Brilliant and touching

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

I've enjoyed a lot of Neil Simon movies, but, alas, this one is a dud.There's nothing to it. A conventional story about a wife who wants to have her own life married to a husband who can't understand that and wants her to be constantly at his side. Nothing original there.But her career, as a singer, comes off as uninteresting.And he really doesn't seem to be that interested in baseball, his career.The plot just meanders on, from one scene to the next. There's no character development, no tension, no interest. It's hard to care about the characters, because they seem very conventional, not real individuals.There's nothing wrong with the acting here. The problem lies with the script, which seems to have been written in an afternoon. There just isn't anything to it.A shame.

You need : At least 1 witty friend (many would be preferable- better able to "enjoy" this sparkling gem), Lots of the alcohol of your choice, non damaging missiles (popcorn, nerf balls,cats)and a DVD of "The Lonely Lady" (with Pia Zadora!) to have a really good time. This movie is so bad, the effort to find something to laugh about is exhausting. Don't get me wrong, the dialogue is lame enough "You'll hit a home run for a pretty girl but not for me." grumps the ball coach, the Music is Bad, (DeMourney cannot sing but at least they had enough integrity to HAVE her sing?)and the acting is Sad (by the end I was Rooting for the breakup)It should have been fun. A Real Mockfest but the level to which you have to go to Believe this plot, is outrageous and insulting and that kills the mood. Maybe I should have made jello shooters.... If you want a good Dose of Pathetic Apathy from Everyone involved(Neil Simon after his breakup with Marsha Mason and DEEEEP into self reflection and a good director who must have been blackmailed into doing this), or need a test to find out How Witty your friend is, this is your gig. If only anyone in this movie had Tried, really Tried to do something with this mess...It had so much potential to be EPIC BAD, instead? Meh.

The premise for this movie wasn't bad: Major leaguer finds love with a rock singer in route to a home run record season. Problem is, the two lead characters, especially the male lead, are totally unsympathetic! The male lead is such a boorish ass that I found myself rooting against him most of the movie. I was hoping Debbie, the female lead, would run off with Randy Quaid! If you have a choice between watching this movie or sliding down a huge cheese grater, well, I might choose the latter. : )

This film advertises itself as a Baseball movie with a Love Story. The film fails at both attempts.The Love story is boring and pointless as the characters simply go through the cliche'd story of falling in love, and then drifting apart.But the real disaster here is the failure as a Baseball story. Somehow, we are supposed to believe that Michael O'Keefe is a credible Baseball Slugger? O'Keefe will forever be known as Danny Noonan from Caddychack. Unfortunately, this role did little to take that typecast off of him.He's less than 200 pounds, with barely any muscle tone on his body, and he supposed to have been inspired by his love for Rebecca De Mornay to hit 62 Home Runs in a Season. The story starts off with the fact that he's a light-weight singles hitter. If you look at the four men in history who have hit over 60 home runs in a season, (Ruth, Maris, McGwire & Sosa) you will see that these men are rather large and muscular. O'keefe is neither.However, the story gets even more ridiculous as O'Keefe nears the record. On the night before the final game, he is sitting on 61 Home runs, which has tied the record. So, what does he do? He goes out to the local dance club (where he first met De Mornay) with his buddies. On his way to the dance floor, one reporter from Sports Illustrated approaches him and asks him a few questions, than wishes him luck.ONE REPORTER!?!?! He's on the verge of breaking the single season home run record, and he's out in a disco, and there's only one reporter asking him questions??? Even non-baseball fans can appreciate the amount of media coverage and fan reaction when guys like Maris, McGwire and Sosa neared the 60 mark. Those men were constantly hounded by fans and the media every night.If you want a decent movie about baseball, that also details the accurate lifestyle of a player about to break the single season, see Billy Crystal's "61*".