As an imminent construction project looms over their beloved small-town baseball field, a pair of New England Sunday league teams face off for the last time over the course of a day. Tensions flare up and ceremonial laughs are shared as an era of camaraderie and escapism fades into an uncertain future.
With Eephus, Carson Lund offers a film about amateur baseball with an interesting, but poorly exploited, theme. The result is a soulless and tasteless film that disappoints both the film lover and the baseball fan.
The Reality of Baseball Field Destruction
Since the early 2000s, many baseball fields have been destroyed—sometimes to replace them with soccer fields, sometimes to build structures. The idea of the destruction of this field, which is practically a second home for most of these men, is the film’s most interesting point. It is also the least well-utilized. It is mentioned at the beginning. It is referenced a few times. But never do we feel the urgency, the sorrow, or a real desire to save this important place for them.
One wonders why the film begins in an almost dramatic fashion when we hear on the radio that the field will be destroyed to construct a building, as the theme is not directly addressed. Yes, we understand that they are determined to finish this game no matter what, but that’s about it. Furthermore, how is it that an organized, official, scheduled game ends up without umpires for long enough to play half the game and that the lights aren’t turned on to finish the match? In fact, one starts to wonder if this game lasts more than 8 hours, it seems to drag on so much.
That’s Not Baseball
Let’s get to the sports aspect of the film… Honestly, I wonder if the people who made this film have ever played baseball. I understand that these aren’t 20-year-olds playing. But we clearly understand that these men have been playing baseball for a very long time. One might therefore expect a certain level of play and a certain realism in their movements.
Every time we see one of the players sliding into a base, we clearly understand that it’s something he has never done or never knew how to do. My 9-year-old child knows how to slide into bases better than these men who have probably been playing baseball for 20 years.
We could also – and even more so – think about the throws. Every time a player catches a ball and throws it to a base, you tell yourself he hasn’t thrown a baseball often. My girlfriend, who has never really played baseball, throws better than them. I’m not talking about precision or strength. I’m simply talking about the arm or foot movement one makes to be able to throw a ball well. Men who have played for several years should know how to throw a ball. From a baseball standpoint, nothing works in this film. The only positive point is seeing Bill Lee, who tosses out two or three sentences and a ball.
A little more…
I don’t understand how one can end up producing such a film. It’s not really a sports film, nor a drama, nor a comedy, but rather a poorly assembled mix of all three at once.
The idea that the entirety of the film takes place during this ultimate game is interesting. We see the guys talking about everything and nothing. That’s okay too. But at times, it seems like these men don’t really know each other. However, we are led to believe that most of them have been playing together for a while. Shouldn’t there already be a sense of camaraderie? We don’t feel it.
Ultimately, skip this one. If you are a movie lover, there is much better out there. And if you are a real baseball fan, I invite you to visit Mon Baseball. They talk about baseball there. Real baseball from here! And if you want to watch baseball videos, it’s here.
