For Love of the Game
for brief strong language and some sexuality.
Reviewed by: Douglas Downs
STAFF WRITER
| Moral Rating: | Average |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | Adults |
| Genre: | Romance Drama |
| Length: | 2 hr. 18 min. |
| Year of Release: | 1999 |
| USA Release: |
| Featuring | Kevin Costner, Kelly Preston, Jena Malone, Richard T. Jones |
| Director |
Sam Raimi |
| Producer | Armyan Bernstein, Amy Robinson |
| Distributor |
 Universal Pictures
|
I love movies about baseball. It was not too difficult for me to get excited this Fall about “For Love of the Game.” It could be the perfect date movie—baseball and a love story.
Kevin Costner portrays a star pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. His character, Billy Chapel, has a twenty-year major league career. He is successful as a strike-out pitcher, but finds himself always “striking out” in the romance department.
The film has strong performances by Kelly Preston, John C. Reily, and Jena Malone—an “A” for casting. But this mid-life-crisis film is hurt by the presentation of premarital sex and alcohol.
There are some positive qualities like a strong sense of teamwork and determination. And on baseball realism, this movie is one of the best. As an avid viewer of live baseball, I can say “For Love of the Game” really takes you there. You can almost smell the hot dogs. Truly America’s favorite pastime.
This is a fable for Baby Boomers. Billy does profess to believe in God and even prays during the game. It is a “feel good” cinematic touch. But Christians should seek to pray and then resist temptation. God’s name is used in vain and there are 18 obscenities and other crude references. There is no nudity, but some adults are shown in their underwear. Condoned premarital sex and language makes this film less than a perfect game. It is not a total shut out, though.
Not recommended for younger viewers due to too many mixed messages to sort out later. As an actor, Costner still shows that he has “good stuff.” But like a pitcher shaking off signs from a catcher, you will find some objections in this film.
On the down side, however, there is much that makes this movie avoidable. Billy and Jane spend the night together, And get physical in an elevator right after they just meet. During Spring training, Jane finds him half-dressed following a promiscuous round with his massuese. More than a dozen blasphemous uses of God’s name. There are several “s” words, one “f” word, and other coarse language. The catcher for Billy uses his middle finger as a signle to hit the batter in the head.
Several schenes show Jane’s teenage daughter Heather, who was conceived while Jane was a teenager. And while Jane elected to have the baby and claims not to regret that choice, there is something missing. Heather senses it and tells Billy, “She had me when she was sixteen and she never had a love story. And now it’s like she doesn’t believe in it.” Heather also escapes from her dad’s house saying, “he’s stoned 90 percent of the time anyway.
Jane, his longtime girlfriend, has announced that she’s leaving him. Their romance is told in flashbacks. Billy and Jane plan to have a no-strings, casual relationship, but when stronger feelings take over, neither knows how to deal with it. Jane is cautious because she’s had her heart broken before, and Billy places baseball above all else. They spend most of the time bickering and separating, and initially, their relationship is based on sex.
One problem is that Billy’s character is more fleshed out than Jane or any other character in the story. Kevin Costner looks and plays like a real baseball player, and that lends credibility to the scenes on the field.
Billy is asked at one point if he believes in God, and he says yes. He says a prayer during the game, asking for healing in his arm, but it’s clear that he’s not a Christian man. No scenes of graphic sex, but “morning after” scenes imply that it took place.
Profanity galore from the baseball players, including taking the Lord’s name in vain.
Despite of this, I liked the film because its main theme was be true to yourself. It also emphasized the fact that adults do have to grow up sometimes, as Billy’s character eventually learns. For Love Of The Game is an antidote for adults sick-of-the-summer’s unappealing teen movies.