‘Eephus' is a good-natured hangout movie about one final ball game at a beloved field
Advertisement
Players from Adler's Paint in "Eephus." From left: Jeff Saint Dic, David Torres Jr., Theodore Bouloukos, Ethan Ward, John R. Smith Jr., and Brendan "Crash" Burt.
Music Box Films
With their diet of multiple movies per day, film festivals can be exhausting. While I trust my reactions to films I either love or hate, it's the movies that lurk on the thin line between a positive and negative review that I always want to revisit when they finally get a general release date.
Such is the case with 'Eephus,' because I honestly couldn't remember anything I actively disliked about the film other than the fact that it felt a bit too dragged out by the end. So, I went to see it again before filing this review. I didn't expect my opinion to change, to be honest; I thought this was going to remain a ★★½ review. But somehow, the movie didn't overstay its welcome this time, and I enjoyed it more.
Lund has crafted a good-natured hangout movie that tells the story of one final game at Soldiers Field, a New Hampshire-set diamond slated for demolition the following day. (The film was shot in Douglas, Mass.) The game lasts into the night, on a field with no lights. We can hardly see what's going on by then, which is kind of funny.
But it shows the commitment of the film's characters, a motley crew of men of varying ages playing on two sponsored teams, Adler's Paint and the Riverdogs. They've convened on Oct. 16 — a Sunday — to play the final game of the final season of an adult competitive league that's been around for quite some time.
Advertisement
Little mini-dramas lazily unfold. One team only has eight players, because one of the guys has something else to do. And it's clear that Father Time has been encroaching on the bodies of the older men. 'The worst part of this sport is the running,' we're told, and though everyone does their best to hustle, it's obvious that their best days are mere memories now. The film has a raggedy pace not unlike the runners who succeed or fail to score.
Still, these guys are here to play, and they take it seriously. They have returned to Soldiers Field every year like the swallows return to Capistrano; it's more by instinct and routine than conscious thought. The film quietly contemplates the minor tragedy of losing such a familiar and comforting location.
There are so many characters here it's hard to keep them straight. I don't think the film expects you too, either. You'll recognize everyone, and there are some standouts like grumpy Adler's Paint coach Ed (Keith William Richards), rival Riverdogs coach Graham (Stephen Radochia), a sincere player named Cooper (Conner Marx), and beer-loving Riverdog Troy (David Pridemore).
Your beloved Red Sox even get a shoutout, represented by Bill 'Spaceman' Lee, a purveyor of the weird, slow pitch that gives the film its title. 'Uncut Gems''s Wayne Diamond also has a cameo.
Cliff Blake in "Eephus."
Music Box Films
Additionally, the voice of documentarian Frederick Wiseman is heard every so often on the soundtrack, and the game itself is scored by actor Cliff Blake, who sits behind what looks like a TV tray of sorts, armed with his book of stats. When I attended the baseball game in Manhattan, I went to Blake to check the score. It was as if I'd walked into the movie.
Advertisement
That's probably the best way to describe 'Eephus' — watching it feels as if you are in the bleachers of Soldiers Field.
