Get Your Reps In: “Bull Durham” Savors the Scuzzier Side of America’s Pastime

What to see at Portland’s repertory theaters.

Bill Durham (IMDB)
By Chance Solem-Pfeifer

Bull Durham (1988)

Just imagine the soliloquy that minor league catcher and philosopher Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) would deliver about the 2025 New York Yankees’ new “torpedo bats.” “Optimal weight distribution to maximize power?” the Bull Durham star would probably scoff. “Sounds like a lot of technocratic joy-sucking from efficiency snobs who don’t know shit about sex or baseball.” But Bull Durham isn’t a movie about being good at baseball. It’s a movie about being good at enjoying baseball. Stop thinking; have a hot dog or a shower beer; it’s a long, long season. Ron Shelton’s ode to the romance of America’s pastime plays April 11 and 12 at Cinema 21. The fact that Bull Durham savors the scuzzier side of the game—a Carolina League has-been (Costner), a hard-throwing half-wit (Tim Robbins) and a Walt Whitman-obsessed team groupie (Susan Sarandon)—makes it all the more romantic. Cinema 21, April 11–12.

Also Playing:

5th Avenue: Paprika (2006), April 11–13. Academy: Down by Law (1986), April 11–17. Legally Blonde (2001), April 11–17. Harakiri (1962), April 11–17. Cinema 21: Raising Arizona (1987), April 12. Cinemagic: Purple Rain (1984), April 9. True Stories (1986), April 9. Boogie Nights (1997), April 10. Weird Science (1985), April 11. Days of Being Wild (1990), April 12 and 15. In the Mood for Love (2000), April 12 and 15. 2046 (2004), April 13 and 14. Chungking Express (1994), April 13 and 14. Clinton: Barbie (2023), April 11. Robot Dreams (2023), April 12. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), April 12. Cryptozoo (2021), April 15. Hollywood: Written on the Wind (1956), April 10. Land of the Dead (2005), April 11. Showgirls (1995), April 11–13. The NeverEnding Story (1984), April 12 and 13. Dark Waters (2019), April 12. The House Bunny (2008), April 12. Despiser (2003), April 12. Titanic (1997), April 13. Bound (1996), April 14. Tomorrow: Wayne’s World (1992), April 11. Chungking Express (1994), April 12. In the Mood for Love (2000), April 12. Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962), April 13. The Red Shoes (1948), April 13.

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