Bull Durham (1988)

What better way to introduce a young Tim Robbins than by a naked ass pumping in and out of a booth (I wonder if it was his own?). A brilliant start to the sportsfilm that has more sex than baseball.

This surely is the most sexual film ever made about baseball, even earning it an R-rating. And in the centre of it all is Susan Sarandon, oozing with just too much sexuality to overcompensate for her feminist views. Until she meets the young Robbins' veteran mentor Kevin Costner, a rugged minor league legend.

The three really excel here, and particularly Robbins and Sarandon (who started a long-lasting relationship with this flick) seem to be having the time of their lives. With Robbins being the "Million dollar arm, with the 5 cent head" that takes nothing seriously, and Sarandon the quasi-philosophic free-spirited feminist, this film needs Costner. His stoic, laconic and weary catcher with somewhat traditional values, a perfect balance to the simpleton and the philosopher.

Chemistry is key here though. Costner has a sizzling chemistry with Sarandon, both quarrelling and flirting. His on-screen partnership with Robbins is also fantastic, and provides a light humour as the smarter and more experienced toys with the dimwitted rookie. And as a bonus, all three characters, particularly Sarandon and Robbins, develop very nicely through different types of mentoring from Costner, finding a balance and calm. In that respect, the two characters are given a very much needed sand-grinding. And Costner has immense charm and shows off a comic talent that was never to be seen again. Furthermore, he always did have a way to play his character with an edge of bitterness and wile temper, that adds a bit of spark

It's a strange sports-movie, though. There are no big games, most of the on-field action is conversation between the leads (oral or written). No suspense of any kind as to the outcome of any given situation or game as far as sports are concerned. We hardly learn the score of the games, even.

And there sure are some speeches of quality and one-liners to speak of. And although Costner's speech about belief is rather famous, my favourite is. "He fucks like he pitches. Sorta all over the place".

So it's sexy, it's funny and it has some great leads. The rest of the cast are hardly noticeable, but then again, in 1988, the three aforementioned would do.

7/10