Bull Durham and Hudsucker Proxy

Last night I finished two movies. Which may not sound unusual but sometimes I don't finish two movies in a month. What makes it worse is I started one of them Tuesday , the other about two weeks ago. I am going to lend one of them out to one of my Multiply contacts so I figured I should get it out of the wrap and watch it. By sheer coincidence. Both movies are as different as you can get and both have Tim Robbins.

I love baseball. I used to always watch minor league professional baseball. Used to keep score , a whole bunch of used tos. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Bull Durham. A movie that I saw in the theaters when it was out. Bull Durham semi transported me back to those days. It even transported me back to my worst and best games as a softball pitcher. Oh nothing like that time I could not get a strike across a plate and even one opponent at the end of my "outing" asked if I was OK.

Hudsucker Proxy has a bit of the Gilliam Brazil influence to it. Still , watch a bunch of Coen Brothers movies and you really don't feel like describing any single one. They are all so different from each other. Watch any of them. I won't guarantee you will like or love or hate them I will guarantee that they will not leave you the same way you were.

Ed

http://imdb.com/title/tt0094812/

Crash Davis loves baseball more than it loves him. He believes in the game. He deserves to be in the show, but he isn't and never will be. But still he plays on, dutifully and to a certain extent, joyfully. Better to play crappy A-ball than sell shoes.

That for me is the central theme of this film. It is all summed up when Crash tells Nuke, the wild young star pitcher "You don't respect yourself. That's your problem. You don't respect the game. That's my problem."

Take a player that passionate, and a youngster that annoying, add in a sexy yet maternal fan and you have great comedy. Bull Durham works scene after scene, because the film never forgets that baseball is what binds all the characters together.

Tim Robbins is nothing short of brilliant and Nuke Laloosh, the rising star youngster who walks 18 batters and strikes out 18 batters in his first minor league appearance - both league records. But Nuke is caught up in his fat contract, his Porsche, and his endless parade of women. Baseball is a sideline. Eventually, Crash's mentoring begins to pay off until he finally realizes that winning is "like, you know, better than losing!"

The love triangle between Annie (Susan Sarandon), Crash and Nuke is wonderful and funny, but it mainly provides us with set up for the baseball scenes, like when Sarandon convinces Nuke to wear women's underwear while he pitches. Or my favourite scene, when Annie and Crash take batting practise together, Annie dressed like she is ready for a wedding, but determined to correct Crash's swing. Crash is determined to take Annie home. They flirt and practice batting in one of the best prolonged foreplay scenes ever filmed.

The ending is satisfying but the real depth of this film is harmony that the game brings to the characters. This is one of the few sports films that I can watch with my wife. **** out of ****.

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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful:- The movie about the love of Baseball, 10 October 2001

Author: Kyle Milligan (toldyaso@planeteer.com) from Toronto, Canada

The first time I saw this film, I enjoyed it. No doubt about it.

I wondered why some people didn't like it. What's not to like?

I saw it again, and paid more attention to some of the finer details, realizing what a rich, full textured film it was.

And yet again I saw it. Still more revelations.

In fact, every time I see it, and I'm sure to see it again, I enjoy it more and more with each subsequent viewing.

This film's narrative is nearly as perfect as the Hula Hoop itself, despite the albeit fictional account of the invention of said "dingus".

But it strikes me as odd and unfortunate when I encounter someone who's seen this and not enjoyed it.

All I can say is, have you tried it more than once? It isn't exactly what I'd call an acquired taste, but when you see how rich in detail and humour it is, you may begin to appreciate it for what it truly is; a great film that deserves a second chance. K.