★★★
EEPHUS
Written and directed by Carson Lund. Starring Cliff Blake, Conner Marx, Keith William Richards, David Pridemore, Stephen Radochia, Bill 'Spaceman' Lee, Wayne Diamond, Frederick Wiseman. At the Coolidge, Somerville Theatre, Dedham Community Theater. 98 min. Unrated (salty language, as per a baseball game)
Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
'Love Island USA''s Amaya Has Date Night with Bryan and His Family at Boston Red Sox Game amid Relationship Speculation
The couple spent the night with Bryan's family at Fenway ParkNEED TO KNOW Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales both threw out the first pitch and had a splashy date night at Fenway Park on Monday, Aug. 4 The Love Island USA season 7 winners, along with Bryan's family, attended the game and posed on the field at Bryan's hometown stadium The outing came following speculation that the couple had split after leaving the villaAmaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales are still going strong. The Love Island USA season 7 winners had a splashy date night in Bryan's hometown of Boston on Monday, Aug. 4, as they both threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park. The MLB team shared a carousel of sweet photos of the couple from the night, where both Amaya, 25, and Bryan, 28, were smiling from ear to ear and posed with some Red Sox players, including Garrett Crochet and Justin Slaten, before they both threw out a pitch. In one sweet shot from the pitcher's mound, the couple, who were announced as the winners of this summer's season of the Peacock hit series on July 13, shared a kiss. Amaya also posted from earlier in the day with Bryan. Before the Red Sox game, she shared a solo shot of him holding up his drink as she added red hearts around his face and called him "my crush." Bryan's family was also in attendance at the game and spent some quality time with Amaya — including his mom, who didn't meet her in the villa. In a video posted on his Snapchat, Bryan shared footage of himself, Amaya and his family on the field ahead of the Red Sox game against the Kansas City Royals. His dad, who visited him in Fiji ahead of the July 13 finale, was in attendance at the game, as was his mom, who didn't travel to the villa but sent a video message of love, along with several other friends. In the clip, Amaya and Bryan's mom were posing together for a selfie. "We got moms and Amaya over there," Bryan said as he zoomed in on them, and his mom was all smiles. He later posted from the suite where they watched the game and again showed off that his mom and Amaya were spending time together. The family outing comes following fan speculation that the pair had broken up. In the weeks following their exit from the Fiji villa and return to the U.S., rumors ran rampant that the couple were no longer together. Speculation was particularly concentrated on a rumor that Bryan had been unfaithful to Amaya, which gained traction on social media, and while neither Bryan nor Amaya weighed in on it, Bryan's dad made sure to quell the rumors. "Please stop the lies and rumors!!!! That's absolutely not true," he wrote in a comment on a fan page's post speculation about a split that he signed "Bryan's dad," per a post on X. In a second comment, he doubled down, writing that they're still "together and spending time with family and friends." In an Aug. 1 post on Instagram, Bryan shared a clip of himself on FaceTime with Amaya, which also quelled the rumors. "Thank you for the confirmation we all needed," one fan wrote on the post, referring to the breakup rumors. "Breakup allegations over," another wrote. After leaving the villa, the couple said that spending time with each other's families was high on their list of priorities. In a joint interview, Amaya told PEOPLE they were "taking it step by step" after getting back to the U.S., and Bryan said they were going to continue to "prioritize each other" and "keep taking the necessary steps, because we took all the right steps in the villa. Let's keep taking them on the outside world." "I know he definitely needs to visit his family and so do I," Amaya said. "But we're talking about meeting each other's families soon, so after that, we'll plan his New York City trips." She also said that they were "not nervous at all" to start their relationship outside the villa. "I feel like we both feel confident in what we have and we have an open dialogue, healthy communication, so we'll definitely just be communicating to each other throughout this whole journey." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Love Island USA season 7 can be streamed in full on Peacock. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
"I Am In My Late 40s, And I Have Endured This My Entire Life": 11 "Truths" Women Believe Men Need To Hear About Women
