Bull Durham (1988)
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A veteran catcher is tasked with mentoring a hotshot rookie pitcher in the minor leagues while navigating a complicated romance with a baseball groupie.
The story
The Durham Bulls, a single-A minor league baseball team, are struggling with a losing season and a sparsely attended crowd. The team's only hope is Ebby Calvin LaLoosh, a hotshot rookie pitcher with immense potential but little control. To remedy this, the team brings in "Crash" Davis, a 12-year veteran catcher, to mentor LaLoosh. As Crash attempts to teach the rookie the nuances of the game, they are joined by Annie, a baseball groupie who has chosen one player each year to be her lover and student. Annie begins to flirt with both men, creating a complex dynamic as the team strives for a major league breakthrough.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The Durham Bulls, a single-A minor league team, are struggling until they acquire Ebby Calvin LaLoosh, a rookie pitcher with a 'million dollar arm' but no control. They hire 12-year veteran catcher "Crash" Davis to mentor him. Crash immediately begins calling Ebby "Meat," and their relationship is rocky. Annie, a baseball groupie who chooses a new lover each year, begins flirting with both men. While Annie helps Ebby develop his pitching through various mental and physical exercises—eventually naming him "Nuke"—Crash focuses on teaching him to 'not think' and handle the pressure of the major leagues. As Nuke matures and becomes a dominant pitcher, he is eventually called up to the majors. This causes jealousy in Crash, who feels Nuke fails to appreciate his talent. After Nuke leaves, Annie ends her relationship with him, and Crash eventually reconciles with his feelings to offer Nuke final advice. The Bulls release Crash, who finds a new minor-league position with the Asheville Tourists, where he breaks the career home run record before retiring. The film ends with Crash returning to Durham, where he plans to become a manager, while Annie prepares to give up her annual affairs with 'boys.'
- First release year
- 1988
- Runtime (minutes)
- 108
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Ron Shelton
- Writers
- Ron Shelton · writer
- Cast and characters
- Kevin Costner · Crash Davis; Tim Robbins · Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh; Susan Sarandon · Annie Savoy; Robert Wuhl; Trey Wilson · Joe Riggins
- Genres
- romantic comedy; sports
- Themes
- mentorship; jealousy; romance; sportsmanship
- Tone and mood
- romantic; comedic; sports
- Premise and plot tags
- sports comedy; romance; minor league baseball
- Source material / true-story basis
- Partly based upon Ron Shelton's experience in minor league baseball.
- Reception
- The film was a commercial and critical success, praised for its comic timing and authentic portrayal of baseball. It received high marks from critics and was ranked as one of the greatest sports movies of all time by various publications.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 97% · review count: 72; Metacritic · score: 73 · scale: 100 · review count: 16; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film's name is based on the nickname for Durham, North Carolina, which became a well-known trademark for 'Bull' Durham tobacco.; The bull in right field in the film is actually in left field at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.; The character Crash Davis was modeled after Pike Bishop, the lead character in The Wild Bunch.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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