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Kevin Costner, Kelly Preston, John C. Reilly, Jena Malone, Brian Cox ... see more see more... , J.K. Simmons , Vin Scully , Steve Lyons , Carmine Giovinazzo , Bill E. Rogers , Hugh Ross

Based on the novel by Michael Shaara, For Love of the Game brought Kevin Costner back to the world of baseball after his successes with Bull Durham (1988) and Field of Dreams (1989). Billy Chapel (Kev... read more read more...in Costner) is a star pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, standing on the mound at Yankee Stadium and throwing what is shaping up to be a perfect game with the help of his best friend and catcher, Gus Osinski (John C. Reilly). 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 (Kelly Preston) is planning to leave him. For Love of the Game represents a change of pace for director Sam Raimi, best-known for the Evil Dead trilogy and the acclaimed suspense drama A Simple Plan (1998) (although Raimi, a baseball fan born in Michigan, doubtless enjoyed making a film featuring the Detroit Tigers). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

73% liked it

42,065 ratings

Critics

54% liked it

76 critics

PG-13, 2 hr. 18 min.

Directed by: Sam Raimi

Release Date: September 17, 1999

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DVD Release Date: August 15, 2000

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Stats: 1,591 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,591)

  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    November 26, 2011
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Billy Chapel must choose between the woman he loves and the game he lives for.

    Saw it again! Absolutely love this movie. Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston dazzle completely. The story is quite good and entertaining. Sports movies like this one I could watch every day.

    Baseball g... read morereat Billy Chapel, 40, wants nothing more than to reconnect with his one-time lover, Jane Aubrey. On the morning he's to pitch the last game of the season, she tells him she's leaving that evening for a job in London; he also learns that the Detroit Tigers' new owners plan to trade him. As he pitches that night, he must decide whether to accept the trade or quit the game he loves, and between innings, he recalls meeting Jane, their first date, happy times, miscommunication, and what may be a final break. Meanwhile, with Vin Scully announcing, one Yankee batter after another fails to reach first base. Can Billy pitch a perfect game, and if so, what does it matter if he loses Jane?
  • stormyweather980
    September 10, 2009
    stormyweather980
    Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) is an aging major league pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. Billy does everything he can to be the best at the only thing he really cares about....baseball. However, Billy lucks up and finds a great woman named Jane (Kelly Preston). Will Billy find someo... read morene that he really really cares a lot about with Jane, or will America's favorite pastime, baseball, still be the only thing that Billy Chapel will fight for? I recommend watching the movie to find out.
    "Field of Dreams" is one of my favorite movies of all time. I know that just about everybody's question will be "Is For Love of the Game as great as Field of Dreams?" after they see that this is a baseball movie and that Kevin Costner is the movie's main star. In my opinion, they're both great movies and they're two of the best sports movies ever made, but I didn't think that "For Love of the Game" is quite as good as "Field of Dreams" is. This movie has its spectacular times such as when Billy is giving it all he's got to try and get a perfect game. The love interest between Billy and Jane is also interesting and well done. I think the only reason that I didn't think it was as good as "Field of Dreams" is because "Field of Dreams" was VERY original and it was unbelievably captivating. Whereas, "For Love of the Game" is a great movie, but it's not as original and not as captivating as "Field of Dreams."

