(Kevin C. flexes his bat and balls yet again. Crowd goes wild.)
CAST: Kevin Costner, Kelly Preston, John C. Reilly, Jena Malone, Brian Cox, Steve Lyons.
DIRECTOR: Sam Raimi
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and one really fateful baseball game (and faithful chick) - straight ahead…
IT’S LIKE THIS: You know that saying “When it rains, it pours”? Well, if there ever was a sporting example of that maxim, it’s our latest review. FOR LOVE OF THE GAME is about one night in the life of a legendary baseball player, Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner). But not just any night. You see the following shit is happening to our dear Billy on this fateful evening: (1) he is about to retire from the game; (2) his estranged journalist girlfriend Jane Aubrey (Kelly Preston) has just broken things off with him and is hours away from flying to London to be a high-powered magazine editor; and (3) he has to play one last game before he can hang up his jockstrap. But not just any game: the World Series finals. Even someone as a dumb about baseball as me knows that is a big deal.
Yes, sir. Our boy Billy is having a serious case of performance anxiety. And I can’t say I blame him. It’s bad enough that Jane is breaking up with him, but the bitch also picked a great night to do it on. Then again, Billy hasn’t exactly been a sweet Koala Bear to her, either. More like a grumpy Doberman. As Billy prepares to step up to the World Series plate, and as Jane prepares to get on that flight to England, we see a series of flashbacks showing their, um, “love story“. Starting from their “meet-cute” on the side of a freeway (no, Jane is not a hooker on the side), to their courtship, to their fucking, to Billy’s ghastly hand injury that threatens his game, and finally to the arguments and fights that finally make Jane think that perhaps life as a sleek and single fashion editor in Jolly London might not be such a bad thing, after all.
Jane, girl, some advice: forget about Billy and baseball players - and get your ass to Europe and find yourself a sizzlin’ soccer player instead. Trust me - you won’t be sorry.
THE DUDE (OR DUDETTE) MOST LIKELY TO SAVE THE DAY: Billy’s fellow Detroit Tiger and best pal Gus Sinski (John C. Reilly) who dotes on and mothers Billy so much, you have to wonder if they weren’t married in a previous life. In fact, Billy even whines that he was saddled with “The World’s Ugliest Housewife”. Ha ha. Love it.
EYE CANDY MOST LIKELY TO FIRE UP A WOODY: The Kevin. All the way. The Kelly ain’t exactly chopped liver, either…
MOST INTENTIONALLY EXCITING SCENE: The final inning - where Billy is on the mound and is about to throw a make-or-break pitch that will either have him retire on a wave of glory. Or under an avalanche of defeat.
MOST UNINTENTIONALLY EXCITING SCENE: Jane and Billy’s vacation in Colorado that goes down an unexpected path. You’ll see…
HOTTEST SCENE: Jane torn between getting on that flight to London - or missing it to watch Billy’s game. Choose from the heart, girl….
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: Will Billy finish his career on a high note by winning the World Series? Or will he continue his losing streak and finish on a low note? Will Jane choose to stay and stand by him? Or is she going to be the first person on that London-bound plane? Will Billy realize he can’t live without her and stop her from leaving? Or will they end up parting ways? Can this romance survive? Should it survive? Or should Jane just go to England and shag a midfielder from Manchester United, instead? I know what I would do…
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH “FOR LOVE OF THE GAME”: If you love baseball, Kevin Costner, Kelly Preston, or just well-made movies that are powered by some good old-fashioned movie star charisma, regardless of the subject matter.
WHY YOU MAY NOT ENJOY “FOR LOVE OF THE GAME”: If you loathe baseball so much that you aren’t willing to set your dislike aside to enjoy a well-made movie about it. If so… tsk, tsk. I’m not crazy about baseball, but I still enjoyed this flick. Then again, I would drink Kevin Costner’s bathwater. I suppose that helps…
BUT, SERIOUSLY: Both our last review (THE VOW) and our current review (FOR LOVE OF THE GAME) attempt to tell tales of long-term love. Unlike many cinematic romances that deal with the first blush of attraction and the thrill of the chase ending in capture, these movies try to show the winding, roller-coaster path that awaits many relationships after the “happy ending”. THE VOW failed at this despite a compelling source and premise, because of an uncharacteristically weak central performance from Rachel MacAdams. Conversely, FOR LOVE OF THE GAME succeeds - mainly due to strong performances from leads Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston.
Pared down to its core, FOR LOVE OF THE GAME is about two things: (1) an athlete’s love for a game that is in his blood; and (2) the difficulty he has trying to make room in his life for the woman that he loves. In addition to FIELD OF DREAMS and BULL DURHAM (very good films both), this is Costner’s third baseball-themed movie. Just like Billy Chapel, baseball is in Costner’s blood. In fact, the images of Billy’s early “family life” playing Little League baseball are actual footage of Costner’s childhood and parents. Accordingly, Costner brings authenticity to this role of a legendary ball player who is in the twilight of his career - and must deal with that while also trying to win back his soulmate. Costner’s performance is one of his best. It’s also one of his more “unshowy” roles - which often have a tendency to overtake you when you least expect it. A prime example is a key scene at the end where Billy is alone in his hotel room - and has some painful realizations.
Kelly Preston matches Costner with her engaging turn as Jane Aubrey. Preston succeeds in this fairly “de-glammed” role of a single-mom journalist whose chance encounter with Billy results in a sudden immersion in to the world of professional baseball. There’s a certain “fairy tale” aspect to their relationship that echoes the romances in films like NOTTING HILL and THE PRINCE AND ME. Preston manages to make Jane a likable and believable “everywoman” in a way that someone like, say, Sharon Stone might have had some difficulty with. In other words, Preston is beautiful, but not distractingly so. While her chemistry with Costner is more of the “comfortable and familiar” rather than the “explosive and sizzling” variety (which keeps the rating at ***½ and not higher), it is still sufficient enough to power their romance to the end.
FOR LOVE OF THE GAME ends the way most sports movie do: at a climactic game where everything is at stake. Director Sam Raimi delivers a gripping finale that will make even non-baseball fans (like me) lean forward with interest. This is also because Billy Chapel is a character we can root for. The images of Billy on the mound, clearly conflicted, and Jane watching him on an airport television, tears in her eyes, make for some powerful visuals. As for the rest of the cast, Brian Cox and John C. Reilly turn in solid support as Billy’s baseball colleagues, while Jena Malone is immensely appealing as Jane’s precocious daughter Heather, who has an instant kinship with Billy.
In the end, FOR LOVE OF THE GAME is a solid Valentine to sports, and to the sometimes twisting path that love takes us on. Ultimately, it reminds us that while love is fundamentally about sacrifice, it also about forgiveness.
