‘Eephus’ Review – Nostalgic Baseball Film Hits A Home Run

Eephus refers to a slow, intricate pitch in baseball designed to catch batters off guard. It is also the title of the film Carson Lund’s debut project. Baseball is deeply ingrained in the tradition of community. Like apple pie, it has spanned generations and is a slice of Americana. Whether watching the professionals or rallying for a local team, baseball epitomizes the nation’s pastime. In Eephus, we watch the game’s effect on two recreational teams as they gather for one final game. Poignant as much as it is funny, the film is more than about baseball; it is about what the game represents and the heart of the community.

Midway through the film, two kids are watching the baseball game unfold. Both appear bored out of their minds. They remark on seeing this group of rag-tag middle-aged men swinging bats and fumbling the ball. “Don’t they have more important things going on?” This observation, in many ways, describes the film’s objective. While the premise involves a group of men playing their favorite pastimes, the bigger story is how baseball, once the great unifier in American culture, is slipping away and becoming a relic of the past.

Eephus is set in a sleepy Massachusetts town. Two recreational teams, The River Dogs and Adler’s Paint, meet for one final game at their favorite field. These middle-aged sportsmen can barely pitch, much less swing a bat with any amount of vigor. The passage of time continues, beckoning these men with increasing awareness. This game is particularly bittersweet, for not only their uncertainty about where they will play next, but their beloved Soldier’s Field will be razed thanks to the county board. In its place, a brand-new school will be on the once-hallowed baseball field.  

The film follows the misadventures on a lazy afternoon in the heart of fall, ideal weather for baseball. Given the autumnal flourishes, it symbolizes the change about to envelop these players’ lives. Eephus works like the deliberately slow-curve ball it is named after; this film slowly takes us through the final innings of these two teams. Further, the movie illustrates the changing times in small towns and American culture. 

While set in the past, the film has a gripping context for the modern day—the arrival of the creeping influence of modern times. The film’s backbone is the abandonment of recreational leagues and the slippage of baseball as a national pastime. Director Carson Lund is aware of these changes and attitudes. As a result, much like the curveball on which this film is named, it weaves in an effective comedy while also being a film that is as much a light tragedy as anything else.

As someone born in the last decade of the 20th century, this film hits a poignant home run. While a deliberate choice to set the movie thirty-plus years in the past, the contemporary influences and effects are relevant. A compelling angle is that neither a conglomerate nor a shopping center is developing the land. The razing is instead for a school. A recurring theme in these types of David and Goliath stories is villainizing the outside forces coming into the town. Making the school the center of development strips away any negative context and reinforces the film’s main point.

Times change. During the film, many players lament that a school will soon replace their prized baseball field. A shift in the town is that baseball is no longer a need or a necessary association for the community. The emphasis on building a state-of-the-art school illustrates the changing mindsets of the locals. Baseball is no longer the connective tissue or a community but merely a snapshot of the past.

The movie works with a large ensemble, further emphasizing the nature of community. No narrative drives the film; instead, there is the collective expression and reaction of each man playing and going out to the ballgame. The film offers some notable cameos for baseball aficionados, including former Red Sox pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee and radio announcer Frederick Wiseman. Lund deserves credit for appreciating the sport and highlighting these legends in a way that adds credibility to the film and the narrative’s overall point. 

Eephus takes place throughout the afternoon. Innings bleed together, and day turns to evening—a final send-off to the game these players love. The film hits home run after home run, playing better than these old players, telling a sentimental and reflective story. As the beercans litter the field and the men all part ways, there is more than a feeling of completion, but indeed, the end of an era. It ends in bittersweet fashion: no grand slam, but a sweet send-off to small towns and a slice of Americana.

Eephus is currently playing in select theaters courtesy of Music Box Films.