Neil Simon’s The Slugger’s Wife

Directed by Hal Ashby, Neil Simon’s The Slugger’s Wife follows professional baseball player Darryl Palmer (Michael O’Keefe) as he meets and falls for a beautiful singer named Debby (Rebecca De Mornay) – with the narrative detailing the predictably rocky bent of the couple’s ensuing relationship. There’s little doubt that Neil Simon’s The Slugger’s Wife fares best in its briskly-paced and thoroughly entertaining first act, as Ashby, working from Neil Simon’s screenplay, does a superb job of establishing the affable central characters and their somewhat irresistible initial encounters with one another – with the compulsively watchable vibe heightened by the charming efforts of both O’Keefe and De Mornay. (And it doesn’t hurt, certainly, that Ashby has elicited equally strong work from an agreeably eclectic periphery cast that includes Martin Ritt and Randy Quaid.) It’s disappointing to note, then, that Neil Simon’s The Slugger’s Wife progresses into an increasingly erratic midsection devoted almost entirely to the protagonists’ problems and squabbles, with the hit-and-miss atmosphere exacerbated by a repetitive (and thoroughly tedious) emphasis on Darryl’s continuing efforts at winning back Debby’s affection. (This is even more problematic as it becomes clear that the protagonists, but especially O’Keefe’s figure, become less and less likeable as the picture sluggishly unfolds.) By the time the far-from-enthralling climactic baseball game rolls around, Neil Simon’s The Slugger’s Wife has confirmed its place as a woefully misguided endeavor that squanders an undeniably promising opening stretch.

** out of ****