Quick. Name your three favorite Kevin Costner movies. I'd be willing to bet money that one of them will involve baseball. Sure, you might pick his breakout movie The Untouchables or his Oscar-grabbing Dances with Wolves; but odds are pretty good that at least one and more likely two choices would revolve around America's favorite pastime. Less likely to be on the list are any of his more recent stuff--The Postman? Waterworld? Please. Even 1996's Tin Cup, which I enjoyed, is a pretty weak film saved by three strong performances from its male leads (Costner, Cheech Marin, and Don Johnson).
What do stars do when their light seems to be fading? They fall back on what works. So it's no surprise that, given Costner's latest output, he's returned to the motif of baseball in his new movie. The question, of course, is whether he can recapture the glory days.
For Love of the Game starts off
similarly to how Bull Durham, Costner's first baseball flick, began--with
a sepia-toned, photograph-filled, emotional-string-music nostalgia trip
through baseball's archives. But the movies quickly diverge from there.
While Bull Durham (and Field of Dreams) was a quirky film filled
with strange characters doing even stranger things, For Love of the
Game is as conventional a movie as they come. Costner plays Billy Chapel,
an awesome pitcher (a sure Hall of Famer) but one whose best days are well
behind him. In fact, as the movie opens, Chapel is confronted with the
choice of retiring after nineteen years or being traded away from the only
team he's ever played for. His shoulder is hurting him and his team is
terrible, but he can't stand the thought of putting the glove down. And
if that choice wasn't hard enough, his
girlfriend of five years (Jane, played
by Kelly Preston) has decided to leave him for a better life in London.
All of this is weighing on his mind as he takes the mound for his last
game of the season.
For Love of the Game is structure like a baseball game. There's the warm-ups, then the game itself which goes back-and-forth--from one team to the next. In the movie's case, the top of the inning is the actual ballgame, with Costner pitching what's shaping up to be one of the best games of his life. The bottom of the inning is the flashback sequence, where we see how Billy met Jane. A few minutes of baseball, a few minutes of love. The movie alternates between the two--lazily at first, as at a real ballgame, and then more feverishly as the movie reaches its climax. Along the way, we meet some interesting side characters: Billy's catcher and best friend, Gus (John C. Reilly, Thin Red Line), Jane's teenage aughter Jena Malone (Stepmom); and an old teammate of Chapel's who's now batting against him . Though Reilly and Malone are particularly good in their roles, all of these characters seem flat in comparison to the minor leaguers of Bull Durham or the country folk of Field of Dreams. In those movies, some of the people were genuinely antagonistic or difficult. Here, everyone's an angel and supportive. In fact, For Love of the Game isn't anywhere near as interesting as Durham or Dreams. Whether you liked the latter two movies or not, you have to admit they were different. Like this summer's Runaway Bride, Game offers few surprises.
Though For Love of the Game is a typical Hollywood film in its plotting and characters, Sam Raimi (A Simple Plan, Evil Dead 2) directs with style and assurance. The pacing, seamless editing, and rich cinematography that were so evident in A Simple Plan translate just as well into this more traditional film. In both movies, the audience is drawn into the character's world, so much so that I often forgot I was watching a movie. The script by Dana Stevens also helps; rare was the moment when I winced at a piece of dialogue. And finally, Costner, returning to his laid-back, natural style of acting, helps immeasurably. There's an ease about him that helps us forget we're watching Kevin Costner.
Unfortunately, Preston isn't as strong. She has a smile better suited for a bimbo than a successful single parent, and her emotional scenes often shatter the illusion Raimi and Costner have tried so hard to erect. On the other hand, I suspect the wives and girlfriends who get dragged along to this one will appreciate the love story. It's not very creative and the ending is unfortunately schmaltzy, but there's enough here to enjoy if you don't think too hard.
As for Game's target audience--men who loved Bull Durham and Field of Dreams--well, I suspect For Love of the Game will be a home run. There's baseball, there's the struggle of deciding what's important, and there's the desire for something bigger than yourself. But most importantly, it's a solid story that may not stretch the intelligence but doesn't insult it either.
J. Robert Parks 9/21/99
