Review of The Slugger's Wife (1985) by Ashley C — 15 May 2011

Okay, I gather that the studio took creative control from Ashby sometime in the editing process, but that doesn't seem sufficient to fully explain this train wreck; even if the pieces aren't put together the way they're supposed to be, the whole shouldn't look like it's made from substandard parts.

It's hard to know where to assign blame. Was Ashby not New York enough to get Neil Simon's rhythms? Was Simon not Southern enough to capture Georgia culture? Could the leads just not muster any more enthusiasm or chemistry than what was on display (I can't speak to Michael O'Keefe's other work, but I know I've seen Rebecca DeMornay give more nuanced performances than this). The use of live music to comment on the film's goings-on worked well enough; I was reminded a bit of Altman's "A Perfect Couple," which I enjoyed rather more than this and which used a similar device (the songs in the Altman film were fairly banal originals; here the producers at least licensed existing rock and pop songs, albeit in bland, mid-'80s cover versions).

This was the first unqualified failure I've ever seen with Ashby's name on it. Part of me regrets paying to see it theatrically. The rest of me takes comfort in knowing that at least I didn't suffer alone.