Meet Gus (Clint Eastwood). He's a baseball scout for the Atlanta Braves and a damn good one. He's been around awhile. Actually, according to some of the Braves' brass, he's been around a little too long. They fear that he's lost his touch. What does Gus think? He wouldn't admit it, but he knows two things. One, yeah...he's slipped a bit of late. His vision isn't what it used to be. In fact, his glaucoma causes more than a few problems for ole Gus. Second, Gus still knows this game of baseball better than any amount of data a laptop could spit out. Enter Mickey (Amy Adams). She's Gus' daughter and a high-powered Atlanta attorney; at least she is taking all the right steps to move into a partnership at her firm. That trek takes a detour, however, when family friend Pete (John Goodman) asks a favor. Pete also works for the Braves and he's a big believer in Gus. He also know that Gus has been struggling a bit, so he enlists Mickey to look after him on a big scouting trip that could greatly impact the future of both the Braves organization and Gus' role in it. So, Amy hits the road, much to the shagrin of Gus. Let's just say the two aren't exactly close. After Gus' wife died, he sent Mickey away to boarding school. Gone were the father-daughter road trips. They were replaced with a distant relationship filed far from the close-knit "daddy-daughter" docket. So, here is another chance to bond. This one comes under the guise of caring for your elderly father, but beggers can't be choosers, right? Along the journey, we meet Johnny. He works for the Red Sox and is one of Gus' old signees. Unfortunately, he blew out his arm and never materialized into a prospect, but Johnny is certainly close with Gus and wants to get closer to Gus' daughter. Yadayadayada...Mickey and Gus journey toward finally developing a bond as Gus' career with the Braves comes into stronger focus.
It's good...very good. I'll go with 4.0 Stars here. First, I should say that I'm very picky about my baseball movies. Heck, I'm picky about sports movies in general. They so often lack enough realism within the context of the sport as it meets the big screen, leaving me peeved that the sport has been dissed. That doesn't happen here. Now, keep in mind, we're not talking about the sport being displayed in an in-game setting. Rather, this movie explores the inner-workings of the games that surround the on-the-field action. Even so, those situations are all handled within the scope of reality. Even when a seed is planted that prompts a response of, "..wait a sec, could that really happen?"; you quickly realize that it could, indeed.
Further, I loved these characters. Their situations present real-life dilemmas that are rarely resolved. After all, Gus represents the emotionally constipated male. When his wife passed away, he didn't know how to parent a little girl--at least he didn't think he did. Shipping her off made sense to him, but was devastating to her. In the real world, rarely would characters like this would ever be emotionally open enough to even discuss it. We get a glimpse of that rare resolution through these characters and it was wonderfully meaningful. In other words, we get to the "why's" in their situation, moving past the "what's"--which is where we all need to end up (or would like to end up) in settling those issues of the past.
Finally, the story itself is just plain good. It is a sound plot with interesting, but real-life twists that draw you in and prompt you to really root for the people you know you should be rooting for. The story comes full-circle in a way that you're left feeling like it won't--if realism is to be maintained. Never fear, it all works out effectively and leaves you left with a certain sense of resolution yourself.
Yeah...see this one and see it BIG! Sports movies that present such raw emotion and realism are rarities. Sure, Eastwood is always worth a watch. In this case, he's surrounded by a solid cast and a great story, all of which entertains as much as a walk-off homer.
True...OUT!
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