If you identify as a man, there may be a few things you didn't learn in school, for a myriad of reasons, when it comes to women. So when we asked the BuzzFeed Community, "Women, what are some things the guys aren't ready to hear about women?" so many women shared their opinions below: 1."Men telling women (or girls) to smile… stop it." —Anonymous, New Hampshire 2."When I am at work, I am getting PAID to be nice to you. I am not interested in you because I smile at you and help you with something. Why do you not understand this?" —ThatOneElizabeth 3."I am in my late 40s, and I have endured this my entire life. It is so frustrating and ridiculous! Women outnumber men in college enrollment and graduation rates, but we are still not fit to be 'knowledgeable' about anything beyond caregiving, teaching, and support roles in business. Fuck that!" —Elsa G 4."If we make more money than you, we don't think you're a loser or any 'less of a man.' But if you are super insecure because we are successful, it's a huge turnoff and red flag." —Anonymous, 38, Italy 5."Porn is not a sexual guidebook. And we can tell when you watch way too much of it." —Miss Andri 6."When some of us were in middle school and in high school, we were taught how to politely reject you so we don't get killed by you. And, even after using those tips, we still got verbally abused. Which happens a lot more often than you think. Believe it or not, it really sucks that we have to see you as a possible danger instead of a protector." —missmissymaria143 7."I shave my face, sideburns, stomach, hands, forearms, feet and toes." —melgirl444 8."Cat👏calling👏is👏awful👏. Also, any overt display of hypermasculinity is so fucking annoying, but men keep doing it without realizing it causes the opposite desired effect (at least in my opinion)." —big-potato 9."We may love reading books and watching movies about bad boy alfa types who don't ask permission (i.e., kissing, touching, or sexual acts) and don't take no for an answer (i.e. stalking and kidnapping), but that is fantasy, and most of us want to keep it fantasy. It's different reading about it from the safety of our homes when we have a way out vs living it and being terrified with no way out. Also, if you have to force or coerce anyone into dating or being physical with you, the problem is you, not them. You are not God's gift to women." —Anonymous 10."Men CANNOT experience the same things as women. Yes, maybe an ex had a miscarriage and you were upset, but YOU did not experience the mental and physical pain of being a woman having the miscarriage. In my experience, I often hear 'I've been through that too' when, in fact, there is no humanly way possible for a man to understand some of the things that our bodies do that affect us mentally and physically at the same time." —Anonymous 11."Guys, she isn't picking where to eat or what to do because she's being 'difficult.' She's exhausted from having to make decisions ALL. DAMN. DAY. Because on top of everything you've had to do during the day, she also has to decide if her tone in the email is going to get her called a bitch, if where she parks is safe, does she smile at the stranger or is that going to get her harassed, is it a coincidence she's ran into the same guy in the grocery store multiple times or is he following her. It is constant and draining, and all she wants is not to have to make one more choice. Give her options or just make the actual plans. Take one little bit of emotional labor off her shoulders, PLEASE!" —Anonymous, 34, Colorado Women, are there some things guys aren't ready to hear about women? Tell us what it is and why in the comments or in the Google Form below: Solve the daily Crossword
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Boston Globe
Meet the Massachusetts man (and lifelong Red Sox fan) who designs and delivers the team's beloved T-shirts
Consider it a physical manifestation of the camaraderie and vibes that have developed over the summer. Advertisement 'I feel like we lead the league in T-shirts right now,' said hitting coach Peter Fatse, something of a ringleader in this accidental trend. 'It's one of those morale boosters over the course of a season. It's a long year. When you have things like that that rejuvenate the guys, they see something new in their locker, it's fun.