Annie Tisdale, BFI London Film Festival, Bill Spaceman Lee, Brendan Burt, Carson Lund, Chris Goodwin, Cliff Blake, comedy, David Pridemore, drama, Eephus, Ethan Ward, film festivals, Frederick Wiseman, Gregory Falatek, Jack DiFonso, Jeff Saint-Dic, Joe Castiglione, John R. Smith Jr., Keith William Richards, Luis Vicente, Massachusetts, movies, Nate Fisher, New York Film Festival, Ray Hryb, reviews, Russell G. Gannon, Stephen Radochia, Theodore Bouloukos, Timber Holmes
March 18, 2025
by Carla Hay
Directed by Carson Lund
Culture Representation: Taking place in 1994, in Douglas, Massachusetts, the comedy/drama film “Eephus” features a predominantly white group of people (with few African Americans, Latin people and Asians) representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: Amateur baseball teams Adler’s Paint and the Riverdogs face off agant each other in their last game of the season and their last game in a field that will be demolished.
Culture Audience: “Eephus” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of baseball and movies about amateur athletes.
People interested in baseball will find a lot to like about “Eephus,” a leisurely comedy/drama about the last game that an amateur team plays in a soon-to-demolished baseball field. People who don’t like baseball might be bored by the movie’s insider talk. There’s a very specific audience that “Eephus” director Carson Lund wants to appeal to with this movie. “Eephus” is a love letter to that audience, told in a language of baseball that is best understood by people who already know the game and culture of baseball.
Writer/director Richard Linklater’s 1993 movie “Dazed and Confused” became a cult classic for teenage stoner comedies. “Eephus” (written by Lund, Michael Basta and Nate Fisher) might do the same for comedies about amateur baseball players. Both movies make viewers feel like they’re “hanging out” with several people in a clearly defined community, during a period of less than 24 hours. It’s not about having an action-filled plot but about having a storytelling vibe that shows a brief glimpse into the lives of ordinary people seeking social acceptance and pleasure in whatever makes them happy.
“Eephus” had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and made the rounds at other film festivals in 2024, including the New York Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival. The movie was inspired by Lund’s own passion for baseball and his upbringing in Nashua, New Hampshire, where he played baseball in his childhood. “Eephus” is Lund’s feature-film directorial debut.
“Eephus” takes place on a Sunday in October 1994, at Soldiers Field, in suburban Douglas, Massachusetts. The baseball field in the movie was inspired by North Common Baseball Field in Nashua, New Hampshire, but “Eephus” was filmed on location in Douglas. The movie’s title refers to the name of an unnatural curveball pitch that’s intended to confuse the batter because the eephus looks like it’s being pitched in slow motion.
The two teams shown in “Eephus” have been meeting to play games on Sundays at Soldiers Field for years. But the baseball game in this movie is the end of an era. “Eephus” begins with radio announcer Branch Moreland (voiced by Frederick Wiseman, in a cameo role) reporting the news about Soldiers Field being demolished in the near future, so that a new middle school can be built on the site. All of “Eephus” takes place on the field.
The movie begins sometime in the mid-afternoon for a game between Adler’s Paint (the home team whose team colors are red and white) and the Riverdogs (the away team whose team colors are blue and gray). Both teams have players ranging in ages from 30s to 60s. Franny (played by Cliff Blake), the diligent scorekeeper/umpire for the game, is inspired by the real Francis “Frannie” Whitford, a baseball enthusiast from Nashua, who died in 2023, at the age of 67. (“Eephus” has an “in memory of” caption to Whitford in the movie’s end credits.)
The game gets off to a bumpy start because the Riverdogs need nine players to qualify, but a ninth team member named Garrett Furnivall (played by Chris Goodwin) is running late and hasn’t shown up yet. Adler’s Point graciously allows the Riverdogs to participate in the game, on the condition that Garrett needs to be there by the second inning, or else the Riverdogs have to forfeit the game. Garrett (who’s the Riverdogs’ catcher) shows up just in time, so the game continues. But when Garrett goes up to bat, he’s immediately hit by the ball.
