Trouble with the Curve has both the advantage and disadvantage of having a great A-list cast. The advantage is that it will draw people to the theater to see the film - you've got Clint Eastwood, Justin Timberlake, Amy Adams. However, the disadvantage is that the trailers made the film seem better than it actually was, even though the story it tells is an interesting one.
The film is about family issues and learning to open up, though it masquerades as a baseball movie. Gus (Eastwood) has been scouting for the Atlanta Braves for almost his whole life, and he lives for his job. His eyes are starting to give out on him, which makes seeing players difficult, but he's stubborn and refuses to see an eye specialist. His daughter, Mickey (Adams), is a lawyer who is angling to make partner at her firm this year. Pete (John Goodman), one of Gus's good friends and Braves coworker, hears about Gus's eye problems and pleads with Mickey to accompany Gus to his annual trip to the Carolinas to scout out high school players, so that she can make sure he's okay and also maybe help him with his scouting. While there, they run in to Johnny (Timberlake), an old recruit of Gus's who blew out his arm and now is a recruiter for the Red Sox. Johnny and Mickey start up a tentative relationship, but at the same time Mickey has to somehow repair her relationship with her father, which has always been rocky.
I thought the chemistry between Amy Adams and JT was actually very good, which surprised me because I wasn't sure I would buy into their romance at first; she is seven years older than him, even though he looks older than 31 and she looks younger than 38. Adams and Eastwood spent almost the entire movie bickering (as JT's character says in one scene: "You guys could give the Kardashians a run for their money!"), and I didn't think their father-daughter chemistry was great. I found myself a little bored throughout the film as well, even though the story moved along at the same pace throughout, and this might be because I'm not a huge baseball fan; however, the pace could have been picked up at times.
Maybe see this movie. I almost feel that it's geared towards the older demographic, since my parents both really liked the film, even though the movie could be aiming for all age groups. The scenes with Adams and JT were cute, too, but at times I ended up forgetting he was still around, since the scenes with the two of them were infrequent. Trouble with the Curve is definitely not the worst movie you could choose to see at the theater, but it's not one I would pay to see; you could always check it out at your local Redbox or video store once it's out on DVD, and you wouldn't be missing much.
Trouble with the Curve is in theaters today, September 21st, and is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 100 minutes. 3 stars out of 5.
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Liz Parker is a University of Michigan graduate with a degree in Creative Writing and Literature, and she loves going to the movies. Visit her at her movie blog Yes/No Films
