For Love of the Game

December 11, 2004

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 138 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

DVD Quick Take

Ya know, for a chick flick, this movie is pretty darned good! Don’t let it fool ya guys, the backdrop for this thing is one of the best movie baseball games ever produced, but it’s a pure chick flick otherwise.

The DVD is worth owning if you like the movie as it does come with a slew of features and extras. The video is just average as far as widescreen enhanced titles go. But then that’s still pretty darned good. The audio is extremely good considering that this isn’t one of those movies that has tons of stuff blowing up, etc.

Movies For Guys’ Original Review of the Theatrical Release

So what is it with Kevin Costner and his baseball movies? Given Costner’s track record with “Bull Durham” and “Field of Dreams,” I suspected this might be a pretty good movie. Boy, was I ever wrong! It wasn’t good; it was fan-f&*$ing-tastic!

Costner is 40 year old Billy Chapel, an aging pitcher who has spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers. Once, long ago, he was the greatest player in the game. Now, however, he’s just trying to get by; struggling with an 8-11 record.

As the movie picks up, we discover that Chapel is having “one of those days.” He finds out that he has to pitch against the Yankees even with a very sore shoulder. The woman he loves is nowhere to be found. The owner tells him that he’s going to sell the team. The new management says they are going to trade him. The old owner (played nicely by Brian Cox) even tells Billy he should retire. And, to top it off, just before the game, the new owners inform him that he must decide that night whether he will retire or allow himself to be traded.

Now that we have all the bad news, the movie starts a series of well done flashbacks (and I normally hate flashbacks) to show us who Billy Chapel is and how he got here. We travel back 5 years and re-live his chance meeting of Jane Aubrey (Preston). Through newspaper clippings and old video clips, we see his past glories and we even get to see his childhood playing days via some old home movies.

Also, between the flashbacks, we see that Billy has started to pitch. Even with all the problems of age, its a treat to see (and hear) him pitch. As the game progresses, it soon becomes apparent that this game, even in the twilight of his career, could be his best ever.

I loved every minute of this movie! The baseball was dead-on, the acting was terrific, and the story was ageless as well as inspiring. Put this one at the top of your “to see” list. Now, if you’ll all excuse me, I’m going to go down to the batting cages for a while…

Posted by Alex | Filed Under 4 Stars, DVD, Drama, Kelly Preston, Kevin Costner, PG-13