1988
Directed by Ron Shelton
Finally, I found a baseball film that I actually enjoyed. Who knew the key was Susan Sarandon? On a separate note, I now have a very serious crush on her.
Annie Savoy is a baseball groupie (because apparently those exist) who chooses one player from the Durham Bulls every season to be her student/lover. She narrows her choices down to Ebby, an idiotic rookie player, and Crash, the veteran player sent to train him. Crash, however, doesn't want to "try out" so Annie selects Ebby, despite the fact that she has feelings for Crash.
I thought Sarandon was brilliant in this. What an interesting character Annie was. I hope I am like that in the future; dating men fifteen years younger than me and actually teaching them something. Kevin Costner and Tim Robbins don't have the most compelling screen presences, but Sarandon more than made up for it.
There are certainly some tired cliches here, but I am so excited that a baseball movie didn't bore me to tears, that I am quite happy to overlook them.
RATING: ****-
Interesting Facts:
Glenn Close and Michelle Pfeiffer auditioned for the role of Annie.
