Eephus Review: This Gem is a Baseball Diamond

Streaming Movie Review - Comedy/Drama - VOD

EEPHUS movie poster.

I am very much the kind of person who lingers at the doorstep or a car window when it’s time to say goodbye, trying to eke out those last few moments together. In his feature debut, Eephus, director Carson Lund captures that feeling of wanting to hold onto something that is ending for just a little bit longer.

When the local baseball diamond, Soldier’s Field, is about to be torn down to construct a new school, two local recreational baseball teams, the River Dogs and Adler’s Paint, gather for one last game. These men, along with local baseball fans, family members, and the occasional interested passer-by, spend the day in the park together. They drink beer, make plans for what they will do after the game, talk about fireworks, and speculate about what they will do when the field is demolished. And, of course, they talk about baseball. About the game itself and also about how it has impacted their lives.

Players from the Riverdogs in EEPHUS. Patrick Garrigan, Chris Goodwin, Peter Minkarah, Stephen Radochia, Ari Brisbon, Ray Hryb, and David Pridemore. Courtesy of Music Box Films.

Lund said that he modeled Eephus on the “hangout film” model, and you can see that. There is an easy manner about the characters in this film. It doesn’t have some of the antics that are often associated with those kinds of movies, but watching this film will leave you feeling like you got to spend a long day eavesdropping on the conversations of a bunch of long-time friends.

Because this movie falls into this style, individual performances are of less consequence than the overall feeling of the ensemble. Franny, a baseball fan who fills in as a referee when the regular ref has to leave, played by Cliff Blake, is one of the few standout characters. This is in no way meant to suggest that the other performances are bad, but each has a moment or two where they are highlighted and then fade back into the group. The way that it mirrors the game of baseball is quite impressive.

One of the other impressive aspects of Eephus is the lighting and sound design. The game starts in the afternoon, with the sun shining brightly on the field, but as it stretches into extra innings, dusk and night fall. As much as the movie is about the passage of time, we feel that underlined through the lighting. The sound also adds to this feeling of nostalgia, as the bulk of the dialogue is accompanied not by a score but by a radio in the background or the sounds of nature all around.

Cliff Blake in EEPHUS. Courtesy of Music Box Films.

Growing up, my family would often pile into the car and head to Pittsburgh to watch the Pirates play. The eephus pitch was made popular by Pirate player Rip Sewell in the 1940s. It is a slow-moving pitch that catches batters off guard. Like the game itself, an eephus is a distraction. The film Eephus isn’t a distraction but a slow-moving story that may catch you off guard. But rather than a strikeout, this is a home run.

This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post no April 12, 2025.