Along with writing sports columns here for Arch City, I run and write for www.film-addict.com, a movie site I started with two other movie guys. Sports and film are two of my favorite areas of life. With the release of Million Dollar Arm this weekend, I thought I’d share my review.
Plot-In a last ditch effort to save his career as a sports agent, JB Bernstein concocts a scheme to find baseball’s next great pitcher. Hoping to find a young cricket pitcher he can turn into a major league baseball star, JB travels to India to produce a reality show competition called “Million Dollar Arm.” He discovers Dinesh and Rinku, two 18 year old boys who have no idea about playing baseball, yet have a knack for throwing a fastball. As the boys learn the finer points of baseball – JB, with the help of his charming friend Brenda (Lake Bell) – learns valuable life lessons about teamwork, commitment and what it means to be a family.
My Take-J.B. Bernstein was one of the sports world’s most unlikely pioneers. A desperate agent who turned a couple kids in India who had never picked up a baseball into pitchers in less than a year. A remarkable story gets handled very well here by director Craig Gillespie, screenwriter Tom McCarthy and star Jon Hamm. This movie is a mix of Jerry Maguire, Trouble With the Curve and Slumdog Millionaire. Baseball fans will get the rush of excitement coming from this true story but there is something here for all movie fans.
Part magical, part inspiring and part entertaining, Million Dollar Arm is one of the best films I have seen so far this year and will be a welcome smooth dose of cinema this weekend. This isn’t Oscar worthy material but the execution of the story and treatment of it makes for a highly satisfying experience.
In his first leading role in a wide release film, Hamm is effortlessly convincing and commanding as an agent picking his brain for his last idea and a man who changed lives in a state of desperation. Everybody knows Hamm can bring the swagger and likeability to the small screen, but this movie proves that he has a legit shot at movie stardom if he chooses to hang around in this playground. After solid supporting turns in The Town and Friends With Kids, Hamm isn’t just solid here, but he knows how to play a role straight on and not make the dialogue spill out overly dramatic or try to do too much inside a scene.
Hamm gets fine support from a veteran ensemble cast including the beautiful and talented Lake Bell, Alan Arkin, and Bill Paxton. You may recognize Suraj Sharma from Ang Lee’s Life of Pi and Madhur Mittal from Slumdog Millionaire but the young actors do very well here as the two pitchers at the heart of this tale who participated in a contest and ended up changing their lives forever.
The fact that this story is 100 percent true adds exciting conviction to the action and keeps you enthralled throughout the fast paced 124 minute running time. The movie was shot heavily in India and Gillespie’s camera work and A. R. Rahman’s music provide the film with plenty of color and grace. Rahman’s score was Oscar nominated for Slumdog and here the same chords and strings are used to give the film a charismatic youthful tone.
While the ending is somewhat predictable, the route that is taken to reach that point is very well built and sincere. With this kind of story, the filmmakers and cast just need to deliver a little heart and soul to the project and the rest takes care of itself.
Going into the film and being a big time Hamm fan and a baseball fan, I had to set aside my bias and see if this film worked for all audiences. In the end, the movie went down smooth like a cold summer lager and reminded the film addict in myself that sports movies can be so enjoyable if they follow a simple rule. Have fun, keep things moving and don’t forget about character development. 2014 hasn’t been a strong year for film but when it has produced a pair of expertly crafted sports flicks in Draft Day and Million Dollar Arm.
Take the family to see this film and teach them that nothing in life is impossible and that sometimes, when you help others you end up helping yourself quite a bit as well. Million Dollar Arm doesn’t necessarily hit a home run in every category, but it’s definitely a quality start to the summer movie season.
Rating-4/5
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2-DVD Worthy
3-Worth the Trip
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