Paul J. Nemecek For Love of the Game is a film about Billy Chapel, an aging pitcher who may be pitching the last game, and perhaps the best game, of his career. This is happening on a day when he has discovered that the owner of his team is selling the team and the new owners want to trade him away. He has also discovered that his girlfriend of several years is leaving him to take a job in London. In short, at the beginning of the film, Billy Chapel is having a really bad day. Throughout the nine innings of the game that form the narrative core of the film, we experience various flashbacks that take us into the personal life of Billy Chapel.One of the things that must be said at the beginning is that For Love of the Game is derivative, formulaic, and filled with cliches. This need not be a fatal flaw. The same could be said of some of Shakespeare's best work (e.g., Romeo and Juliet). In fact, For Love of the Game provides Kevin Costner with his best starring role since Dances With Wolves. There must be something about baseballs. Two of Costner's better films from the past are Bull Durham and Field of Dreams. The basic role is similar to Costner's role in Bull Durham, the aging but wise team veteran. In its symbolic view of transcendent moments and meaningful relationships, For Love of the Game has more in common with Field of Dreams.The film is based on a novel by Michael Shaara. Shaara previously wrote the book that was the basis for the film Gettysburg ("Killer Angels"). The screenplay adaptation is by Dana Stevens whose previous writing credits include City of Angels. While it may seem like a weird combination for a baseball film, with Director Sam Raimi at the helm this film really works. One of the reasons it works is that, like Field of Dreams, this is not really a baseball film.This is a film about the human spirit and our longing for transcendence. Years ago, I played on a softball team in league competition. It's the bottom of the ninth, men on second and third, two outs, and I'm at the plate with a 3-0 count. I'm ready to take the walk. I was a pitcher, I knew the strike zone, and that year I was leading the league in walks taken. My older, and occasionally wiser, brother was our coach, and he pulled me aside and told me to go for it. I was batting .750 that year, and the guy behind me in the line-up was struggling. Frankly, I would have preferred the safe way out. Let the other guy take the heat for losing the game. Inspired by my brother's confidence in me, I swung at the next pitch, and hit a double to win the game. That was more than twenty years ago, but I remember that moment to this day, because it was someone else's confidence in me that gave me the courage to reach for the stars.In the final analysis, that's what this film is about. Baseball becomes the context, but the theme is the yearning of the human spirit for transcendence and meaning. What makes this film worth seeing is its emphasis on camaraderie and espirit-de-corps. In many films like this (e.g., The Natural) the hero finds his strength within and triumphs against the odds by superhuman effort. Billy Chapel's saving grace is his brokenness. It is his willingness to acknowledge his need for others that allows him to triumph in the end. While there are clearly elements borrowed from other films here, the final product is fresh, inspirational, and fun.

adonis98-743-186503 Detroit Tigers Veteran Pitcher Billy Chapel (Costner) has always been better at baseball than at love. Just ask Jane (Preston), his on-and-off girlfriend. After a bad season, just before he is about to start in what could be his final game, Jane tells Billy that she's leaving him...for good. Now with his career and love-life in balance, Billy battles against his emotional and physical limits as he strives for a Perfect Game. For Love of the Game Director Sam Raimi fails to deliver the Sports, Romance Drama that he wanted to give to his fans, Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston do have a nice chemistry together and their both fine in this film but the movie focuses more on their boring and long relationship threw some flashbacks that get annoying after some time and honestly they aren't even interesting at all. We never see Billy's relationship with his Parents, his Friends or anyone else and even if we do it's only for a few seconds and some great actors such as J.K Simmons and Brian Cox are useless enough and even if you cut them out of the picture the movie would still be a big mess. It does have some good moments and the acting is fine but the actual plot and the boring love story gets you out of the film's actual experience. (5/10)

generationofswine For a lot of Americans baseball is life affirming. There are even people out there--and at times I confess that I am one of them--who go to high school baseball games just because watching a game where the outcome doesn't matter to you is even more relaxing than watching a game you actually care about.To some people it might be strange, but to others, hey, it's baseball and there is really no better way to spend an afternoon is there?Some Americans understand it to be an addiction. Even now, as I write this, if I look out my apartment window I can see the softball diamond that played a key role in why I chose this cramped little hovel over so many other options. In the summer, when I get off of work, I can play a game of Frogger and risk my life crossing a busy street to see a game.So when a movie about baseball comes out, no matter how good or bad it is, we feel compelled to go and see it.And there a pluses and minuses. This film came out in September. There should be a law requiring all baseball movies to come out in the winter, in those long months between the crushing defeat of the Cub's last lose and the new spring hope that this year the curse might be broken.As they say in Boston, "good luck to you and your team."But then, it was just broken wasn't it? The end is nigh and Chicago is still here. I thought for sure that it would be destroyed in a riot worse than anything soccer has ever produced.But that is another story.The fact is that there are good and bad baseball movies.Most of the good ones star Kevin Costner don't they?Bull DurhamField of DreamsFor the Love of the GameThe Sandlot (which didn't star Costner)The title really explains everything you need to know about it. It's a movie made for people that love baseball. One about a perfect game.The bottom line is that it is a movie about baseball and though it isn't as good as "Bull Durham" it is still about baseball. If you love it you love it. If you don't, well, it's still a good movie, but not as life affirming, not as wonderful, not as beautiful, not as...well, not as summer.

Tony Smith The movie was about baseball. Billie told Mr Wheeler it's a great game. The romance with Jane is secondary, he only professes his love at the end of the movie. The no hitter is the movie. He plays and played it with character. you know sometimes a movie is just a story. The public makes it something more, deep feeling, artist meanings and other such crap. It's just a movie and a good one in my opinion. I'm told this must be ten lines to be posed. I have to pad a lot. Other posts complained of the acting, what do you want...they were acting. One movie mentioned was the natural, I liked it also. Another was bull durham. both were good, but I feel this was more realistic. Well I'm about done, not good at running up the score. Remember, my opinion