Eephus
It's the 1990s as two New England recreational baseball teams gather in late October to play the last game at Soldiers Field before a new elementary school will be erected on the site. As Franny (Cliff Blake) sets up to keep score as he has seemingly forever, the team in red representing Adler's Paints notifies the blue Riverdogs that they will have to forfeit the game as they only have eight players present, but agree to start and only forfeit if Garrett (Stephen Radochia) doesn't arrive in time for his turn at bat in "Eephus."
Laura's Review: B+
This thoroughly charming film is a paean to community, male friendship and a way of life slowly being lost, a comedy steeped in nostalgia which sends its players off into the darkness like the ghosts of "Field of Dreams." And while the uninitiated learn that an eephus is a slow overhand pitch that travels in a high arc, a trick toss one player tells us stays in the air so long 'you get bored watching it,' the film really isn't about baseball so much as it uses the sport to exemplify the passing of time, not only via the length of the game but with its long tradition within American culture.
Cowriter (with assistant editor Michael Basta and Nate Fisher)/editor/director Carson Lund, a member of the LA Omnes Films collective of independent filmmakers that includes Tyler Taormina, who he shot both "Ham on Rye" and "Christmas Eve in Miller's Point" for, makes his feature debut with a large ensemble that includes documentarian Frederick Wiseman as the voice of radio broadcaster Branch Moreland, former Red Sox announcer Joe Castiglione as the food truck's Mr. Mallinari and left-handed Red Sox pitcher Bill 'Spaceman' Lee as a mysterious stranger who shows up to pitch a few innings when one team loses theirs. Although you may not learn everyone's name, every player and bystander makes his or her mark, Lund dropping in and out of conversations and action in the dugout, on the field and on the sidelines.
We'll see an outfielder singing softly to himself, stumbling over the words. Two players discuss the town's unique triangular manhole covers. One player gets annoyed with another's risk taking trying to steal bases. Some players are good (one played by Jeff Saint Dic hits a home run!) while others can barely keep their balance (David Pridemore's beer guzzler). The AP's coach, Ed (Keith William Richards) is trundled off by a relative, irate that he isn't at his niece's christening ('I'm never having a niece' notes one of the players). At a certain point, a young girl, Julie (Annie Tisdale) comes out onto the field to sing 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' and the light begins to fade. Old regular, Howie (Lou Basta) decides to go home and Lee (Bill Lee) arrives, promising 'I'll get you three outs.' Players walk into nearby woods to retrieve errant baseballs in order to continue play. Franny is recruited to be the umpire, making calls from behind a fence. As the game wears on, it gets colder and dark, the players pulling up their cars to use headlights to light the field. Eventually they'll all drift away, only a few staying to see the fireworks one has brought to mark the occasion.
We only hear those fireworks as one player watches from the dugout. Sound design includes Mr. Mollinari's loudspeaker announcing his 'famous family recipes,' the low echo of baseball broadcasts of the past, the occasional peal of church bells, vintage restaurant radio ads and music blaring from boomboxes, the score consisting of offbeat percussion and the sound of blowing through hollow pipes. Lund, who shot the film at Soldiers Field in Douglas, Massachusetts, chosen for its vintage look (his brother, Erik, serves as production designer, art director and costume designer), signals each inning's end with a clanging bell and cutaway of the scorecard. Cinematographer Greg Tango establishes mood with shots of autumnal trees waving in the breeze and clouds floating across the sky.
Like Taormina's "Christmas Eve in Miller's Point," Lund's film is a collection of small moments, sights and sounds, a wistful memory of occurrences both separate and shared. For all its humor, it has a haunting quality, a scrapbook rediscovered which evokes both laughter and tears.
Robin's Review: B+
Soldier’s Field, a baseball field in a small Massachusetts town, and playing ground for two rec-ball teams, is about to be plowed under for a new school. It is the last game for the Riverdogs and the Adler’s Paint teams on their turf and they plan to finish the game, darkness be damned, in “Eephus.”
For a guy who does not care for sports – though I do have an affinity for swimming – I really like a good sports movie. Director Carson Lund gives us a good sports movie.
FYI, “eephus” refers to an unconventional baseball pitch of a high-arcing, really slow ball. Here, it is the end of an era with the last game played on their beloved ball field. It is not as much of a story as it is a slice of life of the final day of the field as the two teams, beers at hand, face off in their last game.
The cast of characters ring very true as the two teams meet for the end of an era. They are not a colorful bunch of character, just a group of guys with a mutual passion to play the game. The “story” is, they take the field, trash talk each other, throw back a couple of brews and play the game they love.
Most of the players are a believable bunch of guys, friends, who play ball together. You would not likely recognize any of the players, with one exception: Boston Red Sox pitching legend Bill “Spaceman” Lee makes an appearance as, of all things, a pitcher. Another local legend, documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman lends his voice to the mix, too.
As the day winds down and the light begins to fade, the peripheral characters, like the umpires, coaches and spectators, call it a day and head home. The players, though, refuse to give up and decide to play to the finish. Unfortunately, you need light to play ball but the guys will go to great ends to play to the finish, even forming their cars in a circle to light the field. But, like the ten little Indians, they fade out one by one.
The New England locale strikes a note in the heart of an old Boston boy and memories of playing softball on the company team gives “Eephus” a nostalgic look at a better past.
Music Box Films releases "Eephus" in select theaters on 3/7/25, expanding on 3/14/25.
