For Love of the Game (1999) User Reviews (260)

Even If You Hate Baseball -- and Kevin Costner -- This Movie Still Rocks!

[Dan1863Sickles · 8/10 · 12 October 2006]

Why do I love this movie so much? I'm not a baseball fan. I didn't really like FIELD OF DREAMS. And I hated BULL DURHAM. Yet this movie just captivates me every time I watch it.

Part of it is the tight, real-time structure -- the whole movie takes place in a man's head while he pitches a perfect baseball game on the mound. It therefore combines the tension of a thriller with the poignant emotions of an elegy.

But what I loved most about this movie is that there are no clichés. Kevin Costner's character, Billy Chapel, is not a "sports underdog." It's very clear he is a great athlete who has had a great career, and that he can walk away at any time with lots of money and lots of respect. The only reason that pitching the perfect game matters to him is purely for the perfection of his art -- for the love of the game.

At the same time, not all the action is on the baseball diamond. In the romantic drama, Kevin Costner does much more than play the usual Costner "nice guy." Billy Chapel can be cold, egocentric, and difficult -- just like any other creative artist. But he always surrounds himself with people who are strong enough to challenge him and help him stay grounded. It's no exaggeration to say that the supporting cast in this film -- John C. Reilly as the catcher, Kelly Preston as the girl friend, and Jena Malone as the girl friend's adorable teenage daughter -- are very much the stars. They really set Costner up for an unusually mature, disciplined performance. Just the way Chapel's team mates set him up for the perfect game! This movie wasn't that well received by the critics. I remember one frightfully cultured fellow at the NEW YORKER sniffing that Costner's character is "arrogant." Note well that if an artist or an intellectual is cold and demanding, it's okay. But athletes should be jolly, ape like simpletons, the kind who know their place. This complex, poignant movie is actually quite subversive, since it forces you to realize that baseball is a thinking man's game and that athletes (and their working class fans) are not nearly as stupid as the real simpletons who write for the NEW YORKER.

Shocking!!!

This Film Is About Life

[wildhart · 8/10 · 19 March 2001]

This film is much more than a beautiful film about baseball. It's about life....about the continuity of life... about moving on... about taking stock of who you are, and who you are going to be. Billy Chapel stands there, quietly, introspectively, doing what he has always done, what he wants to always do, but knowing at the same time, through his reflections and his actions, that things change nevertheless. At the crux of the pennant game for the Yankees, this Detroit pitcher stands on the pitcher's mound, knowing, seeing, the flow of life. His team sold, knowing his days for the Tigers are over, that his catcher will likely not be there again, that his great love is leaving, that her daughter has grown, his friend playing now for the Yankees, even the last pitcher he faces - who began as a Tiger bat boy for the team his father played for, the Tigers - a boy whom the announcers say has no idea of what this moment is, although he does, his team owner watching the last great game of summer... deciding... about the rest of his life. Through his comments, his thoughts, and his reflections, he evaluates not only where he is going, but who he is and what he will be. And at the precipice of the rest of his life, a perfect game in the balance, he finds it... what his life means. This film never fails to make me cry.

Cant believe this is not in your top baseball movies

[info-65411-11763 · 8/10 · 3 December 2020]

As not a American i just love these kind of movies, this is a great movie. This is real American drama and a feel good movie. I saw this many times and just watch Moneyball also a great movie. I just say if wanna watch a movie about baseball that also has some feel good and you can see with your girl without the story he you wanna watch sports again watch this. Great makes me pink a cry every time.

The real American pastime

[Kindo · 12 September 1999]

For Love Of The Game

Maybe I'm looking at this film through rose colored glasses. Sam Raimi is one of my favorite directors, a real talent with visual ingenuity and a penchant for silliness. With last holiday's bleak A SIMPLE PLAN, Raimi gave up his EVIL DEAD past and churned out the most satisfying dramatic thriller of last year. He is certainly growing by leaps and bounds as a storyteller, and his latest film, FOR LOVE OF THE GAME, is another surprise for those of us who are fans. A truly elegant, dashingly romantic, white-knuckled look at baseball and matters of the human heart, GAME represents what a true Hollywood soap opera should be, effective.

