In general, I find sports movies to be boring. It’s not because I don’t like sports, but mostly because the stories that go with them are empty. “Touble With The Curve” may be an exception to my distaste.
I was never a huge Clint Eastwood fan. I know he’s one of the best, but I never really found a movie of his that I just fell in love with. Eastwood as the seemingly washed up Atlanta Braves scout, Gus, and Amy Adams as his estranged daughter, Mickey, were an interesting match that turned out very well. I was worried that Eastwood’s character would overshadow Adams, but they really carried this movie together and all of their scenes were great to watch. Justin Timberlake was just kind of like the side show. He appeared as the comic relief every now and then but still seemed to be playing a variation of himself (see “Friends with Benefits” and “The Social Network”). The scenes between Timberlake and Adams seemed awkward and I found myself not really caring what happened with their relationship in the end. They also just looked a little awkward together. The rest of the roles were relatively small in comparison to those two and a half, but John Goodman and Matthew Lillard also did a great job with what they were given. Eastwood’s son also makes a quick appearance!
There were some definite turns in the plot, but nothing too unpredictable. The movie was slow to get moving at the beginning but it allowed for character traits to become well established for the audience. The tone of the movie was set right off the bat (pun intended) and maintained very well throughout. There are a few awkward attempts at baseball talk which is actually unnecessary to understand until the end. The ending was also perfect however cliché it may have been. I think people who liked “The Blind Side” would enjoy this movie. There’s a strange flashback that Eastwood’s character continually has that eventually gets explained, but doesn’t make any sense until then.
Overall I give this movie 8 out of 10. I really enjoyed it and really related to the movie being based in the Southeast with the Atlanta Braves being singled out since I’m from Atlanta and have always been a Braves fan (and Chipper Jones fan for that matter). A great baseball movie with a great story!
Allison
KAD Movie Reviews 