BEFORE: No movie yesterday, since I was riding back on Amtrak and then competing in the 10-hour trivia marathon. My team tied for third, so no big cash prize - but at least we were competitive and made it into the finale. And I hear you have to be in it in order to win it, so say the sports movies. I can still skip a day and not worry about the effect on my schedule - so here's Monday's film, another baseball flick.
And I'm lucky again, Robin Wright from "Moneyball" co-starred in "Message in a Bottle" with Kevin Costner (last seen in "3,000 Miles to Graceland").
THE PLOT: A washed up pitcher flashes through his career.
AFTER: There's even more time-jumping and cross-cutting in this film than in "Moneyball", but unfortunately there's no rhyme or reason to it - in other words, the flashbacks don't influence the current events, so why cut them together this way? I get that it's supposed to be what a major-league pitcher is thinking about while working on a no-hitter - but shouldn't he be concentrating more on his pitching, and less on the history of his relationship?
It seems from the flashbacks that Costner's character, Billy Chapel, is against commitment for exactly this reason - he's worried about the effect that marriage would have on his baseball career. Well, here he is, not married, and focusing on the relationship anyway during what could be the biggest game of his life, so how's that working out?
It's interesting to hear a pitcher psyching himself up for a few more pitches, or to hear his thought process about what pitch to throw next - but does he really have time to review his entire adult life between pitches? These flashback sequences are really long and detailed - maybe this is why baseball games run so long these days?
So, even though this pitcher tries to keep his baseball life and his dating life separate, it's all for naught, because the stress of the game and the pain in his shoulder seems to cause stress in his relationship - is it really not possible to keep them separate?
Speaking of separation, I feel I have to treat this like a blending of two genres - the sports film and the romance film. Sure, that combination worked in "Bull Durham", making for a great date night film - something for the men, something for the ladies. But setting one genre in the present and the other in the past makes for an odd blend - like oil and vinegar. If you're quick, you can have a good salad dressing, but invariably the two elements are going to want to spread apart, just because chemically they are very, very different.
NITPICK POINT: Doesn't everyone associated with the game of baseball, know NOT to talk about a potential perfect game? These people are usually superstitious, believing that mentioning it alone is enough to spoit it.
Also starring Kelly Preston (last seen in "Christine"), Jena Malone (last seen in "Sucker Punch"), John C. Reilly (last seen in "The Hours"), Brian Cox (last seen in "Red"), J.K. Simmons (last heard in "Megamind") and Carmine Giovinazzo (now seen on "CSI: NY").
RATING: 5 out of 10 batting helmets
EDIT: I forgot to mention the connection to my other favorite team, the perennial underdog New York Mets. Just a few days before watching this, Johan Santana pitched the first no-hitter in Mets franchise history. (Yes, I realize there is a difference between a no-hitter and a perfect game. Of course, everyone knows that - just give me a minute to look up what the difference is...) Duh, all perfect games are no-hitters, but not all no-hitters are perfect games. Still, congrats to the Mets, maybe I should start watching games again, but who has that kind of time.
Anyway, it's about synchronicity and concordance, and I'll point it out when I see it. More on that later in the chain.
No comments:
Post a Comment