Trouble With the Curve - 1 1/2 smiles

As much as I wanted to like “Trouble With the Curve,” starring Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams, it’s just too predictable to recommend. It’s as if screenwriter Randy Brown wrote the script for his senior thesis and then didn’t bother with any revisions to the formulaic story about a grumpy father and adult daughter finding one another during his twilight years. Every line that the story takes is signaled loudly and clearly so there are no surprises when everything you are expecting happens, Some of the baseball material is interesting, but it contradicts the premise of Moneybll, arguing that ‘old time’ baseball scouting is superior to modern technology and the numbers-based approach favored by Billy Beane and his supporters. “Trouble With the Curve” shows how good baseball know-how and dozens of years of experience trumps whatever a computer can spit out. To reinforce this, the chief proponent of the scientific approach is an oily character played by Matthew Lillard.  No subtlety there.

Amy Adams does more with her role than Eastwood does with his, although her character isn’t written with any more depth. She’s a 33-year-old lawyer married to her job. Her long workweeks are about to pay off with a partnership when she gets a call from her father’s boss and best friend, Pete (John Goodman), who’s concerned about his buddy’s health. Pete wants Mickey (Adams) to join her dad on a scouting trip to North Carolina. This would interfere with her partnership drive and she and Gus (Eastwood) aren’t at the best place with their father/daughter relationship, but she agrees nonetheless. Of course, we know where this is going. Mickey will have to make a choice. Any guesses which one she makes? While in North Carolina, Mickey meets Johnny (Justin Timberlake), an ex-player-turned-scout who gradually worms himself into Mickey’s affection. It would have improved the story’s effectiveness if there were more chemistry between these two, but, again, we know where the story is going. Mickey is going to have to make another decision. “Trouble With the Curve” is full of artifice, resulting in a weak movie. Rookie director Robert Lorenz needs to select a stronger script for his next effort. 10/7/12