A Home Run in Louisiana
Next Tuesday, the Robinson Film Center in Shreveport, Louisiana, will wind up and deliver a screening of Ron Shelton’s 1988 film Bull Durham, as part of its monthly dinner-and-a-movie Date Night series. The comedy of hard-won wisdom, which Criterion will release next week in a brand-new edition, hunkers down with the single-A Durham Bulls for a roller-coaster season: a veteran catcher (Kevin Costner) gives a hotheaded pitching prospect (Tim Robbins) a crash course in on-the-mound makeup, while the Bulls’ number one fan, Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon), ropes them both into an off-the-field love triangle. A sharply written love story, a fond and irreverent tribute to America’s pastime, and a showcase for career-defining performances by its three stars, Shelton’s smash-hit directorial debut has long since taken its place of honor in the sports-film Hall of Fame.
