Another summer baseball movie?! That’s what I thought when I first heard about Trouble with the Curve. I was a bit skeptical about this movie until I found out who was the lead in this movie, Clint Eastwood. Playing his daughter and co-star of the movie is the beautiful Amy Adams. (Just to put a little disclaimer in here. I have a crush on Amy Adams.)
What does someone do when they loose something that is a vital part of their job? Trouble with the Curve follows Gus (Eastwood) who is traveling to North Carolina to find the next draft pick for the Atlanta Braves. The only problem Gus has is that his vision is failing and he can’t see across home plate. Concerned about Gus, the head of scouting sends Gus’ daughter Mickey to help.
Eastwood plays the role of Gus spot on. He is this grumpy, stubborn old guy who knows how to do one thing only one way but he does it very well. In a world of baseball scouting where every player is calculated and quantified Gus is the only scout who doesn’t even own a computer. He relies on his eyes and ears to find out if a player is good enough to make in the MLB. Even though he is starting to have vision problems Gus is still trying to scout a potential draft picks for the Braves.
Amy Adams plays Mickey, Gus’ daughter who is a successful Attorney that is about to become a partner at the firm she works at. A concerned head of scouting asks Mickey to go and help out Gus. Turns out that Mickey is a huge baseball fan just like her dad and knows a thing or two about scouting. As a kid Gus was a pretty distant father, he sent Mickey to live with an uncle for a year and then off to boarding school. She is trying to figure out why Gus is so withdrawn to her.
You don’t need to be a baseball fan to watch this movie. Baseball only serves as the backdrop for the story between father and daughter. The most memorable thing about this movie is that interaction between Adams and Eastwood. During the movie I almost forgot that these two weren’t actually father and daughter.
Overall I would recommend that people watch this movie. Some people might say that it’s an anti-Moneyball movie; I would say that these two movies are totally different. Both movies might have baseball in it but one is actually about the game and the other is about a father and daughter who love the game. The only similarities between both movies I can see is that both set the tone perfectly for the respective stories they were trying to tell. If you are looking for a great movie to watch Trouble with the Curve is one to watch.
Oh yes and before I get e-mails about this, Justin Timberlake is in the movie. He does good job with his character but the relationship between Eastwood and Adams totally overshadows his performance.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTHSqutzOcQ&hd=1[/youtube]
