This 36-Year-Old Kevin Costner Movie Is Way Better Than Fans Remember.
The modern idea of Kevin Costner is vastly different from what it was back in the 1980s. Kevin Costner might be most known today for his long-form vanity projects, like Yellowstone and the four-part Horizon: An American Saga, but he was at one point an adaptable Swiss army knife of an actor and filmmaker. He dabbled in everything from disaster films to mob thrillers, all the way to classic comedies, but since the beginning, he’s been particularly involved with two specific subgenres. He made his interest in Western epics known from the very beginning, with Dances With Wolves, JFK, and The Postman, but he also found a second niche that he managed to make entirely his own.
Kevin Costner is synonymous with the baseball movie, and for good reason. Field of Dreams is among the most iconic films ever made. The film is endlessly quotable in everything from casual conversation to Academy Award monologues, but it’s not the only one he’s made. There exists a fierce debate among fans about which of the four Kevin Costner baseball movies is the absolute best. The answer is hotly contested, but the stand out is clear. Bull Durham, his 1988 romance bout, might just be the most impressive, varied, and rewatchable of the bunch, and it deserves to be remembered.v
Bull Durham is a 1988 baseball-centric film that should undoubtedly be labeled as a romantic comedy above all else. The film is a star-studded romp through the world of minor league baseball, starring Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon and more. The Kevin Costner-led film is directed by Ron Shelton, who has made himself known for sports classics like White Men Can’t Jump and Tin Cup, but there’s a distinct quality to his films that places them above the simple “sports movie” label. Ron Shelton doubles as director and screenwriter and, in the process, is able to perfectly translate his one-of-a-kind charm to the screen. Fans can only hope that Bull Durham doesn’t get remade like White Men Can’t Jumpdid.
Bull Durham follows veteran catcher Crash Davis as he gets brought up to the minor leagues. While initially resistant to playing in the minors at his old age, he gives in when the managers plead their case. They ask him to mentor young prodigy Ebby Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh, and alongside baseball savant Annie Savoy, he pledges to bring the young neophyte to the majors. Along the way, however, the two men are both thrown into a love triangle and pseudo-romance with Annie, which makes their relationship deeply complicated. Annie teaches Nuke to relax, to trust his catcher, and to not overthink, but in the process, Crash might get left behind.
