Plot: What’s it about?
There are some actors who are simply synonymous with the roles they play or the particular genre in which they tend to specialize. It might be argued that Kevin Costner is more easily identified with baseball than donning a cowboy hat and his obsession with America’s Pastime has left some lasting impressions in moviegoer’s eyes. It also might be argued as to which film is actually Costner’s best when it comes to baseball. There’s the rude and crude “Bull Durham” or the more family-oriented “Field of Dreams”. Both were hits critically and commercially, so that might be a debate that goes on for a while. However good things come in threes, right and Costner once again donned the baseball garb and teamed with director Sam Raimi in “For Love of the Game”. Raimi (at the time) was best-known for his cult success of the “Evil Dead” movies but has now gained notoriety for his work in the “Spider-Man” movies.
Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) is a burnt out pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. His life is in shambles and his passion for baseball is waning. He starts to reflect on his life, his relationships and his future as he hurls ball after ball in route to a perfect game. Now there’s a little something to be said for a pitcher throwing a perfect game. It’s different than a no-hitter and certainly different than a shutout. It simply is what it says, a perfect game. As the innings progress, he rationalizes his romance with Jane (the ever-enticing Kelly Preston) trying to figure out where things went wrong and how he life might be with her again. As with any good pitcher, his relations with his catcher are always important and it’s personified in Gus (John C. Reilly) as the yin to Billy’s yang. As the game progresses, so do Billy’s emotions both for the game and for his off the field life. Naturally, the Tigers are playing the Yankees and as the game moves into the later innings, the fans begin to turn and actually start to root for Billy. If Billy can get a Yankee fan to cheer against his own team, maybe there’s hope for him yet?
“For Love of the Game” is one of my guilty pleasures, though I’ll freely admit that it’s the weakest of Costner’s baseball trilogy. The film, like “Field of Dreams” and “Bull Durham”, simply has baseball as a backdrop while the main focus is on the characters of the movie. This is the way it should be, otherwise turn on ESPN and do your thing. Costner gives a good performance as do the other major players (pardon the pun) in John C. Reilly and Kelly Preston. I think this film might be overlooked when it comes to the respective careers of Raimi and Costner but that’s just a matter of opinion. Kudos to Universal’s marketing department, though as the movie makes its debut right when the baseball playoffs start. Coincidence?
Video: How does it look?
“For Love of the Game” is shown in a very good-looking 2.35:1 VC-1 HD transfer. I remember first seeing the film when it came to DVD way back in 2000 and so much has changed in my A/V system since then I can’t imagine seeing this film in any other format than in HD. Universal is hit and miss with some of their catalog titles but I’m happy to say that this movie looks pretty darn good. Flesh tones are warm and natural and the detail is bumped up significantly too. There are a few scenes with the slightest bit of grain associated with them, but they’re few and far between. For nostalgiia’s sake, I broke out my standard DVD just to see the difference in picture quality and it is significant. True fans will want to upgrade for the picture quality alone.
Audio: How does it sound?
Universal also gave us another treat with the inclusion of a Dolby TrueHD and while there are certainly better-sounding tracks out there, this one does pack quite the punch. Most notably are the crowd scenes that really give a true feel like we’re in the stadium with the players. Dialogue is very rich and natural-sounding as well. The surrounds are quite active, though like I said, this isn’t reference material here. One thing I was looking forward to hearing was when Costner’s character gets in his mode he mumbles “Isolate the mechanism” and the sound is not only unique, it sounds awesome.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Unfortunately there are no new supplements here; everything’s been ported over from the original standard DVD which means we get the same “Spotlight on Location” featurette that now looks very dated and a trailer among others.