Kevin Costner plays Billy Chapel, an aging pitcher for the Detroit Tigers heading for the mound for may be his last time ever. The team owner has sold the organization to a corporation and they have plans to trade Billy. His arm continues to fail him more every time he steps up to thrown. And to top it all off, Billy must deal with his tempestuous relationship with Jane, a woman he met by a broken down car on the side of the road five years ago and has yet to fully commit to. With all these thoughts swirling inside Billy's head, he unknowingly begins pitching a perfect game. Unable to keep his mind clear, Billy thinks back on his life during the game and considers the mistakes he has made and the people he has met.

Told mostly in flashback, LOVE OF THE GAME is first and foremost a baseball movie. While being knocked for his recent professional choices (yeah, I liked THE POSTMAN, say what you will) Kevin Costner seems to have been crowned king of the baseball flicks. Ron Shelton's BULL DURHAM is pure genius, the best baseball film ever. FIELD OF DREAMS is more like GAME, both share a strong heartbeat and retaining a smart enthusiasm for the sport. Costner has been the glue that held both films together. He's always been a good actor, only reaching brilliance once (DURHAM). He has the rare charm the many actors forget to consider. While not technically proficient, Costner knows screen charisma well. GAME gives us a desperate Costner performance, one which lets the actor take his guard down for once. His Billy Chapel is a man used to success, yet unsure how to use it to his advantage. A man who can hardly imagine himself consumed by anything but baseball. It's a great performance from Costner. My only hope is that public opinion doesn't tarnish the acting for the paying crowd.

Kelly Preston has the more troublesome task of shining brighter than Costner. A working actress for sometime now, this new film feels like the first time Preston is really acting. I enjoyed her supporting work in 1998's underrated JACK FROST, and GAME finally puts her front and center. She bounces effortlessly of Costner, and the two - while skittish at first - melt into a nice chemistry that packs more emotion than I expected. The loopy John C. Reilly (BOOGIE NIGHTS) and Jena Malone (STEPMOM) are also quite pleasant in small roles.

Working with even more restraint than his SIMPLE PLAN, Raimi brings to the table his gift for camera placement and visual tenacity. The baseball scenes in GAME are very romantic, the title doesn't lie. A self-professed fanatic of baseball, Raimi's love of the game shows in each shot. With noted cinematographer John Bailey, the two create a pristine looking film. The stadium scenes are both frightening cinematic and realistic at the same time. The look of the film might not register with many people, but I couldn't help but to admire such attention to detail.

Screenwriter Dana Stevens made quite an impression with her spare and warm CITY OF ANGELS remake. What she brings to GAME is the feeling of courtship that I enjoyed in Costner's last film MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE. Costner and Preston really show the genesis of a relationship, warts and all. The structure of flashback that Stevens uses to tell the story isn't as unfortunate as it sounds. It's all a rather nice mix of familiar baseball melodrama and a hearty dose of Hollywood soap opera. Stevens proves once again that she has a wonderful ear for romantic entanglements.

Call me a sucker for the obvious, but FOR LOVE OF THE GAME really worked for me. I really was moved by the story and enjoyed all the nuances and quirks. This classy film might not have a hero with a chainsaw for a hand, a crispy scientist with a reliance on synthetic skin, or a quickdrawing Sharon Stone. What it does have is strong emotional resonance. A audience film that the mainstream will love and the arthouse will abhor. I'll take that any day.-------- 10/10

Baseball & Romance, Costner-Style

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 1 April 2006]

Boy, is this a movie for New York Yankee haters. The lead character is a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers and played by Kevin Costner, guy who can play the game at a high level, not just some actor faking it. And, of course, his big pitching effort is against the mighty Yankees.

