Movie · 1988 · Comedy, Romance · 1h 48m · R · English
Curator score: 6.0/10 (122.5K ratings)
Romance is a lot like baseball. It's not whether you win or lose. It's how you play the game.
Overview
Veteran catcher Crash Davis is brought to the minor league Durham Bulls to help their up and coming pitching prospect, "Nuke" Laloosh. Their relationship gets off to a rocky start and is further complicated when baseball groupie Annie Savoy sets her sights on the two men.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.0/10
IMDb: 7.0/10
Letterboxd: 3.53/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Metacritic: 73
TMDB: 6.6/10
Director
Ron Shelton
Production
The Mount Company, Orion Pictures
Cast
Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Trey Wilson, Robert Wuhl, William O'Leary, David Neidorf, Danny Gans, Tom Silardi, Jenny Robertson, Rick Marzan, George Buck, Lloyd T. Williams, Max Patkin, Gregory Avellone, Garland Bunting, Robert Dickman, Timothy Kirk, Don Davis, Stephen Ware
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video, Philo, MUBI, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A relaxed, very adult baseball rom-com with real wit, sensuality, and a lived-in minor-league atmosphere. It’s especially rewarding if you like character-driven sports movies that care as much about banter, chemistry, and attitude as they do about the game.
Best for
viewers who like horny, talky romantic comedies
baseball fans
fans of 1980s adult comedies with a laid-back tone
people who enjoy strong female leads steering the story
audiences who like sports movies with poetry and personality
Skip if
you want a fast, plot-heavy comedy
you dislike sports settings
you prefer romance without frank sexual banter
you’re looking for a very modern sensibility or pacing
Overview
Bull Durham is one of the great American hangout movies: loose, funny, and full of small observations that make its world feel specific and alive. Ron Shelton understands baseball as both labor and mythology, and the film uses the Durham Bulls to explore ego, ritual, mentorship, and desire without ever losing its easygoing charm.
Worth noting
What gives it staying power is the chemistry triangle at the center. Kevin Costner plays the seasoned pro with dry, unshowy confidence, Tim Robbins is all raw talent and comic vulnerability, and Susan Sarandon is the true engine of the movie—sharp, self-possessed, and impossible to reduce to a fantasy. The film is openly sexy, but it’s also about power, performance, and who gets to define the terms of a relationship.
Bottom line
Some of the dialogue is so written it practically struts, and not every speech lands with the same ease as the rest of the movie. But the overall effect is winning: a sports movie with romantic heat, regional texture, and a mature sense of humor about masculinity. It’s a classic for viewers who want their comedies smart, flirtatious, and a little bit sweaty.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Sean Fennessey (4.5★) · 1906 likes
Challengers for Dads.
kevintporter (4★) · 713 likes
"it's a movie about baseball players..."
😕
"...having sex with susan sarandon"
🙂
four stars!
Ethan Colburn (3.5★) · 538 likes
Susan Sarandon is never not in charge. One of my favorite genres now is movies where you think she plays a supporting role but really dictates exactly what happens by everyone’s accounts. Lovely lady.
Willow Maclay · 495 likes
God gave Tim Robbins a thunder bolt for an arm and Susan Sarandon a magical baseball player improving pussy. He made Kevin Costner a regular guy. We lost something when they stopped making movies like this
Laura Parker-Saladino (3.5★) · 451 likes
"You did not get lured. Women do not get lured. They are too strong and powerful for that."
Susan Sarandon wearing high heels at the ballpark, suggesting that men fist fighting is latent homosexuality, and putting on "La Vie en Rose" before hooking up with Tim Robbins....what a queen.