Uriah43 "Ebby Calvin LaLoosh" (Tim Robbins) is a promising young baseball pitcher for the Durham Bulls of the Carolina League who has an awesome fastball but suffers from a severe lack of control. As a result a veteran catcher named "Crash Davis" (Kevin Costner) is sent down to the Carolina League to somehow develop him into a first-class, major league pitcher. Along with that the Bull's biggest fan, "Annie Savoy" (Susan Sarandon) takes Ebbie into her home to teach him about sex, life and baseball--but not necessarily in that order. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a pretty good comedy which benefited from the baseball background to a large extent. I especially liked the performance of Susan Sarandon who was both funny and sexy at the same time. Likewise, both Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins also performed rather well. In short, I thought that this was a pretty good movie and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

slightlymad22 Continuing my plan to watch every Kevin Costner movie in order, I come to 1988's Bull Durham Plot In A Paragraph: Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) a baseball fan who takes a new lover each season, finds her life complicated when Crash Davis (KC) an aging catcher is brought to the The Bull Durham's to provide some help for "Nuke" LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) a hot young pitcher who has a great fastball but no control or handle on life. If there was a list of the best baseball movies of all time, Bull Durham would be up there. Alongside movies such as The Natural, Pride Of The Yankees and of course KC's classic Field Of Dreams, it remains one of the best-loved baseball movies of all time, yet it doesn't really connect with me despite near perfect performances from the three leads. KC is feeling confident after the success of The Untouchables and it shows in Bull Durham he's a star in the making here, and boy does he know it. Having skyrocketed from near obscurity to fame, Bull Durham gives KC and opportunity to be flashy!! Something he could not do when playing Elliot Ness, and the role of Crash shows a different side to him. It's a role he really seeks his teeth into, and with this performance he emerges as a true star.I think Surandon should have been nominated for an Oscar for her work here. Her Whitman-quoting, sex-positive Southern belle just oozes confidence and sexuality.Sarandon and Robbins have been an off-screen couple ever since this movie. Sarandon is older than both her co-stars (at the time of filming, she was 41, Costner was 32, and Robbins was 29), and this is a rare instance in which an over-40 actress is allowed the opportunity to act as a sex symbol. Although there is obvious chemistry between the two, it is surprising that brighter sparks fly between her and Costner. It's a good romantic triangle, though, with plenty of sexual tension. There are some nice quiet little scenes that for me are some of the best in the movie, as when a player is called into the office and told his contract is not being picked up.As sports movies go, this one is defiantly unconventional. The genre formula calls for the film to end with a big game, but that doesn't happen here. Instead, Nuke is promoted to the majors, and Crash (his job done) is released. There is no big championship game, no home run or anything. In Bull Durham the baseball is actually the background to the love triangle.

raymond_chandler A freewheeling, bawdy humor enlivens this love letter to the quintessential American sport. Susan Sarandon met her love Tim Robbins on this film-set, and their chemistry is entertaining and funny. Kevin Costner literally inhabits the role of Crash Davis, a lifetime minor-leaguer in pursuit of a dubious record. Robert Wuhl steals all the bases as the hilarious assistant manager/coach. If you like comedy with a bit of adult frankness and a lot of heart, run, don't walk to watch Bull Durham. It is a safe bet for an enjoyable evening. A double-header with Pastime (1990) would make a clean sweep of good times."Don't think. It can only hurt the ball club."

tieman64 Some kind of classic, "Bull Durham's" an unconventional baseball movie from writer/director Ron Shelton.Unlike most films in the genre, "Bull Durham" lacks a gauzy, sentimental tone, has no time for nostalgia, doesn't overly romanticise the game, is narrated by a woman and focuses on the day-to-day drudgery of life in the minor league circuit. And whilst a disturbingly high number of baseball films indulge in hokey, metaphysical subplots (angels, destiny, vague spiritualism, baseball-as-religion etc), "Bull Durham" parodies such things with conversations about quantum physics, new age religions and its cast of silly, superstitious players.The plot? Susan Sarandon plays Annie Savoy, a teacher and baseball groupie who's stuck in a kind of perpetual adolescence. Trying desperately to prolong the glory days of life on campus, she has a habit of hooking up with young, up-and-coming baseball stars. In this regard she takes Ebby "Nuke" LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) under her wing. Problem is, Nuke is also being groomed by Crash Davis (Kevin Costner), a veteran player who attempts to mould the kid into something special.Costner and Sarandon create a couple of memorable characters. Legs always agape, and with the vampish hunger of a Bette Davis, she's a Southern firecracker who overwhelms men with her sexuality. Opposite her is Costner's Crash. Armed with wit, Cosnter's trademark khaki trousers with pleats, and an endless knowledge of everything from baseball to garter belts, he's a burnt out middle ager who, like Annie, tries to live vicariously through Crash. The film then ends with Crash and Annie, products of a very 1960s credo of eternal youth, turning their backs on the "young man's game". They stop living through surrogates and abandon their hopes of reaching the big leagues.It's an odd way for a sport's film to end. Whilst most in the genre build up to a climactic showdown, "Durhum" sees its heroes fading into anonymity, giving up on eternal youth, appreciating the power of quiet wisdom and sliding into a quiescent, mature relationship. Unsurprisingly, writer/director Ron Shelton played minor league baseball himself during the 1960s.8/10 – Worth two viewings. See "Moneyball".