My only complaint, besides the overuse of the Lord's name in vain, is that there weren't more baseball scenes in it, since they were so well done. The best character of the film was the catcher, played by John C. Reilly. There's a big romance angle in here between Costner and Kelly Preston. Some of that was good, some was annoying. Neither of those characters was particularly appealing.

What was very cool, if you have a good surround system, was the sound of Costner's fastball hitting the catcher's mitt. The loud "whoosh" sound was awesome.

Fork-in-the-Road Story Gives Way To Sappy Love Story.

[ilovedolby · 6/10 · 5 June 2005]

"For Love of the Game" is the story of one baseball player's final game shown through flashbacks from the meeting of a beautiful woman up to the final game in his career. It is a concept that could have worked if the film had not fallen to the melodrama of its love story. Where it manages to stay afloat is in its portrayal of its principal character, Billy Chapel, played by Kevin Costner.

In one of the opening scenes, Billy is confronted by the team's owner, Mr. Wheeler (Brian Cox.) Wheeler informs Billy that he has sold the team and the new owners want to trade Billy. Since Billy is 40 years old and at the end of a poor season, Wheeler encourages him to retire. Not exactly what Billy wanted to hear on an exceptionally rough morning—his girlfriend Jane (Kelly Preston) never showed up for their dinner date the night before. Soon Jane calls and tells Billy that she is moving to London for a new job and that she can no longer be with him. She tells Billy that all he needs are the ball, the plate and the game to get by.

With that in mind, Billy heads out to the plate in Yankee Stadium to pitch the last game of the season. He throws well but the slightest reminder of the past triggers bittersweet memories, from meeting Jane, the flourishing of their relationship and their ups and downs. Then Billy remembers when he cut his hand in a sawing accident. Thanks to Jane, he manages to get to a hospital and save his hand. But as Billy recovers, he is faced with the notions that he might never throw again. Unwilling to accept this, he pushes Jane away. This is the point in the present that Billy starts to feel the pain in his arm and his throwing becomes a problem.

From the pain his arm, to his regret at loosing Jane, we see Billy struggle to top his career. But he swallows his emotions and pain and remembers the words of his father, "simply play catch, Billy. Just throw the ball." With that, Billy manages to pitch the perfect game. But naturally, one thing is missing, Jane and it all leads to inevitable airport confrontation ending. The problem with this movie is not in poor performances, but rather in the sappiness of its love story. Preston plays Jane as the kind of woman who can make the simplest things complicated, but with a genuine tenderness that cannot be denied. She is quirky but cares for Billy. But as the film goes into a montage of their early years, we see just about every relationship cliché play out. She asks him the foreseeable questions—"Do you believe in God? Have you ever gotten your heart broken?" And my favorite, "Do you like the dark meat or the white meat, because the dark meat is the fatty part and it's not good for you." Between the rolling of my eyes and my cringing at the embarrassment of these questions, I could not help but ask myself, shouldn't they have established all of this long before now?

The biggest problem is the ending. The two kiss, and Billy says to Jane that he loves her. Jane responds, "I never believed it." Billy replies, "Believe it." The two kiss some more and fades out. It leaves you with nothing to embrace and the picture becomes instantly forgettable. You simply want to walk away saying, "Well, there it is."

What I do like about the movie is that the central character is faced with a life changing decision—ending his career, his life's passion. Baseball is what he loves and he cannot let it go. Ironically enough, director Raimi would bring this same concept up in his excellent film, "Spider-Man 2," five years after "For Love of the Game." As Peter Parker/Spider-Man says, "Sometimes we have to give up the thing we want the most to do what is right—even our dreams." That is a tough decision for any person to make when they are part of something they love and for one reason or another, it has to end. In film, if done correctly, this can make for a powerful storytelling riddled with conflict and ultimate resolution. Unfortunately, that is not done here.

