Up for Grabs

Documentary filmmaker Michael Wranovics follows the 20-month legal wrangle between those two San Francisco Giants fans who went to court over the baseball that Barry Bonds hit for his 73rd home run. The film keeps a straight face, letting the story’s hilarious triviality speak for itself, and neither of the litigants comes off that well, though Wranovics cleverly changes our opinions of both as the complicated tale goes on. (The girlfriend of one, perhaps seeing which way the wind was blowing, demanded at the last minute that Wranovics conceal her identity.) Wranovics’ masterstroke is to interview Sal Durante, who, as a teenager, caught Roger Maris’ 61st homer in 1961. Durante wanted only to give the ball to Maris and was thrilled when it brought him $5,000; the comparison is pretty discouraging.