Fantastic!

Admirable film.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

****************** ATTENTION SPOILERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ***********************The movie is supposedly a baseball movie and simultaneously a romance. The lone protagonists are Costner and Preaston, but the movie is actually exclusively centered around Costner. Which could be criticized for poor character development, but at the same time, besides Costner, the rest of the cast delivers meaningless contributions. Well first because the story is cheesy, much too clichè, to the point where you can actually fill in the lines because you know anticipate the dialogue. Then, the movie is really bailing water: it's not a sports movie, it's a bad romance because the relationship is not believable, it's only centered around Costner's flashbacks in the middle of a game. Wow, seriously ? And he manages fine until his hand and his shoulder give up, which for x & y reasons, is weird. In reality he would take a PCR shot but it would not enable him to throw so consistently well at his age. Costner is a chameleon, and I get that he did this movie to cover up for his divorce lawsuit. But this script is too uninspired and incoherent for him to lift it up to a decent level. The whole green eyed blond mom at 16 with a job that seems to pay well yet her job is not clear, since she is part time but doesn't have her own car, the sudden interaction between her daughter and Costner out of nowhere, the goofy Sunuski who keeps calling Costner 'chappy' (so overdone), the manager who steps down to a player's orders, the owner who sells the team because he doesn't believe in baseball which actually would be because the team stinks fails to reach the playoffs and it leads to bankruptcy, there are so many elements that make it unwatchable. It takes a lot of poise not get irritated by them.

Forty-year-old superstar pitcher Kevin Costner (as Billy Chapel) receives a personal and professional double shock. He learns his Detroit Tigers team has been sold. Even worse, the new owners want to trade him. As if that wasn't enough, Mr. Costner's girlfriend, pretty Kelly Preston (as Jane Aubrey), announces she is leaving him for a job in London. Costner must deal with these life changing events while pitching against the New York Yankees in a World Series playoff game. Preoccupied with both these facts and an ailing shoulder, Costner doesn't realize he's playing the game of his life...Costner and director Sam Raimi do very well with the sports-related segments, as excitement builds during the proverbial big game. The other part of the film has to do with Costner's romance with Ms. Preston. It gets off to a good start, with them meeting over her stalled car, but it gets sappy quickly. We expect the flashbacks to cover Costner's life, yet the focus is on his relatively recent love story; we're left wondering what he was doing the rest of his life. There are good performances in support from catcher pal John C. Reilly (as Gus Sinski) and daughter figure Jena Malone (as Heather).****** For Love of the Game (9/15/99) Sam Raimi ~ Kevin Costner, Kelly Preston, John C. Reilly, Jena Malone

Sam Raimi, who is probably most famous for the Spider-Man films and the Evil Dead films, shows that he can do more than action and horror films with the baseball drama For Love of the Game. He proves that he is a good storyteller.Kevin Costner stars as Billy Chapel, a pitcher in the nineteenth season of his career, all of it spent with the Detroit Tigers. He is in New York to play the Yankees in a series in what may be the last game of his career.As he is playing at Yankee Stadium, at many times on and off the pitcher's mound, Chapel flashes back to many moments in his past. The majority of these flashbacks involve Jane Aubrey, Chapel's on-again and off-again girlfriend, played by Kelly Preston. She is a magazine writer who gets offered a job in London. Unfortunately for Billy, her plane leaves for London during his game.The best parts of this story is the mix of the current game Billy is in and the flashbacks he has. Not sure what he has ahead of him, he is making history with this game against the Yankees.Costner gives a rich performance as Billy Chapel. To me, his character as a baseball player makes me think of pitchers like Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Randy Johnson, and Pedro Martinez, all of who I watched pitch when I was a kid. When he is not playing, he does great at taking his memories and later using them in the game. The biggest part of Costner's performance is on thinking about if he should try to keep playing, hanging up his cleats, or go after the woman he loves.Preston also gives a great performance here as Aubrey. She does a good job of showing Jane as an independent woman, yet also trying to keep a stable relationship with Billy when they are dating. It may seem like the typical girlfriend role, but she is there to support him at his low points and high points of his career.Also giving a great supporting turn in this film is John C. Reilly as Billy's catcher, Gus Sinski. Both on and off the field, Gus is always looking after Billy, and saying that he's got his back. On what seems like a small role, Reilly knocks it out of the park at being the guy Billy can always turn to, even when he's drunk.If you enjoy baseball films, this is well worth it. I like to think of this, Field of Dreams, and Bull Durham as a trilogy, even though the only things they have in common are that they are baseball films starring Kevin Costner. If you are not a baseball fan, you should still check this out because it is more than a baseball film.

For Love of the Game is a sports drama movie that was based on the novel of the same title by Michael Shaara.The film stars Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston.The story follows the a perfect game performance of an aging star baseball pitcher as he reminisces about his career and his relationship with his on-and-off girlfriend, while pitching his final game.The screenplay was written by Dana Stevens and it was directed by Sam Raimi.The story centers on Billy Chapel,who is the star pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, standing on the mound at Yankee Stadium in his last game and throwing what is shaping up to be a perfect game with the help of his best friend and catcher, Gus Osinski. However, Billy is having a hard time keeping his mind on the game; he's come to a crossroads in both his personal and professional lives, and he isn't sure what to do or where to go. He's learned that the Tigers are about to be sold, and the new owners intend to trade him at the end of the season, and that his girlfriend Jane is planning to leave him.But guess what,something else happens.After finishing the perfect game, Billy sits alone in his hotel room as the realization sinks in that everything he has been and done for the past 19 years is over. Despite his amazing accomplishment, he weeps not only for the loss of baseball, but for the other love of his life, Jane. The next morning, Billy goes to the airport to inquire about a flight for London. Jane has missed her flight so she could watch the end of his perfect game. Finding her there waiting for her plane, they embrace and reconcile.The movie is clichéd,contrived and predictable just like most sports movies and apparently most romantic comedies.As one well-known critic was quoted in his review of the film,"Thinking back through the movie, I cannot recall a single thing either character said that was worth hearing in its own right, apart from the requirements of the plot." I totally agree with the said movie reviewer.But what made the movie work is Costner and Preston's convincing professionalism and chemistry together that kept the audience involved and engaged all through out the movie.In the end,it is still worth the view "for love of the game".