BULL DURHAM (1988) ** The mound conference is very funny, but it's the only scene that justifies the cult. Well, that and the line about strikeouts, and the pictures of Fernando Valenzuela and Pete Rose are cool. There's no questioning the passion that Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and Kevin Costner have for baseball, but she's the only one with deployable comedic skills. They're all somewhat inconsistent actors as well, and all towards their low end on this one. Part of it is that Ron Shelton has no idea as to how to put scenes (many of which are pretty good) together in a manner that gathers momentum, and part is that the great epiphanies (be they baseball, psychological, or philosophical) are all fairly mundane. When Costner announces that he, among other things, believes that "Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone" he defines himself as a casual poseur, and it's difficult to believe that anyone who's played baseball beyond the level of Little League would be astounded at the idea of throwing two fastballs in a row (especially for a power pitcher), or throwing a wild one every once in awhile to keep 'em honest (c'mon, don't tell me left brain, east brain, garter belt stuff, that was a joke). In a slightly similar vein, it's difficult to believe that a young lady with the frame of reference of Sarandon wouldn't gag at Costner's bombastic declarations. Sex is probably supposed to be some great metaphor, or at at least a device to maintain interest, but it mainly serves to ruin what little momentum's been generated, much like the pedestrian pop oldies that accompany it. Robert Wuhl is very funny though, he strikes me as authentic.
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