    If you like great sports or baseball movies, and especially if you liked "Field of Dreams," I recommend getting "For Love of the Game." NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2001. I was one of the thousands that were hyped to see this to see if it would be as good as "Field of Dreams", but no, not even in the same ballpark, or league.
  • superclerk25
    September 7, 2007
    superclerk25
    A good sports movie but it's more of a drama about a guy that is nearing the end of his career. Costner plays the role well and the rest of the cast works around his character nicely.
  • sanjurosamurai
    January 22, 2007
    sanjurosamurai
    great flick, i love that kelly preston
  • dreamfaeries
    November 7, 2006
    dreamfaeries
    It was okay.
  • Tss807
    April 22, 2011
    Tss807
    On the surface, this movie is a cheesy romance flick, but what makes it unique is it's backdrop. An aging pitcher, at the end of his career, looks back on how it all started, while in the middle of pitching what could be his final game. Along with the flashbacks of his baseball m... read moreemories, come flashbacks of his romance, which are long and lame. The baseball part of it is what attracted me and is great. If this was strictly a sports movie, it would be 5 stars. The story of his career is much stronger than several other films dedicated to just the game. With this film you have to take the good with the bad. At times it seems like two entirely different movies and it really takes away from what is otherwise a great film.
  • jasontam1988
    October 31, 2010
    jasontam1988
    I thought this beat the snot out of Field of Dreams as a sports movie. It's real baseball and not ghosts walking out of a corn field to play ball. But I loved the character development throughout the nine innings of ball and the fact that this wasn't just a herculean effort but a... read more guy at the end of his rope, putting everything down on the table and then trusting in the guys to carry him when he can't any farther.
  • EbertsLittleApprentice
    September 23, 2009
    EbertsLittleApprentice
    I rather enjoyed this Baseball Flick, although it felt like a Baseball Melo-Drama or Dramedy, yet It still has the right stuff, to keep you intuned untill the very last pitch.
  • cacutshaw
    March 16, 2008
    cacutshaw
    Boring as hell director for hire work from Raimi. I'm sure Costner wanted to hire a director who was easy to push around, and Raimi, who was so seeking approval in Hollywood, served that purpose perfectly. Heck, when this came out he all but called his fans idiots in an Enterta... read moreinment Weekly article. I'm certain Raimi can never make a movie worse than this one.
  • toejambaseball24
    July 30, 2007
    toejambaseball24
    I wish that there was more baseball and less cheesy love story, although I liked how the baseball scenes were done. Oh, and Kelly Preston is very nice to look at.

View All For Love of the Game Reviews

Critic Reviews

Richard Corliss
March 25, 2011
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

A perfect game in Yankee Stadium is no big deal these days; two have been pitched in the past 16 months. But a good baseball movie, that's hard. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
March 25, 2011
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

For the first 100 minutes or so I found this hokey but serviceable; after that my watch became more meaningful than anything I could locate on-screen. Full Review

Roger Ebert
March 22, 2011
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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. Full Review

Robert Koehler
June 17, 2008
Robert Koehler, Variety

Costner is as uneven as the storytelling itself, stone cold at moments, shimmeringly real in others. Full Review

Bob Longino
February 21, 2004
Bob Longino, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

At two hours-plus, it doesn't just seem long, it sometimes feels like a double rain delay. Full Review

Kenneth Turan
February 14, 2001
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Those who have even a small soft spot for baseball's soothing rhythms will be hard-pressed to resist it. Full Review

J. Hoberman
January 1, 2000
J. Hoberman, Village Voice

For Love of the Gameis designed to put a baseball-sized lump in your throat. Well before that, however, you may feel like putting a lump on Kevin Costner's head. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

The director especially deserves credit for the verisimilitude of the baseball sequences. Full Review

Peter Rainer
January 1, 2000
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

The film comes across like the un-Bull Durham: Every woozy cliché that Shelton and Costner refrained from has been given pride of place here. Full Review

Andrew O'Hehir
January 1, 2000
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

OK, Sam, maybe you believed you had to sell your soul to Hollywood. But did you have to sell it this cheap? Full Review

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    • Billy Chapel: [to himself, pitching to a Yankee batter] Sam Tuttle. I can't think of a better reason not to be a Yankee.
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For Love of the Game Trivia

  • WHAT MOVIE DID KEVIN COSTNER PLAY THE LEGENDARY BILLY CHAPEL?  Answer »
  • A washed up pitcher flashes through his career. Starring Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston.  Answer »
  • She was the girlfriend to a "Twin" loved and hated Jerry Maquire and starred with Kevin Costner in the movie For Love of the Game.  Answer »
  • what movie did kevin costner play a baseball player who finished his career with a perfect game?  Answer »
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