Review of Trouble with the Curve (2012) by Dee D — 13 Feb 2013

If I had to sum up Trouble With the Curve in a single word, it would be lazy. The screenplay is poorly written and constructed. It doesn't bother to give much real life depth to the intricacies of baseball or its characters, which it paints into one-note and predictable corners. The way it handles baseball, in particular, is laughably inept, as any real fan will be quick to point out. Much of the plot revolves around a supposed high school phenom, but it's so cartoonishly portrayed it immediately robs whatever realism the story was clinging to. There's no way on earth that kid is no. 2 pick material, nor would act like such a grade school villain, not to mention there is no year where the Red Sox and Braves would be drafting 1-2. Plus, the way it positions the old school vs. new school tug-of-war in baseball scouting is painfully awful and broad. I was a big fan of Moneyball but even that had its problems, yet the difference between the two is still night and day.

Thankfully, the film has Amy Adams to fall back on, as she is the glue that holds it all together and keeps it from being a disaster. Clint Eastwood, in a now-rare acting role, is in his usual crankily-gruff manner, which starts off on rough footing but does get better as it goes along. Justin Timberlake provides a lot of much-needed energy but, surprise surprise, the writing doesn't give him much help. Adams has fantastic chemistry with the two, and despite her character being ham-fisted by some low-grade law firm plot contrivance herself, somehow makes it play and worth watching. Trouble With the Curve is problematic on a number of levels, but seeing the trio of actors interacting isn't one of them.