Rating: NR | Runtime: 98 minutes
Release Date: March 7th, 2025 (USA)
Studio: Music Box Films
Director(s): Carson Lund
Writer(s): Michael Basta, Nate Fisher & Carson Lund

I think we could all use some medical work.

It’s the last game at Soldier Field. No. Not that Soldier Field. We’re talking a tiny public baseball diamond amidst forest and soccer fields in suburban Massachusetts—a recreational league destination for kids and beer drinkers alike. The memories and laughter of decades of locals will soon be paved over by a new school that, apparently, won’t need a diamond of its own. So, rather than close the shutters early by driving the extra twenty minutes to an inferior location with a bad septic system or simply retire their teams now, Adler’s Paint and the Riverdogs decide to give this hallowed place the send-off it deserves.

Written by director Carson Lund, Michael Basta, and Nate Fisher, Eephus documents this final game that seems to never want to end. Part of that is because of the fact we’re dealing with aging blue-collar pricks who can barely run the bases when they’re not chirping at each other. The other part is their nostalgic desire to not want to actually say goodbye. And if it was up to the umpire, this game would never have even begun considering the Riverdogs only have eight players at first pitch. But as long as Garrett (Chris Goodwin) arrives before he’s needed on the field (either batting or catching), they’ll be okay.

The result is a low-key affair with small town guys being dudes. Everyone is ragging on Dilberto (David Torres Jr.) because his diet is making him hangry and it’s fun to piss him off even more. Ed (Keith William Richards) and his tough-as-nails demeanor is smack talking the other team and guaranteeing he’ll pitch all nine innings despite giving up an early lead seconds after puffing out his chest. Neither team (even his own, especially Ray Hryb’s Rich) is showing Graham (Stephen Radochia) any love since he’s involved in the demolition. And Troy (David Pridemore) is flapping his arms on the mound like wings, downing a beer every inning in the dugout, and striking everyone out.

Bill (Russell J. Gannon) just wants to make his young kids smile (his is the only family who comes to watch if you’re not counting Conner Marx’s Cooper, who is on his brother Tim’s team despite never getting to play). John (John R. Smith Jnr) seeks the burn in his knees that tells him he won’t be able to walk for a week while also confirming he’s still alive. And the rest of the line-ups consist of young guys having fun, high school players who didn’t make the jump, and men like Bob (Brendan Burt) trying to tell jokes only to be told he’s just being mean. They’re mostly all attempting to tell each other how much they appreciate this time together without actually saying the words.

The game itself becomes secondary to the vibe for everyone but Franny (Cliff Blake). It’s everything to this stalwart. He’s been coming as long as they’ve been playing with his card table and scorebook to follow each pitch and out. Franny is my favorite piece of the whole (and surely Lund’s too considering an “in memory of” credit at the end makes it seem the character was based on someone he knew) because he epitomizes the love of the sport regardless of who’s playing it. These guys aren’t good, but they treat the game with respect. They go hard, refuse to quit (even when it’s too dark to see), and understand the nuance enough to scream at each other when a teammate playing third base coach screws up.

That flavor is where Eephus succeeds whether Franny’s importance to the moment (eventually being recruited to serve as umpire), Howie’s (Lou Basta) tradition of sitting on the bleachers alone and hobbling home to sleep despite a seventh inning tie, and Joe Castiglione’s pizza truck owner Mr. Mallinari lamenting his career path. There’s even an ex-pro leaguer in Bill “The Spaceman” Lee who shows up to give this motley crew “three good outs” when they find themselves in desperate need of a reliever. Pair his earned confidence with Merritt’s (Nate Fisher) unearned talk and you really get a taste of every possible personality you can think of in your own amateur sporting life.

Because, in the end, it’s about that odd dynamic we all fall victim to eventually. Those days after college where the built-in infrastructure that sustains friendships and camaraderie disappears and you discover you must do the work to stay in touch and cultivate new relationships. Like Graham, however, most of us love the idea of brotherhood when it occurs on a schedule and realize we might not need it when maintaining those connections demands real effort. Through all the jabs, honest appreciation, and truncated conversations that never finish because they’ve moved to a different base, the line of dialogue that hits hardest is Graham’s reply to a teammate suggesting he organize a winter reunion over drinks even if they never play together again: “I’ll think on it.”

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Cliff Blake, Tim Taylor, Jeff Saint Dic, and Ethan Ward in EEPHUS; courtesy of Music Box Films.