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Jarren Duran said: 'Those kinds of T-shirts mean something happened to have us make those T-shirts. So we all know the joke behind it or the story behind it.' Related : And Trevor Story: 'It's kind of our brand of baseball. We're telling a little story through the shirts. Paul does an amazing job of making that come to life. It's something cool that I think a lot of guys love to rep, and we appreciate it.' Advertisement The origin centers around Procopio and Fatse. Procopio, 36, long has known the Fatse family through Western Mass. baseball circles, and he has known Peter specifically for more than a decade, since he helped outfit Fatse's teams at his former local training facility with uniforms and gear. During spring training, Fatse reached out to Procopio, who last year turned his screen printing/embroidery company, Primo Products, into a full-time gig. Fatse sought stuff displaying his '9-on-1' philosophy — nine batters against one pitcher — for his hitters, and Procopio came through. That was the first of at least eight shirts in the Procopio/Red Sox partnership. Pitching coach Andrew Bailey has requested a couple, including a Crochet-inspired iteration that says 'Beast,' which is the ace's catch-all nickname for his teammates (and, in turn, their fitting nickname for him). Justin Willard, director of pitching, had Procopio fashion shirts that read 'Fuego' on the front and feature Pedro Martinez on the back, a trophy of sorts for any pitcher in the organization who reaches 100 miles per hour with his fastball. 'I've just become known,' Procopio said in a telephone interview, 'as Pete's guy.' In early July, when Gonzalez described himself — fairly — as feeling 'tremendously locked in' at the plate, Story loved it. He decided that such a sentiment needed to be commemorated. Working with Procopio to turn it into a shirt, they settled on Miami Vice-style pink and blue lettering (a nod to Gonzalez's hometown) for that quote across the front, plus Gonzalez's No. 23 on the back. Romy Gonzalez said the "Tremendously Locked In" T-shirt was the first time he had been celebrated in a clubhouse like that. Courtesy/Paul Procopio Gonzalez, a role player enjoying by far the best of his five seasons in the majors, said it was the first time he was celebrated in such a way by his club. Advertisement 'There's different ways to build up your teammates. That's a way that I've found,' Story said. 'It's just a way to make him feel good, but also it's part of our team. It's a little bit of a mantra, too. It came about organically and that's the best part about it.' Gonzalez said: 'I thought it was sick.' A few weeks later, Procopio hit Fatse with a question: 'What is going on in the clubhouse right now?' What was buzzy? What would make for a fun shirt? 'Everybody,' Fatse told him, 'is saying, 'Turbulence.' ' The team's plane ride from Boston to Minneapolis on July 27 was fraught. Bad weather forced the team to land in Detroit. Many players got sick. The effects impacted them and others into That infamous flight, harrowing in the moment, has become hilarious in hindsight. 'One of the funniest things is Greg Weissert . . . on the crazy plane ride,' Duran said. 'We were about to land and then we had to re-circle around for like 30 more minutes. He just kept talking about, 'I love the grind. Keep giving it to me. When you think you're done grinding, you're still grinding.' That kind of stuff is funny. People are dying, people are throwing up, people are running to the bathroom. He's over there just absolutely loving every bit of the chaos. 'Little stories like that is what makes teams really close. Even though we were on a crazy plane ride, we have some stuff to laugh about.' Related : Then it became a rallying cry — and an on-base celebration, players extending their arms like plane wings and pretending to teeter after a hit. Advertisement Procopio got to work. His final design featured 'Turbulence' written across the front, an outline on each side of a player doing the arms-out call to the dugout, and, naturally, the head of Wally the Green Monster. About 48 hours later, he made the two-hour drive to Fenway Park to hand-deliver the fresh product. 'I don't know how he does it, but he gets it within two days to us,' Fatse said. 'Boom.' For Procopio — who normally works with youth, high school or college teams, and a wide range of other companies who need branded apparel — this has been good business, sure. But it also is sort of unreal. He always has been a big baseball guy, playing at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams and helping coach his alma mater, Taconic High in Pittsfield, to three state titles. He was in high school for the 2004 and 2007 championships. And now the Red Sox are wearing his stuff? Every day? It is so popular among players that on Thursday he sent out another batch of Beast shirts for the hitters and Turbulence shirts for the pitchers. Each group was envious of the other. 'When was the last time you saw Jarren Duran in just a classic Red Sox baseball shirt? He's always wearing different crazy things,' Procopio said. '[In conversation with Fatse] I'm like, dude, Trevor Story makes like $20 million a year. There's no way he's like, 'Man, I love this Turbulence shirt,' right? The experience I've had is holy [expletive], he is right, these guys are wearing it everywhere. It's all they wear.' Advertisement There may well be more to come. Procopio didn't want to spoil too much — or jinx it. 'If the Sox make the playoffs,' he said, 'there are some things in the works.' Tim Healey can be reached at