"For Love of the Game" is neither entirely bad, nor entirely good. The concept of facing the fork-in-the-road choices work well, and adding a love story was to be expected. However, the film becomes half chick-flick and half a story about moving on. If it could only find a better balance with improved writing, it could have worked out. **1/2 out of ****

Another Costner classic

[TylenL · 7/10 · 7 June 2020]

Another great Costner classic. His sports movies are always good and this is no exception.

If you love baseball and romance watch this

[rily97 · 7/10 · 5 June 2020]

This movie is solid. It's a tribute to baseball lovers with romantic hearts. Both Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston do a fine job and have chemistry. The story is woven around a baseball game and the backstory of a romance that wasn't perfect but had its moments. Like all compelling sports movies you cheer for protagonist. Tastefully and sweetly directed. Costner always likable, Preston equally so. It's a story that will satisfy your love of baseball. Not so sappy the men folk won't watch it.

I CAN'T THINK OF A BETTER MOVIE TO CURL UP WITH.

[candiepruitt · 10/10 · 10 February 2002]

This has to be one of the best movies I have ever watched and watched and... well, you get the picture.It is a revealing account of relationships and feelings and trust. Set during one major league baseball game, a man relives the past five years of his life from the pitchers mound. He realizes, over what may be the course of a perfect game, that his life has been anything but perfect. That the really important things in life are slipping away from him.This movie is full of life, it's sweet. It draws you in and holds your interest. I think the movie was underrated because of the subject matter. A romantic baseball movie? but that's just the surface. This movie goes very deep. If you give it a chance you will see that the reality of the setting and the people are extremely captivating, as well as fun. I can't think of another movie that has made me feel so good and so satisfied at the end. If you like baseball you can't help but love this movie. It's full of the most realistic ball playing I have ever seen in a film.If you like a sweet romance that doesn't have to rely on sex and nudity to tell the story, well, this is it. This has to be my all time favorite movie. I own it on vhs as well as dvd. The spotlight on location is a wonderful feature on both versions. It gives a fun look at the making of aspects. It also shows you interview clips from the professional ball people who were involved in the making of the film. I urge anyone who just wants to relax, enjoy a good story and feel better for watching it, to get this movie .

Even when you don't know anything about baseball, this movie is worth a watch

[philip_vanderveken · 7/10 · 21 March 2005]

I know that baseball is one of the most popular sports in the USA, but it certainly isn't in Europe. Most of us have never seen a game on the TV or in a stadium and I'm sure that most of us don't know anything about it. This is of course a great problem for a movie that has a baseball player and the events in his life as its main storyline. Many Americans will love this movie anyway, but it is a lot harder to get it sold to the Europeans if the story and the acting aren't excellent.

The good thing about this movie is that it isn't just based on the sport itself, but that it also has a romance to offer for those who don't know anything about baseball. Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) is at the end of his career and he has to decide whether he will keep playing, but for another team, and risking to loose the woman he loves or stop his career and save his love life. What should he do? Choose the game that influenced his entire life or the woman he loves? In the meantime he recollects all the memories of how he once met her, their first date, the happy times, the miscommunication and all other things that once happened between them.

The movie on itself is OK, without really excelling and the same could be said about the performances of the different actors. They didn't do something wrong, but I've seen some better acting before. All in all this is a decent movie with a decent story and good acting, but without a very good character study. Nevertheless this is still a movie that is worth a watch and that's why I give it a 7/10.

Excellent job of making baseball exciting, but romance missed having a spark.