Although almost everyone on each team is shown talking, some members of the team have more memorable personalities and more screen time than others. The Adler’s Paint team and the Riverdogs team each has a hot-headed, stubborn player: short-haired and clean-shaven Bobby Crompton (played by Brendan Burt) pitches for Adler’s Paint; long-haired and bearded Rich Cole (played by Ray Hryb) plays left field for the Riverdogs. Graham Morris (played by Stephen Radochia) is Riverdogs’ mild-mannered third baseman, who becomes the target of Rich’s wrath during multiple parts of the game.
Preston Red (played by Jeff Saint-Dic) is the Adler’s Paint friendly third baseman/right fielder, who gets a home run during his first time at bat during the game. Adler’s Paint trivia-spouting pitcher Merritt Nettles (played by “Eephus” co-writer Fisher) is based on real-life Major League Baseball pitcher Zack Greinke. Adler’s Paint outfielder Chuck Poleen (played by Theodore Bouloukos) is the unofficial spokesperson for the team and is usually the peacemaker when conflicts happen between team members.
Other players include scruffy Riverdogs pitcher Troy Carnahan (played by David Pridemore); talkative Adler’s Paint catcher John Faiella (played by John R. Smith Jr.); comedic Adler’s Paint second baseman Tim Bassett (played by Ethan Ward); and jaded Adler’s Paint pitcher Ed Mortanian (played by Keith William Richards), who is usually benched and has to observe from the sidelines.
This game has very few spectators (less than 10) at any given moment. Most of the spectators are family members or significant others of some of the players. Riverdogs second baseman Bill Belinda (played by Russell G. Gannon) has his wife Linda Belinda (played by Timber Holmes) and their middle-school-aged daughter Julie (played by Annie Callan Tisdale) cheering him on at this game. Before the game begins, Julie sings an off-key version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” to the teams and the sparse crowd.
Two skateboarders named Reggie (played by Gregory Falatek) and Eddie (played by Luis Vicente) yell at the players to be an annoying distraction. One of the skateboarders yells, “How many touchdowns?” Rich becomes infuriated yells back at them to “fuck off.” Rich, who’s the type of person to hold petty grudges, later goes looking for these two troublemakers in the wooded area because he thinks they deserve to be punished for distracting the players during the game.
Also portraying spectators are former Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee (as a character named Lee Henderson) and former Boston Red Sox announcer Joe Castiglione, who has the role of Mr. Mallinari, the owner/operator of a Harry’s Pizza food truck that’s parked near the field. It’s the closest place to buy food during the game, so getting pizza to eat is mentioned several times during the movie. In real life, Lee was known for perfecting the eephus. The “Eephus” character of Lee Henderson is the field’s lawn mower, who suggests that the Riverdogs use the eephus strategy, and then he is unexpectedly pulled into the game for reasons that are shown in the movie.
“Eephus” has a lot of droll commentary for the movie’s comedy. When Bobby tries to steal second base and gets called out, Tim muses out loud: “Is there anything more beautiful than the sun setting on a fat man stealing second base?” A running joke in the movie is bitter Ed complaining to a spectator kid named Jack (played Jack DiFonso), who’s about 9 or 10 years old. When Ed asks Jack if he plays baseball, and Jack says yes, Ed tries to crush the kid’s dreams by giving him this one-word piece of advice: “Don’t.”
The game extends into the night because several extra innings end in a tie. Because the field has no lighting, the players improvise and come up with a way to have lighting on the field. A few of the players have to leave because the game runs so late, but the die-hards stay until the very end. “Eephus” shows how some of the players seem kind of glad that the game has gone on this long, like partygoers who don’t want a farewell party to end.
“Eephus” isn’t overly sentimental, but it does offer some emotionally poignant observations about aging athletes who love playing a sport and struggle with deciding when is the right time to retire from the sport. Because most of the cast members are not professional actors, “Eephus” has a naturalistic tone that might be too casual for some viewers, but the tone perfectly captures the patience required for this baseball game that goes on longer than expected. Simply put: “Eephus” is an admirable cinematic celebration of baseball players whose bodies are no longer in the peak of their youth, but their love of the sport never gets old.
Music Box Films released “Eephus” in select U.S cinemas on March 7, 2025. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on April 15, 2025. “Eephus” will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 24, 2025.