Review of Million Dollar Arm (2014) by Jeff B — 18 May 2014

Conditioned to be feel-good sports flick using a rigorous but proven workout regimen, the predictable but likeable Million Dollar Arm nonetheless mostly hits the sweet spot. Just like the '61 Yankees, Disney has an amazing and track record churning out star-studded, audience-baiting, heart-tugging sports dramas. Million Dollar Arm easily joins the ranks of 2000's Remember the Titans, 2002's The Rookie, 2004's Miracle, 2006's Invincible, and 2010's Secretariat as crowd-pleasing notches on this well-worn belt. Of course, therein lies the problem as well. Like the features listed above, it's a solidly built mixture of laughs and tears that elicits moments of Rah Rah fist-pumping, but the whole endeavor feels manufactured like a decent weight lifter getting his game enhanced by steroids.

In this PG-rated sports drama based on a true story, a sports agent (Hamm) stages an unconventional recruitment strategy to get talented Indian cricket players (Suraj Sharma, etc.) to play Major League Baseball.

Disney put together a swell team in Jon Hamm, Aasif Mandvi, Bill Paxton, Suraj Sharma, Madhur Mittal, Lake Bell, and Alan Arkin. Most of the movie's scant success goes to ace screenwriter Tom McCarthy, however. Though he's more widely known for pulling double duty writing and directing Oscar-worthy projects such as The Station Agent and The Visitor, here he only provides script duties, giving Disney exactly what they wanted: a grounder that plays out like a heavy hitter.

Bottom line: Underdog Millionaire.