[hillari · 5/10 · 20 September 1999]

I'm not a sports fan, but I was pleased at how director Sam Raimi made the sport interesting for those who don't normally watch it. I wish more care had been taken on making the romance part of the story stronger. Chemistry between Costner and Preston was not spectacular enough to make their characters' romance stand out enough. The romance should have been as breathless as the baseball game. Preston (Jane) is an appealing actress, however, and the camera seems to love her face. Costner (Billy Chappel) did a great job of portraying the weariness and confusion of a man in mid-life. It also helps that he looks like a real-life ballplayer. Raimi has some great sequences that show Chappel blocking out everything to concentrate on the game. The Chappel character is the only one that's really fleshed out. The audience doesn't learn much about his friend Gus (good job by John C. Reilly), Jane (even after some secrets about her are revealed) or the rest of the ballplayers, other than what Chappel thinks about them. Jena Malone is effective in her small role. There is another actor who is shown commenting on the game while watching it on tv in an airport bar. The guy is so annoying that if I was sitting next to him, I would have slapped him. While not the greatest of Costner's baseball films, this is an welcome antidote for adults sick of the entertainment that geared towards teenagers.

9 on a scale of 10

[len-21 · 9/10 · 16 August 2000]

I would have to say that I have seen very few movies better than For Love of the Game. My favorite genre is Romantic Comedy. This wasn't a comedy, but it was feel good. It was light drama and it was extremely well done.

Costner portrayed an aging baseball player with a romantic attachment to the game that reminded me of Robert Redford in The Natural - another movie I rated a 9. The symbolism of the movie was the notion of ending a romance for the game and transferring that romance to a woman. For him, at least, there was room for only one at a time. And, fortunately for her, his career was at the very end. Fortunately for us, we got to see his last game interspersed with flashbacks.

The movie was brilliantly done with respect to the actual game of baseball. I cannot recall having seen a sports movie that did such an excellent job of maintaining accuracy about the game. I honestly could have believed I was watching an actual game. The plays were realistic. The situations realistic. And, Vin Scully was sensational doing the play by play.

I've only rated a few movies as 10's in my life. One of them was Field of Dreams - another Costner vehicle. This movie wasn't far behind FOD. In fact, it was nearly as magical and it was a lot more romantic. Why the reviewers of IMDB only give it a 6.7 is beyond me.

easily the worst film Sam Raimi has directed yet

[Quinoa1984 · 6/10 · 23 April 2006]

I remember seeing For Love of the Game in the theater and thinking 'this isn't the same Sam Raimi that directed the Evil Dead trilogy and A Simple Plan, is just can't be.' It's one thing that it's a Kevin Costner movie, which in and of itself carries a certain formula that can take down director and ship with him. Maybe there might be some even die-hard baseball movie fans out there (baseball itself is cool, the movies from that can either hit or really miss) who might appreciate this film, but as that and as a romantic melodrama it's just, well, a shamble of formula, over-sentimentality, and over-wrought dialog. Some of the supporting acting isn't too terrible, as John C. Reilly and JK Simmons are usually hard to disappoint. But it's practically humorless, and (this is a bit subjective here) can be somewhat incredulous against Yankees fans. The premise itself could've worked- aging baseball pitcher does a perfect game while his romantic life has a checkered past. But Raimi isn't able to breathe that much life into the script, and the Hollywood feel of it just adds to its, well, blandness. It's not one of the worst movies of 1999, but it's a definite yes that I would not only not recommend it, but would steer clear of it if it came on TV again. Maybe as a piece of fluff it might just be a below satisfactory effort, but from Raimi it's emanates from me a big "huh?"

Way too sappy

[ThreeThumbsUp · 3/10 · 26 April 2014]

This movie didn't take long to get sappy and cheesy. It begins with a montage of Billy Chappel's (Kevin Cosner) life leading up to his final pitching performance in New York against the Yankees. Before the game, he finds out that the Tigers' beloved owner is selling the team and his girlfriend is moving to London. "There's a job there Billy. A good job. An editor's position." It gets worse. Before taking the field, he takes a whiff of his old glove and there it is, his first flashback to his childhood; playing ball in the back yard. As he's warming up in the bullpen before the game, his manager wants to start a young catcher, but Billy insists that his buddy Gus start instead. "If Gus doesn't play, I don't pitch." OK then. As the game rolls along, he flashes back to his romance with Kelly Preston and everything is just dandy. He's got a perfect game until, wait, what? The young prospect he met before the game that used to be his bat-boy comes to the plate... Only redeeming factor is the actual baseball action. Looks real enough and it was filmed in Yankee Stadium.

