Bull Durham (1988)

My Review

“Bull Durham” is a baseball movie about goings-on with fans and players of a minor league baseball team. Director-screenwriter Ron Shelton skillfully wove elements of baseball, comedy, and a love story all into one film, drawing upon his own experiences as a minor league baseball player.

The principal cast members are also crucial to the success of this movie. They are Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins as two ballplayers who have some friction between them, as Costner is the one with most seniority on the team and Robbins is the rookie. And the “groupie” is played by Susan Sarandon, who switches romantic allegiances in the story.

Co-stars include Trey Wilson, Robert Wuhl, William O’Leary, Danny Gans, Jennie Robertson, David Neidorf, Garland Bunting as the radio announcer, and Max Patkin, the “Clown Prince of Baseball,” as himself. The very enjoyable and watchable baseball picture “Bull Durham” was a big success at the box office for Orion Pictures. It was nominated for one Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Ron Shelton.