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Eephus

Eephus

  • Status: Released
  • 01-01-2025
  • Runtime: 98 min
  • Score: 6.5
  • Vote count: 16

As an imminent construction project looms over their beloved small-town baseball field, a pair of New England rec-league teams face off for the last time. Tensions flare up and ceremonial laughs are shared as an era of camaraderie and escapism fades into an uncertain future.

Cliff Blake

Franny

Keith William Richards

Ed Mortanian

Bill Lee

Lee

Keith Poulson

Derek DiCapua

Conner Marx

Cooper Bassett

Theodore Bouloukos

Chuck Poleen

Wayne Diamond

Al

Stephen Radochia

Graham Morris

David Pridemore

Troy Carnahan

John R. Smith Jnr.

John Faiella

Paul Kandarian

Clark

Chris Goodwin

Garrett Furnivall

Ray Hryb

Rich Cole

Pete Minkarah

Glen Murray

Gregory Falatek

Reggie

David Torres Jr.

Dilberto D Nunez

Annie Tisdale

Julie

Joe Penczak

Louis

Russell J. Gannon

Bill Belinda

Jeff Saint-Dic

Preston Red

Nate Fisher

Merritt Nettles

Isabelle Charlot

Melanie

Joe Castiglione

Mr. Mallinari

Brendan Burt

Bobby Crompton

Ethan Ward

Tim Bassett

Patrick Garrigan

Logan Evans

Timothy Taylor

Kevin Santucci

Johnny Tirado

Adrian Costa

Ari Brisbon

Wilton Palacios

Stephen Gauthier

Chucky

Timber Holmes

Linda

Robert Josey

Bob

Peter Lund

Todd

Lou Basta

Howie

David Metskhvarishvili

Joe

Luis Vicente

Eddie

Amber Frost

Tire Chain Spokesperson

Adam DePalma

Smoking Man

Jason Barbieri

Shadowboxer

David Sabot

Pizza Boy

Frederick Wiseman

Branch Moreland (voice)

Will Sennett

Don Fiore (voice)

Will Menaker

Robert Brendan (voice)

Brent Marchant

This is bound to be an unpopular opinion, but, to me, fewer things in life are more boring than baseball – except perhaps for movies about baseball (with a few exceptions like “The Natural” (1984), “A League of Their Own” (1992) and “42” (2013)). And that foregoing assessment, in my view, is more than applicable to this positively dreadful debut feature from writer-director Carson Lund. This alleged comedy tells the story of two men’s recreational baseball teams in a small Massachusetts town who embark on playing the last-ever game to be held at a local ballpark that’s about to be torn down to make room for construction of a new school. The implausibly overlong matchup, brought about by a series of completely unfunny incidents that stretch out the length of the game, goes on from midday through the afternoon and into the crisp, chilly fall evening wherein the players try to continue competing in the dark (gee, now there’s a load of laughs for you). There are also numerous talky, uninteresting conversations among the players in the dugout, along with views from the sidelines, where a handful of passing spectators offer their observations about what’s transpiring on the field. These sequences do little to add to the film and serve only to pad an already-tedious narrative. The sad part in all this is that the premise truly had the potential to make for a fun and heartwarming picture. Unfortunately, though, the absolutely flat dialogue, lame plot elements and undercooked character development prevent that from materializing. While this offering admittedly features some impressive cinematography and a well-conceived production design, there’s not much else to commend here. That is, of course, unless one compliments the creators on their fitting choice of title for the film: An “eephus,” for those who aren’t aware of what it is, is the name for an obscure form of curveball, one that’s thrown deceptively slowly, almost to the point where it lulls the batter into a sense of mesmerized complacency, as if to put the hitter to sleep. And, on that score, the filmmaker has truly succeeded in crafting a picture that lives up to its namesake where audiences are concerned. All I can say is that I’m truly glad that I didn’t pay box office ticket prices to see this one.