I had to refrain from standing up and clapping

[jonathan.arana · 17 July 2000]

I had to refrain from standing up and clapping. I am a sucker for a feel good movie and two weeks later I am still smiling. I loved this from start to finish, Kevin Costner does what he does best, baseball related Romantic comedies. I just wish now that everyone would go and see it, but it still seems that 'The Postman' and 'Waterworld' weigh heavily on Mr. Costner's shoulders.

Interesting framework

[VetteRanger · 7/10 · 19 June 2009]

It took a while for me in watching this movie to realize the all the baseball scenes were actually from the same game, and not parts of many games. I had not read or heard of the movie before, and I wasn't actually paying close attention at the beginning.

Once I realized that the entire movie was flashbacks Kevin Costner's character was having during the course of one game that suddenly becomes a real candidate to end up as a "perfect game", I got more interested. Not that the baseball result drew me in, the entire idea for the movie happening in flashbacks during a game intrigued me.

The movie is indeed sappy, and contains every cliché, but it works anyway. Romantic dramas are going to have a lot of clichés, there's no way to avoid it. Sports movies are going to have a lot of clichés. So when you put the two together, its a cliché-fest! LOL Still, the performances are engaging and mostly come off as real. The drama at the end of the game has a body of its own. The catcher's promise near the end is something that SHOULD happen in sports, and probably doesn't very often.

Only the last couple of scenes, which happen AFTER the game, break out of the framework of the rest of the movie.

So if you don't like romances or sappy sports movies, stay away from this, you won't like it. Otherwise, its a nice film with some good lessons and a satisfying set of conclusions.

baseball sentimentalism works better than romantic drama

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 18 October 2014]

Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) is a worn-out 40 year old former ace pitcher for The Detroit Tigers. He's given the start of last game of a disastrous season against the Yankees in NYC. The Yankees are looking to clinch the East with a win. Tigers' owner Gary Wheeler (Brian Cox) has just sold the team and the new owners want to trade Billy to the Giants. His best friend is his catcher Gus Sinski (John C. Reilly). His girlfriend Jane Aubrey (Kelly Preston) tells him that she is taking a job in London. He has the best game in awhile pitching a perfect game. The movie flashes back and forth from the present to his life courting Jane and reconnecting with his daughter Heather (Jena Malone).

The movie tries so hard with every baseball cliché. It doesn't add anything original that other Costner movies and The Natural doesn't already have put out. Every pitch is striving for sentimentality. The baseball stuff builds to a pretty compelling ninth inning. That's kind of what happens in a real baseball game. The bigger problem is that the romance is as bland as it gets. The romance lacks any bite or surprises. It's the least compelling thing in the movie. At least the baseball stuff works a little even if it is cliché.

Watchable, but forgettable.

[cjfoot · 6/10 · 6 December 1999]

Kevin Costner slides into the role he seems to have been born to play. The action of the film is well paced. The visuals are lush and vibrant. However, it's been done before. And most unfortunately, it has been done better. The film has enough to keep you interested, but you most likely won't remember it afterward. Most likely you'll become confused-`Wait, Costner didn't play ball in Field of Dreams, maybe it was Bull Durham… I can't remember which it was.' And most likely, you won't

Kevin Costner Just "Gets" Baseball

[zkonedog · 7/10 · 12 March 2017]

Considering the fact that "Field of Dreams" (also starring Kevin Costner and about the national pastime) is my favorite sports film of all time, I watched this film with high expectations. For the most part, this movie lived up to those expectations.

