Sunday, May 18, 2014

Review: Million Dollar Arm

96. Million Dollar Arm
It should be pretty easy, even without seeing this movie, to tell whether or not it is for you. It fits comfortably into the Inspirational Disney Sports Movie genre, in some cases for better, in others for worse.

The story follows sports agent J.B. Bernstein (Jon Hamm) who, in a last ditch effort to save his agency from going under, attempts to find the first Major League Baseball player from India. After going to India and holding a competition to find his two prospects, he brings them back to Los Angeles, where their training begins. The film does not shy away from any opportunity to tug at the audience's heartstrings. Sometimes it works. Other moments are so transparent you can almost see the filmmakers working behind the scenes, trying to wring out every last ounce of tension or emotion they can.

The moments with Hamm's character work better than any others in the film. He is given the most to work with by the script, and does a good job portraying the archetype of the selfish yet ultimately likable man who learns how to be a better person. Yes, his character arc is cliched, and you know where it is going from the moment the film begins, but he plays it well. The deeper moments involving his character feel earned and are effective. The Indian characters don't fare quite as well. They have their moments, but the film goes back and forth a bit too much between treating them as real characters and targets of amusement. I understand the film's need to explore the "fish out of water" concept, but they take things a bit too over the top once or twice, making it harder to connect when they try to involve these characters in the bigger emotional moments. It doesn't torpedo the film by any means, and many of those moments still work, but some of them could have been a bit more effective.

If you've seen any of Disney's past sports films "based on a true story", you know about what to expect here. This film wasn't quite as good as some others in its genre, but it checks all the right boxes and does manage to satisfy.

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