"Bull Durham" is the GOAT of Sports Movies

The movie "Bull Durham" has been on cable recently and I have watched it twice in the past month.

I love this movie. I think, as do many other people, that it is the best baseball movie of all time. I love "The Sandlot" and "Major League". I get down with "Little Big League". I finally watched "The Natural" from start to finish very recently. While all of those movies are very good, they are not at the level of "Bull Durham" for me. It is funnier than all of those movies, even "Major League". The jokes hit harder and they last longer. The baseball is so much better. It is filmed better and the actors look like they can actually play the game. The drama is understated and played off so much better in "Bull Durham". The love triangle is so well done. The stuff with Kevin Costner being this ragged, angry minor league lifer feels very true to life. I have to imagine that is how a minor league lifer would feel. I would bet they are bitter. Tim Robbins being this hotshot, young idiot was too good. He was magnificent in the role.

While watching it recently my son joined me. He was confused, but he was asking questions. That is his way of saying he likes something without actually saying he likes it. I knew he was intrigued, especially when they played baseball in the movie. That is high praise from him.

I think what makes "Bull Durham" the absolute best is the ending. All of the other movies I mentioned end happily. The Cleveland baseball team makes the playoffs at the end of "Major League". The kids in "The Sandlot" go on and have successful lives. Even the kid that gets into music in the 60's seems okay at the end. In "Little Big League" the Twins get beat by the Mariners, but everyone loves the young kid turned coach. They give him a standing ovation. The fans won't leave until the whole team comes out of the locker room. And in "The Natural", Robert Redford hits a homerun and all of the lights explode. It is this cathartic moment for Redford. He is back to being the star he was before he was hurt. But in "Bull Durham", Costner ends up breaking the minor league home run record, but we only know because Susan Sarandon tells us as the narrator. She even says that the papers do not mention his record at all. Costner is also not on the Durham Bull either when he breaks the record. He is on yet another minor league team. He does end up with Sarandon, but not until he leaves to break this record. He also has visions of becoming a coach. He selfishly leaves Sarandon alone, after being intimate with her many, many times, to do something for himself. And, when we see Costner and Sarandon at the end, they are dancing, and they seem happy, but if you watch the whole movie you can tell this relationship will not last. They have been at each other's throats the whole time. Sarandon picks Robbins over him. Costner may say he made the choice, but that is just his ego. The only person that has a "happy ending" is Robbins. But to get there he has to break Sarandon's heart. He gets called up to the majors and he, much like Costner's selfishness, does what he wants when he wants. So, how truly happy is this ending really?

I love this movie from start to finish. It is the absolute best baseball movie, and may be the best sports movie of all time. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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