Four time Oscar winner, film icon, and legend – Clint Eastwood makes a return to the screen when we all thought “Gran Torino” was his acting swan song in 2008. Robert Lorenz makes his directing debut of Randy Brown’s first screenplay. Lorenz was a producer with Eastwood on 11 films (including this one), getting two Oscar nods for Best Picture for “Mystic River” and “Letters from Iwo Jima.” He also served as an assistant director to Eastwood on “Mystic River” and 7 of his other films. Being a sort of student of Eastwood’s, Lorenz has constructed a pleasant movie with baseball as the back drop.
It tells the story of an aging baseball scout named Gus (Eastwood) who is losing his sight. Matthew Lillard serves as the villain playing Phillip Sanderson, a young guy after all the old guys’ jobs. Aware of this fact is Gus’s friend and co-worker Pete Klein (John Goodman), who watches out for Gus and makes sure is it still fit for the job. Being at the end of his contract, Gus brings along his daughter Mickey (Amy Adams) for one last recruiting trip in North Carolina. When a scout for another team and former MLB player Gus scouted, Johnny “The Flame” (Justin Timberlake) shows up on the scene – he forms a romance with Mickey.
Eastwood reprises his role as a cranky, old, cigar smoking man who doesn’t take nothing from nobody tremendously, especially with the dramatic overtones. Amy Adams once again shows how great of an actress she is, playing off Eastwood as his tough and smart only child. Timberlake does a good job being charismatic as always and never disappointing. Ed Lauter and Eastwood’s son Scott also make appearances in the film.
This film is almost like the answer to last year’s “Moneyball,” arguing that computers are not the way to find players’ talents. In stead, there is an art form to finding certain and distinct qualities they possess and ultimately choose if they’re worth going to the big leagues. The film comes together very nicely at the end being a sweet movie that’s about way more than just baseball.
“Trouble with the Curve” is now playing in theaters everywhere, having reached the number 3 spot in the box office.
