If you enter For Love of the Game expecting a classic baseball movie like Bull Durham or Field of Dreams, you're going to be severely disappointed. While For Love of the Game does have a great story of perseverance and overcoming obstacles in one's life, what it mainly is is a love story. When Billy Chapel (Costner) is playing quite possibly his last game in baseball after he was dumped by his girlfriend, Jane (Preston), of five years just hours earlier, he looks back on his life and reflects on all the good times they had and all the mistakes he made.
The way this movie is being advertised, I went in expecting a movie mostly about baseball with romance as a subplot, but I got the direct opposite. For Love of the Game features about 20-30 minutes of actual baseball play while the other hour and a half (give or take) is the story of his love life with Jane.
The movie consists of flashbacks that Billy has between innings and while on the mound. While flashing back, we see him just looking off into space, courtesy of FOX TV (along with a major product placement of Adidas, this movie was more of an ad than anything else). The romance between Billy and Jane is shown quite well through the flashbacks and the inclusion of Jane's daughter is also handled well.
Overall, For Love of the Game was a pretty good movie if you are expecting a romance, but since I was expecting a good, moving baseball game, For Love of the Game was a major disappointment.
Synopsis from Official Website:
Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) is forced to re-examine his priorities in life when he is confronted with unexpected circumstances—not only is he being traded after 20 years as the heart and soul of the Detroit Tigers, but Jane Aubrey (Kelly Preston), the love of his life, is leaving him.
Surrounded by a stadium full of fans, he now stands alone on the pitcher's mound in the midst of one of the best games of his career, re-evaluating the direction his life has taken. Aware that the stakes in his life have increased dramatically, the veteran ballplayer realizes that he has some pretty serious decisions to make decisions which will not only determine his future as an athlete, but as a man.
