Trouble with the Curve

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Robert Patrick, Matthew Lillard, Joe Massingill
Directed by: Robert Lorenz
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A baseball scout (Clint Eastwood) is less than pleased when his daughter (Amy Adams) accompanies him on a scouting trip because she's worried about him.

Review:

Tim: At this point, any time you see Clint Eastwood in front of the camera, it feels like an extra bonus. There's no telling when he will retire from acting forever, so it's always enjoyable getting more time with him. I just wish this film had been a little bit better. Eastwood's presence is a welcome one, but this movie needed to be better.

I hate to blame a first time director, but Robert Lorenz is majorly responsible for how this film turned out. The funny thing is that this film has so much going for it. There's so many strengths, so many things to like. Unfortunately, there's a few major flaws that really detract from the overall film. I really wanted to like this movie, but it was disappointing.

The main story is actually pretty good. We have an aging baseball scout, struggling with old age while also trying to do his job. His daughter joins him, much to his chagrin. This sounds like an interesting story, and one that I'd be intrigued to watch. Plus, this is a baseball movie- and those are always fun to watch.

Now, I really like Clint Eastwood, and for the most part, he is pretty good in this role. Unfortunately, the whole Clint-Eastwood-as-the-old-crotchedly-man thing is getting old. I would love to see him play a nice, gentle man. I've seen him in this role too often in recent years, and it just felt tired and played out here. It's one thing if he is saying hilarious/awful things in a movie like Gran Torino, but he just felt toothless in this PG-13 movie. It didn't add much to the story, and yet, we had to suffer through it. Eastwood is good, but his character wasn't great. That hurt the movie a bit.

I really like Amy Adams, and she was quite enjoyable in this film. She was believable as Eastwood's daughter, and the two of them worked well together. They really seemed like father and daughter, and their banter was quite funny. The Eastwood-Adams pairing was quite excellent, and one of the best parts of the entire film.

Justin Timberlake continues to frustrate me by giving good performances over and over. I'm getting it harder to deny the guy is a serious force in Hollywood. I liked his performance here, but I felt like his character wasn't very well developed. He seemed a bit out of place with the rest of the cast. I liked him, but I felt like we needed to spend more time with the character. The supporting cast also featured a strong performance by John Goodman. I really like Goodman, and enjoyed him here. It was also fun seeing Robert Patrick and Matthew Lillard in smaller roles. The whole cast here is quite good.

For much of the movie, I found myself having a pretty good time. Sure, there were obvious flaws, but the movie was working, and I was getting caught up in the baseball aspect. It was pretty fun, and I was liking the movie. Unfortunately, the whole thing falls apart at the end. The film felt at least somewhat believable for most of the run time. The problem is the Hollywood, all-too-convenient, put a bow on everything conclusion. It's just beyond lazy. I suppose there will be spoilers here, so STOP READING if you haven't seen the film. I will try to be vague. There's a slight twist near the end with Adams' character making a find. It was pretty obvious this would happen (the whole film was quite predicable), but it just felt overly forced. It provided the perfect (lazy) way for her to get back into baseball. And then, at the stadium, seeing Justin Timberlake randomly show up- that was the final straw for me. How did he know where they were? Why did he forgive her? It just made no sense. The end of the film is really, really weak.

Trouble with the Curve is a film that does many things right, but is just too flawed to be very good. In the hands of a more experienced director, this could have been a very solid film. Unfortunately, Robert Lorenz was making his directorial debut, and it showed. This isn't the movie you want to see Eastwood in. This was a decent effort, but it desperately needed to be better. And, someone really needed to fix that weak ending.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby