Bull Durham - 1988 (dir. Ron Shelton)

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Because I'm not really into sport I don't usually get too excited by sports movies. I think the genre can be done well (Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday is one I can think of off the top of my head), but generally sports culture bores me so I steer clear of films about it. But we were heading down to my parents place post-Christmas and wanted a few films we could watch with the family that weren't too arty or pretentious, so we thought we'd kill two birds with one stone and get some 1001 action in there. That was pretty much the reason for choosing to watch this film.

It was OK, and I mean just OK - I certainly don't think this film deserves to be listed as one of the 1001 movies you must see before you die - if you die before you see this film don't sweat it hey, cause it's really not that great. But I'll do my best at trying to describe what I did actually like about it. I guess first off would be Tim Robbins - he does a really good job of playing a naive, immature douche - he imbues the character of "Nuke" LaLoosh the cocky young pitcher with a sense of confused pathos, but at other times is really funny, and although the character is pretty much an ass, Robbins makes you like him. Also, although it is really naff and dated, the saxophone score that carries the last ten minutes of the film was pretty affecting in an 80s high-camp sort of way - there were shots of the town as Kevin Costner shuffles around listlessly, and for me - despite its dated aesthetic - it tapped into a kind of small-town nostalgia that rung true. Also, I really enjoyed Robert Wuhl as Larry, the fast-talking assistant coach - he had a great air of genuine enthusiasm both for the game and for the players on his team and he had a few great lines that he delivered with relish.

OK, here are the things I didn't like. First off I have to say that I pretty much despise Kevin Costner - he always plays the smug everyman with a tough exterior and a romantic heart beating triumphantly underneath, and I find him pretty obnoxious. His character here, "Crash" Davis is no exception, and he's got some absolutely preposterous lines that prove just how vain Costner was to consistently play smouldering, supposedly "deep" or "complex" tortured souls and think that audiences weren't catching on. The most ridiculous moment comes when Susan Sarandon's character Annie Savoy asks him what he believes in. This is what he says:

"Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days."

Fuck you, Kevin Costner. Which brings me to the dialogue in general. Aside from a few funny and perceptive lines, I found most of it pretty terrible. Here's a prime example, courtesy once again from Mr. Costner: "You got a gift. When you were a baby, the Gods reached down and turned your right arm into a thunderbolt. You got a Hall-of-Fame arm, but you're pissing it away." The film thinks its being profound whilst simultaneously pushing these corny lines down your throat, and it gets pretty tired after a while. Susan Sarandon was pretty good I guess, although I do get tired of her stock-in-trade wise Southern Belle with bedroom eyes , and her character Annie was a contradictory woman of culture and substance whilst also being a massive slut, which was problematic.

All up I didn't particularly enjoy Bull Durham - it offered me a few laughs but not a lot else.


Micky says...

The most memorable aspect of Bull Durham is what can only be described as 'hilarious doily sex scene', which, unfortunately it looks like you will have to watch the film to see because my google search has not produced any suitable pictures. Anyway it is near the end of the film so you could always rent it and fast foward to the end to see it if you're that keen. Accompanied by sleazy saxophone, as the supposed 'climax' of the film it is very laughable and very dated in a bad way (actually it is probably more likely the denoument but I just wanted to make a clever pun!). I don't think the scene is bad just be because it so unforgivingly 80s, because the sex scene on the train in Risky Business is pretty awesome, and I also remember the sex scene is St Elmo's Fire in the shower being good too, and they are both very 80s films. I feel a little bit mean for dissing out on Susan Sarandon's sex scene work, because surely this is when an actor is at their most vulnerable, but it's not really her fault. Production design, sound design, camerawork and direction are all to blame for the embarrasment that is this scene.

Ok, what else to say about this film? Hmmm...if you like baseball this is a good Rom Com option for you and your gal/guy. Because how many other baseball Rom Coms are there? However may I just point out something about this film. The character of Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) supposedly has an amazing ability for helping one Durham Bull's player to become successful by chosing him to be her boyfriend for the season. This is essentially the whole crux of the film. But almost everything we see of her 'helping' them is completely lame and not particularly effective. There are not enough strong moments for the character to demonstrate why she has this amazing ability, made worse by scenes of her instructing them how to swing a bat. It's just not convincing.

I suppose one of the messages this film is trying to get across when it's not just telling a story about trying to be a successful sportsman, is 'know when to give up'. This adds a bit of a downer element to the film as it nears its end, trying for a bit of a heartfelt ending. Enter the 'doily sex scene', and I was laughing too much too care about these characters feeling a little sorry for themselves.

I'm not convinced that this film is one of the 1001 movies I must see before I die, and since the book uses the 'sizzling sex scenes' as one of very few justifications for seeing it, I would be very surprised if Bull Durham has made it into the more recent rewrite of the book - if you have it please check and let me know! At the same time I also don't think the film deserves to disappear into relative obscurity, I'm not saying rush out and hire it now, but perhaps if you've already been wandering the eisles of your local video store for 45 minutes and Bull Durham is there for the bargain weekly price of $1, then why not give it a go! (Especially for the doily sex scene).