Basically, the plot centers on Detroit Tigers pitcher Billy Chapel, who finds himself nearing the end of a very long and very successful career. However, when the owner of the Tigers tells Billy that the team no longer can afford him, Billy must make the biggest decision of his life (be traded or retire), all the while putting up zeroes on the Yankee Stadium scoreboard on the final day of the baseball season.

This aspect of the film (Billy's tumultuous decision) really works for baseball fans in a couple of ways. First is the use of flashbacks (think LOST) that show Billy's career up until the present, including his long road back from injury and a burgeoning (yet complicated) romance. Secondly, the vocal talents of Vin Scully (the real-life voice of the Dodgers) will remind all viewers that this movie truly is meant to appeal to pure baseball fans. As Billy pitches deep into his remarkable game, all the while recollecting the earlier events of his life, the film's climax is superbly narrated by Scully.

About the only "knock" I have on this film (and thus why it isn't five stars) stems from the fact that Billy's romantic issues tend to be a bit too contrived to create the highest form of believable drama. Perhaps Costner was trying to portray a very conflicted Chapel, but to me it came off as a bit confusing how Billy could have his "affairs on the side" and still be involved in a touching romance.

All told, though, this is a film that baseball fans will almost certainly love. Even if you don't completely fall for the romantic aspects, you will be cheering on Billy Chapel as he struggles to achieve the pinnacle of baseball greatness for a pitcher. Once again, as in "Field of Dreams", Costner proves that he truly does know how to capture the essence of what makes the game of baseball so dramatic.

Few movies leave me breathless. Fewer still leave me speechless.

[Angelab41 · 10/10 · 11 March 2001]

This was one of those rare events where you find yourself clicking through channels and luck upon the beginning of a movie so engrossing that the world completely stops until the credits roll. This is Costner's greatest performance, with a depth of emotion that we've never seen before.

This is much more than a baseball film. It's a love story about love and baseball, and life and facing the future when you finally "grow up." It's about the choices behind us and the chances ahead.

Okay but not very memorable.

[steve-575 · 6/10 · 4 July 2003]

This was just one of those films that wasn't horrible but after sitting through it, I just felt something was missing. After most good films, you leave the theater feeling rewarded. This just wasn't a very satisfying film. I don't know if it was overly long running time (I felt like I had sat through an actual major league game after it was over), the predictability (anyone with half a brain could have predicted the ending), or the fact that this was nothing really more than a love story disguised as a sports films.

When this movie came out, they promoted like it was the next "Field of Dreams" or "The Natural". It didn't even come close to matching those films. I just didn't feel that Kevin Costner's character Billy Chapell had any charisma. I just didn't care about him the same way I cared about Ray Kinsella or Roy Hobbs.

If anything, this movie kind of reminded me of "Jerry Maguire" without the charm, energy, witty dialogue, or supporting cast. I give this movie a 5 out of 10.

Costner recaptures "Bull Durham" wit, but no love found here.

[jfarrell · 5/10 · 19 September 1999]

Costner once again gives us humorous insights to the thoughts and comments of professional baseball players. He also has found another sidekick in his catcher who gives a comparable performance to Tim Robbins in "Bull Durham".

That being said, Billy Chapel's possible final outing on the mound is the only thing that keeps this film moving at all. The relationship between Billy and Jane is shallow. Chapel is allowed time and time again to use this woman for his selfish purposes. Even if the relationship were to be resolved, we would still would be left with no commitment and thus no true love. I had to wonder why Chapel kept having warm flashbacks of his mother and father watching him pitch through the years. If he admired his father as much as his memories suggest, why didn't he follow his father's footsteps and commit to Jane? After all, Chapel said his father loved two things: his mother and baseball. Billy Chapel only loved one thing, himself. I tend to think though that the director of this film would want us to believe otherwise. No hero found here.

