Bull Durham (1988)

In Bull Durham, baseball is a religion, at once sacred and profane, simple and complicated. This is not the baseball of retractable roofs and million-dollar contracts, but the dusty world of minor-league ball, one which proves to be a perfect backdrop for comic drama. The three leads are flawless: Tim Robbins displays his very capable comic side as the new kid with the "million-dollar arm and the five-cent head"; Susan Sarandon is delightful as the groupie with more on her mind than just sex; and Kevin Costner's easy-going charm is perfect for the role of the aging ballplayer. While the sexual chemistry between Costner and Sarandon is particularly strong (unique in a film with older leads) it was Sarandon and Robbins who began a real-life relationship following production. The film's one real fault -- and not an insignificant one -- is that for a movie about sports and sex, Bull Durham runs on a little too long toward the end. Writer/director Ron Shelton spent five years in the Orioles' farm system as an infielder, and his love for all things baseball permeates the film. Those expecting a rousing jock adventure may be disappointed: Bull Durham uses baseball to tell a story that's about people first and the sport second. It is an uncommonly adult portrait of three disparate people brought together by fate, and in this case, that fate happens to be called baseball. ~ Matthew Doberman, All Movie Guide