(2012) 2.5 Perry Seibert Nearly 20 years have passed since Clint Eastwood the actor has been directed by anyone other than Clint Eastwood the filmmaker, so when you see the name Robert Lorenz listed as the director of Trouble With the Curve, there's hope that the "Man With No Name" might try to alter his old habits, or at least focus his acting skills in a way that might surprise us or himself. But it turns out that there wasn't that much risk involved for Eastwood, since Lorenz has been working with the Hollywood legend as an assistant director or producer since The Bridges of Madison County in 1995. Lorenz's by-the-numbers visuals and pacing could easily be mistaken for Eastwood's patented no-frills directorial style. Eastwood plays Gus, a crotchety longtime scout for the Atlanta Braves who doesn't go in for all that newfangled computer nonsense when it comes to picking great players. His refusal to enter the 21st century has him on the outs with an obnoxious, tech-savvy, up-and-coming scout (Matthew Lillard) who has the ear of the team's general manager (Robert Patrick); as a result, the venerable scout's contract might not be renewed. Well into old age, Gus' eyesight is starting to fail, so his old friend and work ally (John Goodman) convinces Gus' daughter Mickey (Amy Adams) to go help her old man when he has to travel to North Carolina to look at a big-hitting high-school senior the team may want to take with their first pick in the upcoming draft. Mickey is a single, work-obsessed lawyer on the verge of making partner at her firm if she can win a big case that's been assigned to her. But her sense of responsibility, along with her nagging desire to find out why her dad left her to be raised by extended family after her mother died, forces her to join Gus. Soon, she's being hit on by another young scout (Justin Timberlake) and trying to pry the truth out of her father. The movie's title comes from something Gus and his daughter, who turns out to know as much about baseball as her old man, discover about the player they're scouting. He can blast fastballs out of the park, but he has a hard time with a breaking ball, and it will only get worse against big-league competition. Sadly, the script by first-time screenwriter Randy Brown is the equivalent of a slow pitch right over the heart of the plate -- the actors can connect with it too easily. The performances are fine, but the screenplay doesn't really work up any interesting drama or conflict until very late in the film, when we finally discover the secret Gus has been hiding from Mickey for decades. Even then, Brown figures out how to tie all of the various subplots together in a neat and tidy little bow before the credits roll. A live baseball game is one of the more relaxing events you can enjoy. There are stretches where you don't need to focus on the action, and instead you can appreciate the patterns mowed into the outfield grass, the endless blue of a clear sky, or the crisp, refreshing bite of a cold beer. Movies, on the other hand, need to absorb us completely. Long stretches of Trouble With the Curve make you wish you had other ways to occupy yourself.

cast-crew for Trouble With the Curve on AllMovie

Trouble With the Curve (2012)

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Trouble With the Curve

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Adult Situations
Profanity
Sexual Situations
Smoking

genres

Drama

sub-genres

category

Feature

directed by

Robert Lorenz

countries

USA

release date

September 21, 2012 (USA)

run time

110 min.

produced by

Malpaso Productions

released by

Warner Bros.

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cast

Clint Eastwood: Gus

Amy Adams: Mickey

Justin Timberlake: Johnny

John Goodman: Pete Klein

Robert Patrick: Vince

Matthew Lillard: Phillip Sanderson

Scott Eastwood: Billy Clark

Joe Massingill: Bo Gentry

Matt Bush: Danny

Chelcie Ross: Smitty

Ray Anthony Thomas: Lucious

Ed Lauter: Max

Clifton Guterman: Neil

Carla Fisher: Law Receptionist

George Wyner: Rosenbloom

Bob Gunton: Watson

Jack Gilpin: Schwartz

Nathan Wright: Drunk Fan

Sam Collins: Kid #1

Chandler George Brown: Kid #2

Louis Fox: Lloyd

Ricky Muse: Jimmy

Tom Dreesen: Rock

Don Young: Regular #1

Leon Lamar: Regular #2

Julia Walters: Young Mickey

Peter Hermann: Greg

Dane Davenport: Waiter #1

Eric Mendenhall: Waiter #2

James Patrick Freetly: Todd

Norma Alvarez: Grace Sanchez

Tyler Silva: Carlos Sanchez

Jay Galloway: Rigo Sanchez

Melissa Lorenz: Mom in Diner

Jack Lorenz: Boy in Diner

Rory Lorenz: Girl in Diner

David Cohen: Announcer #1

Seth Meriwether: Wilson

Kenny Alfonso: Umpire

Josh Warren: Pitcher

Clayton Landey: Manager

Matt R. Brady: Swannanoa

Bart Hansard: Bo's Father

Ryan Patrick Williams: Grizzly Player #1

Xavier Floyd: Grizzly Player 32

Rus Blackwell: Rick

Brian F. Durkin: Matt Nelson

Darren Le Gallo: Nurse

Sammy Blue: Musician

Patricia French: Diner Waitress

Jackie Prucha: Secretary

Rhubarb Jones: Anouncer #2

Scott Estep: Umpire

Tom Nowicki: Red Sox GM

Jason S. Gondek: Red Sox Exec

Mark Thomason: Braves Official

crew

Robert Lorenz: Director, Producer
Clint Eastwood: Producer
Michele Weisler: Producer
Randy Brown: Screenwriter
Tom Stern: Cinematographer
Marco Beltrami: Composer (Music Score)
Gary D. Roach: Editor
Joel Cox: Editor
James Murakami: Production Designer
Patrick Sullivan: Supervising Art Director
Tim Moore: Executive Producer, Unit Production Manager
Deborah Hopper: Costume Designer
Gary Fettis: Set Decorator
David Bernstein: First Assistant Director
Stephen Campanelli: Camera Operator
Geoffrey MiClat: Casting
Walt Martin: Sound Mixer
Alan Robert Murray: Supervising Sound Editor
Bub Asman: Supervising Sound Editor
Carol O'Connell: Department Head Hair
Chris McGeary: Music Editor
Chuck McCourt: Set Dresser
Cindy M. Ichikawa: Art Department Coordinator
Daniel Bennett Foster: Set Dresser
Darin Millett: Visual Effects Producer
Dawn Turner: Hair Styles
Deborah Cha Blevins: Costumes Supervisor
Dominic V. Ruiz: Special Effects Coordinator
F. Hudson Miller: Sound Effects Editor
Gregg Rudloff: Re-Recording Mixer
Holly Hagy: Supervising Production Coordinator
Jason King: Sound Effects Editor
Jay Wejebe: Key Make-up
John Micheletos: Leadman
John Reitz: Re-Recording Mixer
Keith Alan Bernstein: Still Photographer
Lisa Yeiser: Graphic Design
Lonnie Smith: Stunts Coordinator
Lucas Godfrey: Set Dresser
Luisa Abel: Department Head Makeup
Mable Lawson McCrary: Script Supervisor
Margaret Hungerford: Set Dresser
Mark David Katchur: Production Coordinator
Michael Babcock: Sound Effects Editor
Michael Owens: Visual Effects Supervisor
Michelle Vittone-McNeil: Makeup
Mike Sexton: Properties Master
Patricia Dehaney: Department Head Hair
Patrick Johnson: Set Dresser
Patrick Mignano: Location Manager
Paula Case: Second Assistant Director
Pete Anthony: Conductor
Phil Feiner: Visual Effects Supervisor
PJF Productions: Visual Effects
R. Terry Tjermeland: Special Effects Technician
Ryan Riley: Special Effects Foreman
Steven Riley: Special Effects Supervisor
Susan Ransom: Makeup
Tyler Kettenburg: Set Dresser