The Scout

Starring: Albert Brooks, Brendan Fraser, Dianne Wiest, Lane Smith, Michael Rapaport, J.K. Simmons, George Steinbrenner, Tony Bennett
Directed by: Michael Ritchie
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sport
1994

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A major league baseball scout (Albert Brooks) who is banished to Mexico after a series of recruits who flame out before they can ever make it to the big leagues. While there, he stumbles across Steve Nebraska (Brendan Fraser), pretty much the greatest baseball player of all time. He brings him back to the New York Yankees, but Nebraska has mental issues that threaten to end his career before it starts.

Review:

Tim: I'm pretty sure at some point, I've seen this movie. I remember bits and pieces, but not the whole thing. That could be because I never watched it from start to finish, or it could be because it's a mostly forgettable film full of plot holes. I'm not suggesting that this movie is completely devoid of enjoyment- I was mostly entertained while watching it. Sadly, there are too many flaws that just ultimately sink the film.

The biggest problem I had with this movie is that the team Nebraska signs with is the New York Yankees. Ugh. Unfortunately, there are just so many other problems as well. The film takes some huge liberties with reality in the MLB. So much happens in this film that would never happen in real life. Early in the film, Brooks signs a freshman to a big league contract, and immediately afterwards, he's starting in a Yankees game. There's no way this could happen in real life. It's absurd. The film ignores the rules of the draft, farm teams, etc. I could point out dozens of other reality violations, but it would be giving away too much of the film. Let's just say very little is actually based in reality here.

Albert Brooks and Brendan Fraser work fairly well together. There are some entertaining, funny scenes between these two. That's probably the best part of the movie- watching these two actors interact in funny, comical ways. The dialogue is pretty good. This is the film's strongest aspect, and I wish it had been enough to make this a good movie, but it's simply not.

Without getting into the film's conclusion, let's just say it is one of the most absurd, ridiculous, awful conclusions I've seen in a sports movie. Everything just defies logic. The movie completely falls apart, and we're asked to believe events that are simply too preposterous. The ending ruins the movie.

So, while The Scout is a flawed movie, I can't say I completely hated it. There's enough here to at least be passably entertaining for 101 minutes. There's far, far better baseball movies out there, but this one isn't unwatchable.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Natural, Major League, Cobb