The best of Costner's sports efforts - a home run

[Buff2001 · 10/10 · 20 September 1999]

I liked all the other Costner sports flicks a lot (It is his forte), but For the Love of the Game is tops! Bull Durham was a whole lot of baseball with a dose of romantic comedy. Field of Dreams was 100% baseball fantasy-drama. The current effort is a perfect mix of baseball and romance. It is really two movies woven skillfully into one which accounts for its relatively long runtime(137)for a film of this genre.

This is easily Costner's best effort in a long time and Kelly Preston is perfect opposite him. It's funny but every time I see Bull Durham again, the fact that Sarandon is now "with" Tim Robbins destroys the Sarandon-Costner chemistry for me. Fortunately Travolta is nowhere to be seen, so the Preston-Costner mix plays very well, especially since it is heavy on romance and very light on sex.

This is one of those movies I walk out of wondering what it was that caused it to be PG-13. No drugs, not a hint of violence, and no nudity. In retrospect, I suppose there was a gratuitous swear word or two at most and what romance doesn't have a suggestion of sex. For my money this is more G rated than what you see on network sit-coms these days, especially Fox. Take the family and enjoy!!!

Sentimental love story misses all three strikes

[The_Void · 6/10 · 15 June 2005]

Sam Raimi has made something of a name for himself in modern cinema for his comic book styled movies. The Evil Dead Trilogy was, of course, his first masterpiece; but other good comic book styled movies in his oeuvre include Darkman, The Quick and the Dead and more recently, the Spider-Man films. For some reason, he decided to make a shift from comic book to drama in 1998, with the excellent thriller A Simple Plan. I'd have been happy for him to go back to what he does best after that, but he wasn't - and he went on to make this film. For Love of the Game is a film that mixes sporting action and romance, and tries to parallel to the two through it's central character, played by Kevin Costner. Simply put, the film doesn't manage to do what it sets out to do. The romance and Costner's love for the game are no doubt touching, but the film lacks the fundamental element of inspiring feeling for the characters from the audience, and this is why it falls down. This sort of film only works if you can tap into the character's thoughts and feelings; and the screenplay for this movie ensures that you cannot.

As this movie stars Kevin Costner, it is very cheesy. Most movies with Costner in them work in spite of him, but since this movie doesn't work anyway; his presence doesn't hinder it. I'm still unsure as to why he continues to get roles, however; he's so false it's impossible to do anything but snigger when he's on screen. This film features many moments of cheese - especially the ending - so Costner is right at home here. An awfully sentimental musical score runs throughout the movie as well, which again hinders it. The characters on display are largely cold, and it's hard to feel for them because of this. None of them develop and the messy way that the film is plotted doesn't help matters either, and as we continually jump into moments of the protagonist's past, we become less connected with his plight rather than more so as it should be. The worst thing about this movie is the final thirty minutes. To say that they drag would be a vast understatement, and this mixed with far too much fake sentiment make it a very painful climax. Don't get me wrong, this film isn't a total dead loss as some of the scenes and ideas are good; but there isn't enough 'good' to ensure that the finished piece is such.

I remember the first perfect game that I watched...

[Bibbz08 · 5/10 · 12 November 2023]

First perfect game that I watched was Roy Haliday throwing against the Marlins, and watching him almost throw a second one in the ALDS against the Reds. They were beautiful moments. I was watching both of them at a sports bar, and the entire crowd for each was silent, erupting in emotion after each throw.

The way that they tell this story is actually pretty beautiful. This movie came out 5 years before Randy Johnson, at the age of 40, threw his perfect game.

But...the main characters in this movie outside of Heather and Gus, are literally just horrible people. Jane is so self involved that she has MC syndrome and that everyone else is an NPC in her game of life, including her daughter. Chapel is the exact same way, except for with Jane, where he will prostrate himself every chance that he gets for his mistakes and for her mistakes.

The movie does romanticize baseball as it should be, and frames the 'What comes after for players' in a beautiful way, but the intense focus on such a narrow part of a players life rather than the whole to make essentially a romspo (romantic sports) movie just fell flat for me.