I love how this movie could have gone down the wrong path on so many occasions, yet somehow still managed to pleasantly surprise its viewers by its overwhelming charm and whit. Susan Sarandon wonderfully portrays Annie, a baseball fan who picks a minor league player to sleep with every season, something that sounds, and should be considered trashy and inappropriate. But somehow Susan turns her into this exotic, free-spirited, classy woman who just wants to help the players grow and mold them into big league material because she. Just. Loves. Baseball. Which brings us to the love triangle. It is common knowledge that in every love triangle someone ends up getting hurt, the woman chooses the man we were all rooting for and the other candidate falls out of the race without anyone batting an eyelid, if not even cheering for his loss. Yet in Bull Durham we see that both Annie and (the man we root for) Crash actually educate the boy who is willing to compete with Crash for Annie's heart. How wonderful is the idea that the person who loses in the race picks up some wisdom from the other two? If all heartbreaks were that productive no one would even mind getting one. And when the boy is not an option anymore we have this rational, disciplined, morally strong man who falls for a woman almost completely opposite to him, but somehow we still see how they fit, and somehow we know he was her first choice, and somehow we feel their chemistry.I will not comment on the baseball side of the movie because I, admittedly, would have no idea what I'm talking about. I have however read some reviews myself before writing this one, and most of them say the accuracy is impressive.

"Bull Durham" was released in 1988. It was written and directed by Ron Shelton, who knew his way around an American baseball field, and runs the bases in a swift, witty 108 minutes. It stars Kevin Costner, in what may be the first of his successful sports-themed movies, Susan Sarandon, and a young Tim Robbins, at the outset of his career. It happily combines romantic comedy and baseball: many people still consider this the best movie about the boys of summer. Costner plays a veteran catcher brought in to mentor a talented but wild young pitcher (Robbins). Sarandon plays a teacher and baseball fan that takes one player under her wing (and into her bed) every year, and provides her own baseball wisdom, coaching and life experience!The director, Ron Shelton does a superb job of bringing this story to life and hopefully satisfying the sports fan and rom-com addict at the same time. Full of some great, witty dialogue and earthy one- liners, this film does have its share of sex and bad language (it is rated 18) so be prepared for that, but it plays with a very natural and fun feeling to it. The most surprising thing to me though is that this isn't necessarily a baseball movie. Sure, the sport in question is baseball, but it could be any other sport, with a young upcomer (Robbins) being coached by experienced veterans (Costner and Sarandon), and the unconventional coaching methods that might be used. Especially by Sarandon's character. Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

This is right there with The Natural and Long Gone as one of the three best baseball movies ever made(Ken Burns Doc as well if you were 'counting-it').It's perfect casting all-around. Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Kevin Costner, Trey Wilson, Robert Wuhl, and Jenny Robertson all deserve a mention. All the actors do a great job here.The film captures the small town feel, and to a somewhat regretful yet satisfying degree in terms of movie-enjoyment, the insignificance of minor league baseball.The love triangle between the three stars acts as the backbone for a hilarious script. The road-trip moments, the bar scenes, and the baseball action all seem quite believable/real, and the ending, while somber, works as well.Infinitely re-watchable, funny film about America's pastime, at what for me as a fan is a level that is just as intriguing if not more interesting and intimate than the "big" leagues. Truly great sports movies are few and far in between. This is a pillar.87/100

This is unfairly forgotten sports comedy . It's far better than the more famous and overrated "Major league". I'm not exactly a fan of sport comedies , but this one is one of the best I've seen.The movie really heavily on the trio of stars : Kevin Costner ("Dancing with the wolves") , Susan Sarandon ("Dead man walking") and Tim Robbins ("The Shawshank Redemption"). Each of them shines here. Costner is charming and very likable as the smart and bitter old baseball player. Sarandon is incredibly funny as the woman obsessed with baseball and sex . Robbins is very convincing as the incredibly talented , but stuck up young baseball player.I like that this movie doesn't follow a typical "from zero to hero" story that is so often (TOO often) seen in this type of movies. Instead we got here a story about love triangle between two baseball players and baseball fan . The movie is a character comedy and it's fun to see how the characters interact with each other and change during the movie. There is great chemistry between them.I love the wisecracks from Costner's mouth , Sarandon is HOT and Robbins is adorable when he throws into the bull.There is some great music here . Soundtrack is full of great songs like: Bill Haley and The Comets "Rock around the clock" , Edith Piaf "Non , je ne regrette rien" and "La vie en rose" , Ike and Tina Turner "I idolize you" , The Everly brothers "When I will be loved" , Los lobos "I got loaded" and Joe Cocker "Woman loves a man".The only thing that I didn't like is the religious approach to the baseball. I'm not a fan of baseball and I couldn't really relate to it, but the baseball fans probably will be happy.A very pleasant , charming and enjoyable comedy. Good way to spend your time. I give it 7/10.