The Slugger's Wife

Given the track records of its writer, Neil Simon, and director, Hal Ashby, THE SLUGGER'S WIFE should at least have been entertaining. It isn't. Instead, it is one of the most disappointing, least credible films about baseball in recent memory. Neither good-natured fantasy (ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD; DAMN YANKEES) nor realistic drama (EIGHT MEN OUT; BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY), THE SLUGGER'S WIFE most nearly approaches the romantic comedy of BULL DURHAM, except that it's neither funny nor romantic, and it certainly isn't believable. Not only are we asked to swallow Michael O'Keefe, who plays Atlanta Brave Darryl Palmer, as a power hitter, but we are also supposed to accept ...