For Love of the Game

Rating

Director

Sam Raimi

Screenplay

Dana Stevens (Novel: Michael Shaara)

Length

2h 17m

Starring

Kevin Costner, Kelly Preston, John C. Reilly, Jena Malone, Brian Cox, J.K. Simmons

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Review

PREFACE:
In the early 2000s, I was writing reviews for an outfit called Apollo Guide Reviews. That website has since been closed down.

Attempting to reconstruct those reviews has been an exercise in frustration. Having sent them to Apollo Guide via email on a server I no longer have access to (and which probably doesn’t have records going back that far), my only option was to dig through The Wayback Machine to see if I could find them there. Unfortunately, while I found a number of reviews, a handful of them have disappeared into the ether. At this point, almost two decades later, it is rather unlikely that I will find them again.

Luckily, I was able to locate my original review of this particular film. Please note that I was not doing my own editing at the time, Apollo Guide was. As such, there may be more than your standard number of grammatical and spelling errors in this review. In an attempt to preserve what my style had been like back then, I am not re-editing these reviews, which are presented as-is.

REVIEW:
The great American past time has been the subject of film repeatedly since the early days of Hollywood. This fascination with baseball has generated such best picture nominees as The Pride of the Yankees and Field of Dreams. These films celebrate the power and passion behind one of America’s oldest sports traditions. For Love of the Game is the third feature film on the subject that stars Kevin Costner.

Here, Costner plays Billy Chapel, a 40-year-old pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, who has never been able to develop a romantic relationship outside of baseball itself. When his girlfriend, Jane (Kelly Preston), decides to call it quits and move to London, management also decides to sell the team and the new owners want to trade him to another team. These events start Chapel on an introspective journey to decide whether he wants to continue with the game or return to civilized life.

The rest of the story takes place in flashbacks as Chapel plays the last game of the season against foes both new and old. He examines how he met Jane and what she taught him about life, love and all that exists outside of the stadium. Each examination takes place between potentially momentous events during the game as he finds himself in the position to be able to pitch a perfect game.

For Love of the Game somewhat parallels Costner’s real life. Like Chapel, Costner believes himself to be great, even when he’s slowly getting worse. Unlike the character in the film, Costner hasn’t revived his career yet and films like this don’t help. In this movie, he does nothing original and continues his position as a leading man while never getting past his stiff acting style. Preston, on the other hand, displays a varying range of emotion and helps the audience care about her character. The only other good performance in the film is from young Jena Malone as Jane’s daughter Heather. While she’s only in the film briefly, Malone shines like nobody else here. Having done well in Contact, it’s not surprising that she would also do well here.

Director Sam Raimi, who got his start with the Evil Dead films, continues to attempt dramatic fare. This specific outing is both enjoyable and plodding. The pace is a bit off and just when you think it’s going to be over, it keeps going. Much of this can be attributed to screenwriter Dana Stevens whose adaptation of the novel by Michael Shaara is dry, clichéd and sometimes annoying. However, those who enjoy a sports film like Remember the Titans will also enjoy this movie.

For Love of the Game is reminiscent of its predecessors. It looks at the emotional stability of a professional athlete who must make a difficult decision regarding which love to pursue – professional or emotional. It asks audiences to trust in the power of love over everything else, even if it is just a fairy tale.

Review Written

May 8, 2002