Strike Out

Having read a bio of Hal Ashby, I now check out his films when they're on TV.  Even the allegedly bad ones, like The Slugger's Wife (1985).  It's alleged no more.

The film has a classy pedigree, with not just direction by Ashby, but a script by Neil Simon.  It's also got Ray Stark as producer and Caleb Deschanel as cinematographer.  But it's awful, top to bottom.  It was a major budget film for its day, costing $19 million, but didn't even gross $2 million.

Behind the scenes, I now know things were a mess, with Ashby fighting Stark and Simon (who wouldn't allow his words changed) before having the film taken away.  For that matter, they couldn't attract big names, so ended up with up-and-comers, Michael O'Keefe and Rebecca De Mornay, whose careers probably stalled because of this film.

The plot involves a ballplayer who falls in love at first sight with a singer.  He chases after her and eventually they marry.  As long as she supports him, he plays well, but when they have trouble, it also means he can't hit any more.

Even this short descriptions gives the film too much credit.  At no point does anyone do anything that feels remotely human.  O'Keefe is abrasive when he's supposed to be cute, but at least he has a personality.  De Mornay sings but registers nothing otherwise.

We do get to see an awful lot of musical numbers (to cover up the lack of everything else?).  I don't know if that'd be De Mornay singing, but either way it's bizarre to hear poppy 80s cover versions of "Hungry Heart," "Little Red Corvette," "Hey Hey My My," "Love The One You're With," "Stray Cat Strut," "Summer In The City" and "Love Potion Number Nine."  It makes one long to hear Justine Bateman's interpretation of "Mystery Dance" in Satisfaction (1988).



Even more shocking, there aren't any funny lines.  Neil Simon films, even when they're not great, keep the gags coming.  Apparently, he was all out when he wrote this script.  He wrote it around the time he was divorcing Marsha Mason, so I guess he wasn't feeling funny.

PS  One nice thing--we get to see Mark "The Bird" Fidrych pitch.