‘And when you speak of me, speak well...’
It’s been a long road, but I’ve finally seen all the major Kevin Costner sports films. Field of Dreams came first, then Draft Day, For Love of the Game, Tin Cup and finally Bull Durham. What a run! While Costner has achieved much in his career, his status as king of the sports film is surely his most important trinket. So, once again, get a tissue ready (for your eyes, you dirty pig), change into a sports jersey and put a beer on ice… it’s time to spend a season with the Durham Bulls…
Crash Davis (Costner) is an experienced Minor League baseball player who meets his match when tasked with mentoring a wild pitcher (Tim Robbins) and an equally untamed baseball groupie (Susan Sarandon), all against the backdrop of the Durham Bulls and their on field struggles.
While this is very much Costner’s movie, the thing that elevates Bull Durham above For Love of the Game and Tin Cup is the supporting cast. Director Ron Shelton fought hard to keep Tim Robbins in the role and he is genuinely wonderful here, all cheeky smiles and aw shucks charm. Sarandon is also fantastic, taking a character who should be, quite frankly, insulting on the page, and fleshing her out into something authentic and likeable. She sells the idea of her character as a baseball muse, someone who does what she does because she wants to, not because she is in thrall to the men in her life, and this is vital to Bull Durham’s success.
As with all of these films, Costner takes a sport that I know nothing about and care about even less and renders it cinematic, shot through with warmth and humanity. Apparently there are four other sports movies knocking about at the beginning and the end of Costner’s filmography. It’s time to dig them out…