With last Sunday’s Dodgers game being the nationally televised ESPN game with a 5 PM (PT) start time, I had some time to kill before the game so I went to see Clint Eastwood’s new movie Trouble with the Curve. Now I have to tell you that I am and always have been a huge Clint Eastwood fan dating back to his old ‘spaghetti westerns’ and Rowdy Yates days on Rawhide. (Do kids today even know what Rawhide is?). In fact, I’m pretty sure that there isn’t a single Clint Eastwood movie that I haven’t seen and I guarantee you that there isn’t a Dirty Harry movie that I haven’t seen at least a dozen times – “Go ahead… make my day.”

First and foremost, I am not a movie critic. In fact, if you are anything like me, I pretty much completely disregard anything that movie critics have to say. How often have you heard or read a negative critique about a movie and then went to see it and absolutely loved it? As far as I’m concerned, movie critics tend to completely ignore the number one reason why people even go to the movies – for pure entertainment, not to see if a movie had a predictable story line or because a certain actor should have done this or could have done that, or other things that we as movie-goers don’t give a damn about when we lay down our ten bucks (or more) to go a movie. Quite frankly, the most critical thing I find about some of these movies are the critics themselves – not that I spend much time reading them anyway.

To be fair, most movie critics (at least those with even an ounce of credibility and common sense) gave Trouble with the Curve a favorable rating; I mean really, what critic would be foolish enough to give any Clint Eastwood movie a poor rating – the guy has won Oscars on both sides of the camera for crying out loud. And though I am not a movie critic (nor did I ever play one on TV), I do know a good movie when I see one, and in my non-movie-critic opinion, Trouble with the Curve is a very enjoyable and entertaining movie.

Gus and Mickey attempt to reconcile past differences in one of the many lump-in-your-throat scenes. (Movie image courtesy of Warner Bros. Movies)

If you are looking for a lot of baseball action, you might be a little disappointed with the movie, but if you happen to be of an older generation or have ever raised a daughter (or son, for that matter), you will greatly appreciate many (if not all) of Eastwood’s elderly nuances (especially the “Don’t laugh. I outlived you, you little bastard” scene early in the movie). But the heart of the movie centers around an old time, old school baseball scout and his life-long struggles with his 33-year-old attorney daughter who, unknowingly to him, paid more attention to the game of baseball as a youngster than he realized – a lot more. (Note: The baseball trivia in the movie is great – and I even got the last one right!).

I don’t want to go into a lot of detail about the movie for fear of that “you ruined it for me” thing, but as a older man (though not quite as old as Eastwood’s character Gus Lobel) and having a daughter (though 27 years old and not 33, as is Amy Adams’ character Mickey – but I’m sure you can see the connection here), I found the movie to be loaded with some emotional moments that I could seriously relate to and even a couple that caused a tear to well up. And though my relationship with my daughter isn’t nearly as dysfunctional as Gus and Mickey’s, like most fathers and daughters we’ve had our moments. And yes, I sent a text to my daughter in New York right after the movie suggesting that she go see it… and that I love her and miss her.

The baseball parts of the movie were, of course, enjoyable for me, especially since I am a huge fan of Minor League Baseball (although it’s actually high school baseball in Trouble with the Curve, as evidenced by the loud ping of aluminum bats). And though I was pretty much forced to become a fan of *Nsync because of the aforementioned daughter of mine, former band member Justin Timberlake did a great job in his role as Johnny “The Flame” Flanagan, a former major league pitcher that Gus had signed years earlier who blew out his arm due to over usage (sound familiar?). Flanagan is now also a baseball scout with aspirations of becoming a broadcaster. The ever-lovable John Goodman also did a great job in his role as Pete Klein, a director of player development and Gus’ long-time friend and boss. Heck, even Eastwood’s real son Scott has a bit part in the movie as Billy Clark, a struggling minor leaguer who Gus also signed.

Johnny “The Flame” Flanagan (Justin Timberlake) and Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood). (Movie image courtesy of Warner Bros. Movies)

I do have to admit that the movie was a little predictable, but it also had a few curves thrown in (ok, you knew at some point I was going to use that cliché), and again without wanting to ruin the plot, let me simply say that it’s never a good idea to screw with the so-called little people of the world – especially peanut vendors.

All in all, I highly recommend Trouble with the Curve, not as a great baseball movie like The Natural or Field of Dreams (or even baseball comedies such as Major League and Fever Pitch), but more as a believable life experience-type movie with a little baseball thrown if.

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best (as one of the more famous movie critics used to say), I would give Trouble with the Curve a 7.5.

It’s a wrap.

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Trouble with the Curve movie trivia:

• Sandra Bullock was originally considered for the part of Mickey but had to decline due to a scheduling conflict.
• Clint Eastwood originally stated that the 2008 film Gran Torino would be his final acting role (although he would continue to direct). Filmmakers got him to change his mind and accept this one.
• This was Eastwood’s first-ever baseball movie.
• Gus Lobel is a scout for the Atlanta Braves in the movie and Johnny Flanagan for the Boston Red Sox.
• During the movie there is talk of Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens throwing a no-hitter which, of course, he never has.