Bull Durham 1988

Dave Kehr, Chicago Tribune: Rather than a vapid national epic, it is a warm, droll, deftly cracked romantic comedy. Read more

Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune: The acting in Bull Durham cannot be faulted and should be remembered at Oscar time. Sarandon has one of the juiciest female roles in years and she makes you think no one could play it better. Read more

Sheila Benson, Los Angeles Times: [Shelton is] uncanny at putting us inside his players' heads when they're on the mound or up at bat, running their private litanies of encouragement and subversion to psych themselves up. Read more

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel: Ron Shelton, who wrote and directed the film, displays a knowledge of and affection for the national pastime. You can see it in the knowing detail he brings to even the minor characters. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Screwball Annie and hardball Crash aren't playing the same game, which is Shelton's conceit as well as a possible screen-writing miscalculation. Read more

Janet Maslin, New York Times: Bull Durham is a film with spring fever, a giddy, playful look at life in baseball's minor leagues. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: There's a lot of laughter and enjoyment on the way to the lockers. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: If one was to make a list of the best baseball-themed movies of all time, Bull Durham would have to be in consideration. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Bull Durham is a treasure of a movie because it knows so much about baseball and so little about love. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: Shelton locates the tension and the humor between pitches, between ball games, between the sheets. It helps too that he has written the wittiest, busiest screenplay since Moonstruck, and that his three stars do their very best screen work. Read more

Nigel Floyd, Time Out: Marvellous stuff. Read more

Variety Staff, Variety: Costner is a natural as the dyed-in-the-wool ballplayer. His best lines are when he's philosophizing, like on being an All-American male who hates anything by Susan Sontag. Read more

Hal Hinson, Washington Post: Bull Durham, the new baseball movie starring Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon, eases up on you, lazy as a cloud, and carries you off in a mood of exquisite delight. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: Writer/director Ron Shelton lobs juicy lines to players Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, and they all hit home. Read more