Date of Release to Theaters: September 17, 1999

Date of Release to Video: Not yet.

Running Time: 128 Minutes

Rated: PG-13 (for some sexuality & strong language)

Writer: Dana Stevens (based on the novel by Michael Shaara)

Director: Sam Raimi

Cast:

Billy Chapel: Kevin Costner

Jane Aubrey: Kelly Preston

Gus Sinski: John C. Reilly

Heather: Jena Malone

Gary Wheeler: Brian Cox

Frank Perry: J.K. Simmons

"For Love of the Game" centers around one fantastic baseball game, interspersed with flashbacks of a semi-interesting romantic relationship between Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) and Jane Aubrey (Kelly Preston). Billy, a 40-year old pitcher, is having a really bad day. First he finds out that the owner of the Detroit Tigers, the team he's dedicated his entire career of 19 years to, has sold the team to a big, money-grubbing corporation. To top that off, the new owners plan to trade him off to the Giants. And, if that isn't enough, his on-again, off-again girlfriend has accepted a job in England and is ending their relationship for good.

During this great, possibly last game of his career, he thinks back over the last five years about his relationship with Jane. One word…BORING! I personally love good romantic movies. Key word there…"good." This was not. I just did not buy their relationship at all. Jane seemed too afraid to become permanently involved with Billy for fear of getting kicked in the teeth again. She never even told him she had a daughter until she needed him to rescue her. That doesn't exactly scream "close relationship" to me. And Billy just wanted someone to "hold" (to put it nicely) when his team happened to be in town. They said they loved each other, but I felt absolutely no chemistry between them on that screen. Even their kisses felt strained. The only redeeming quality of their relationship was Jane's daughter, Heather (Jena Malone), whose feelings were believable, unlike Billy's and Jane's.

One part of the movie that I found particularly disturbing was when Billy brought Heather home after she ran away to her drugged out father's place in Boston, who luckily wasn't home at the time. Heather and Jane had fought over Jane's concern that Heather might become intimate with a boy and make the same mistake Jane made when she became pregnant with Heather at age 16. And what is the first thing that Billy and Jane do after Heather's return home? They jump into bed together with Heather right in the next room. I guess they believe in the "do as I say, not as I do" kind of parenting, which is either very stupid or very self-indulgent because everyone knows that never works.

Now, to the baseball game…as a Los Angeles Dodger fan, I enjoyed seeing Vin Scully, but felt a little betrayed by him announcing for another team. Oh, well, it's just a movie and who could blame the casting director for wanting the very best? And except for Billy constantly talking out loud on the mound, (I personally would have chosen a voice over so that he's "thinking" rather than "saying"), the baseball scenes were very good.

At first I had a hard time trying to figure out why the new owners would want to trade away a pitcher who could throw a ball like that. Sure, he's old for an athlete, but his fast ball couldn't be beat. Then came the obvious pain in his arm. Okay…maybe he doesn't have another season in him.

Most of his pitching in this game appears to be in "automatic mode" because his mind is clearly flashing around in the past. It's not until near the end of the game that he actually notices all the zeros on the opponent's scoreboard. And it's at that time that the pain in his arm is so intense that he's not sure if he can go on. Here comes the catcher, Gus (John C. Reilly), to the rescue, inspiring him to give it all that he's got left and to let him know that the team behind him won't let him down.

It, like all the other great sports movies before it, pumps up the audience's blood. It gets us involved and has us rooting from the cheap seats…or not so cheap seats…for the underdog, the guy who is standing up and fighting the good fight while in so much agony that would have put the rest of us in bed with pain pills. (Not unlike the amazing Kirk Gibson.) Even the same opposing crowd that was yelling terrible things at him just a short while before, start getting behind him. It's a fun ride.

I won't give away the ending of whether Billy pitches a perfect game or not, whether Billy is traded to the Giants or not and whether Billy and Jane get back together or not. You'll have to see the movie if you want to know the answers to those questions.

And except for the long, drawn-out boring parts of "For Love of the Game," it actually wasn't a bad movie. If you're a baseball fan, I highly recommend it just for the scenes of the game. You might want to wait until it comes out on video, though, so you can fast forward through the flashbacks. If you're not a baseball fan, but you like romantic movies, I very slightly recommend it if you can't find anything else to watch.

Grade: C-

E-Mail Teri Your Thoughts! TeriCrosby@aol.com