Ebby Laloosh (Tim Robbins) is living the dream. He's joined the Durham Bulls, a minor league baseball team, and has a promising future as a starting pitcher well ahead of him. But, like most dreams, Ebby's ends after a disastrous first outing. The kid shows promise, but is unfocused and wild. Enter "Crash" Davis (Kevin Costner), a minor league veteran brought in to help calm Ebby down.
The two enter an uncomfortable student/ mentor relationship. A student of the game, "Crash" attempts to indoctrinate Ebby into the rituals and mental finesse of baseball. Ebby isn't the sharpest cleat and constantly butts heads with Crash. He's got talent, but not much common sense.
Ebby also earns the attention of Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon), a local baseball "groupie" (okay, she's more like a cougar) who sleeps with one player every year. Like Crash, Annie is also a devout student of the game and attempts to calm players down. Annie's views cause even more tension between Ebby and Crash, creating a tense triangle of mistrust and dueling philosophies.
Bull Durham is, first and foremost, a sports movie. Baseball permeates through every scene, but it's really just the backdrop. The real story is the relationship between Ebby, Crash and Annie. It leads to a lot of dramatic tension, both in the mental sense but also the physical sense. Bull Durham is a sexually charged movie. It's not graphic or "dirty," but innuendo is as much a part of the movie as baseball. Mix the sports with sex, and basically you're heading into male fantasy territory.
Any comparisons between Bull Durham and a Nicholas Sparks film end with the fantasy. This is easily one of Kevin Costner's best performances. He's cool, collected and absolutely nails his role. Susan Sarandon turns in a great performance, though at times she stumbles. I can't place it, but I had a hard time buying into Annie as a character. She serves her purpose wonderfully, but she's a half-baked character. She's relatable, but only to a point.
Though Crash and Annie's relationship is a central point to the story, in the end it's all about Ebby. I don't have a "favorite actor," but if I did, I'm sure Tim Robbins would be in the competition. Ebby is hard to like from the start. He's arrogant, and, for lack of a better term, stupid. But, that makes him all the more relatable and someone you can root for in the end. Robbins doesn't grow into the role as Costner does, but considering where Robbins was in his career at this point, I can cut him some slack.
All of Bull Durham's extras are found in the DVD copy, a repackaged version of the already released Collector's Edition. Included in the extras are two commentaries: one from Director Ron Shelton and another from Tim Robbins and Kevin Costner. The director's commentary is okay, but the commentary between Robbins and Costner is great, if just for a few awkward moments. I could go into more detail, but why spoil the fun?
"The Greatest Show on Dirt" is a retrospective on the film while "Diamonds in the Rough" presents a look at minor league baseball. The first is filled with a bit of fluff, but the second is interesting for baseball fans. It's also a good companion piece for the short "Sports Wrap" extra. Rounding out the extras are a profile on Kevin Costner and a lengthy "Making Of..." featurette.
Once again, if you own the 2008 release, there's nothing here you haven't already watched numerous times. This is worth mentioning only because it takes something away from the repurchase. The HD transfer is clean, but inconsistent. Some areas are sharp, others aren't. Though not overly distracting (I've seen worse transfers), it still hurts the overall presentation.
Though weak in areas, Bull Durham has managed to stand the test of time and for a good reason. It's built on fantasy, but manages to tell a good story. However, unless you're looking for the "best possible" version or don't own it already, there's no incentive for a repurchase.
