues" highlighted by Kevin Costner's character mentoring the character played by Tim Robbins. In addition, a great job in casting was done because the baseball action was also very good too. The actors all looked like they could play.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Truly a great one
Review: This is my favorite sports movie and, I think, Kevin Costner's best movie. (Well, he's also great in "Tin Cup," an underrated masterpiece.)

"Bull Durham" is vastly superior to the weepier "Field of Dreams" because it really is about baseball, not about some doofus who puts his family at risk in order to play catch with Daddy (I really hate that movie). Ron Shelton made "Bull Durham" for adults, not cringing inner children. It knows that sex and baseball make for a better mix than mysticism and baseball. That's why it is the better film.

What's not to love? Costner, loose and funny and supremely athletic, delivers his "beliefs" speech. Tim Robbins pitches wearing a garter belt. The "Bermuda Triangle" dialogue. The Walt Whitman seduction. The meeting on the mound. And Susan Sarandon. Yes, Susan Sarandon.

Great scenes: Crash Davis, introducing himself as the player to be named later. The coach, instructing his players on the basics of baseball. Crash telling the batter what pitch Nuke is going to throw. The two fight scenes. Crash's private note to Annie. And of course: the great "Martian conversation with a Fungo" scene.

What I'm saying is this: "Bull Durham" has great writing. Not just adequate writing that gets the plot from point A to point B, but beautiful, philosophical dialogue that establishes the personalities of the characters. You don't get that kind of writing today. It just rarely happens anymore.

"Jerry Maguire" and "Tin Cup" come close in the sports movie realm, but "Bull Durham" established the tradition, and it is still the best.


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