Trouble With the Curve (B or 3/4 stars)
Aging Atlanta Braves baseball scout, Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood) is given one last assignment to prove himself to the organization, who views him as unable to adapt to changes in the scouting business in 'Trouble With the Curve' (directed by newcomer Robert Lorenz). His boss & close pal Pete (John Goodman), who does not want to see him fired, asks Gus' estranged daughter Mickey (Amy Adams) to jeopardize her lawyer job for a few days & join her dad on the assignment to rural North Carolina to make sure he's okay. Together, they scout a potential star player, & Mickey starts (reluctantly) taking an active role in her father's work to make up for his failing eye sight, which he has hidden from his colleagues; as it further threatens his job.
Baseball is a large part of this film, but the main drama concerns father & daughter; as Mickey (named after Mantle) has struggled with abandonment issues for most of her young life. When she was 6 yrs. old, her mother died, & Gus handed her over to an aunt to take care of her; relations btwn. father & daughter have been somewhat chilly ever since. Further drama (however light) arises in North Carolina, when Gus reconnects with Johnny (likeable, low-key Justin Timberlake), a rival team's scout who has a friendly history with Gus, & who takes a romantic interest in Mickey. And so, forced to spend time together for the first time in a long time, Gus & Mickey make new discoveries - revealing secrets about their past & present that could potentially change their future.
'Trouble With the Curve' starts slow, has early cornball moments, but lays each dramatic conflict out neatly once Mickey joins Gus in N.C. & attracts the eye of Johnny. These 3 characters make for pleasant screen company. Eastwood does his typical (as of late) growly, cantankerous old man shtick; but hey, it's Clint & he's grumpily charming, here. "Good scouts are the heart of this game," Gus says defiantly at one point. I liked that - that this story chooses to glorify actual human scouts & human connection over office space guys who figure out who to draft based on computer statistics alone.
You know, this movie IS sentimental. I actually found the 1st 45 minutes to be way too formulaic & mushy. I felt like I was watching a Hallmark channel drama. But is the whole of the film satisfying? Yes. Something clicks in during the lengthy midsection of the film & I was completely taken with it. And a fair share of poignant and/or playful scenes starting ringing true. I became invested; and that's thanks mostly to Amy Adams, who always surprises me in big & small ways, who improves the performances of her co-stars, & who elevates nearly every movie she is in. Here, she plays a variation of a type of woman that we all know -- distant, yet yearning for closeness; professional, yet sweet. She's damaged, trying to keep her head above water - even as disappointment after disappointment mounts.
Don't go to 'Trouble With the Curve' expecting heavy doses of authenticity/verisimilitude. The dramatic situations 'feel' like movie situations. The story is as predictable as the day is long. And the overall arching drama is lacking. BUT, I came for the actors, a little baseball, & exited the theater with the harmless, soothing reminder that sometimes, just sometimes, people & life situations can change for the better. I enjoyed that.
Baseball is a large part of this film, but the main drama concerns father & daughter; as Mickey (named after Mantle) has struggled with abandonment issues for most of her young life. When she was 6 yrs. old, her mother died, & Gus handed her over to an aunt to take care of her; relations btwn. father & daughter have been somewhat chilly ever since. Further drama (however light) arises in North Carolina, when Gus reconnects with Johnny (likeable, low-key Justin Timberlake), a rival team's scout who has a friendly history with Gus, & who takes a romantic interest in Mickey. And so, forced to spend time together for the first time in a long time, Gus & Mickey make new discoveries - revealing secrets about their past & present that could potentially change their future.
'Trouble With the Curve' starts slow, has early cornball moments, but lays each dramatic conflict out neatly once Mickey joins Gus in N.C. & attracts the eye of Johnny. These 3 characters make for pleasant screen company. Eastwood does his typical (as of late) growly, cantankerous old man shtick; but hey, it's Clint & he's grumpily charming, here. "Good scouts are the heart of this game," Gus says defiantly at one point. I liked that - that this story chooses to glorify actual human scouts & human connection over office space guys who figure out who to draft based on computer statistics alone.
You know, this movie IS sentimental. I actually found the 1st 45 minutes to be way too formulaic & mushy. I felt like I was watching a Hallmark channel drama. But is the whole of the film satisfying? Yes. Something clicks in during the lengthy midsection of the film & I was completely taken with it. And a fair share of poignant and/or playful scenes starting ringing true. I became invested; and that's thanks mostly to Amy Adams, who always surprises me in big & small ways, who improves the performances of her co-stars, & who elevates nearly every movie she is in. Here, she plays a variation of a type of woman that we all know -- distant, yet yearning for closeness; professional, yet sweet. She's damaged, trying to keep her head above water - even as disappointment after disappointment mounts.
Don't go to 'Trouble With the Curve' expecting heavy doses of authenticity/verisimilitude. The dramatic situations 'feel' like movie situations. The story is as predictable as the day is long. And the overall arching drama is lacking. BUT, I came for the actors, a little baseball, & exited the theater with the harmless, soothing reminder that sometimes, just sometimes, people & life situations can change for the better. I enjoyed that.