Review of Trouble with the Curve (2012) by Cysko H — 31 Dec 2012

Robert Lorenz and Clint Eastwood have worked together on some very special films. Mystic River was 2003's best film in my opinion as was Million Dollar Baby in 2004. In the producer role, Lorenz is a winner. In the director role so far, he has one film and one strike against him. I have joked in the past that Clint Eastwood's presence in a film is always a good thing (minus Blood Work of course). That's been more of a true statement than a false one I'm sure most will agree. However, we all know there is always an exception, even for the exceptional.

Lorenz and Eastwood seem to have a passion for the game and since baseball is a huge part of American culture, we eat it up. Last year's Moneyball took a behind the scenes approach to the game and succeeded well on many levels (acting and screenplay in particular). However, the focus is blurred in Curve and it is entirely generic. Eastwood is an aging scout and his daughter (Amy Adams) joins him on a road trip to secure a big prospect. Add in Justin Timberlake as an aspiring scout that seems to have more interest in Adams than the on-field talent, and you have the basic plot formula. Since his wife's death, Eastwood has been nearly non-existent in his daughter's life and the stressed relationship will either solidify over the course of the trip or be severed forever it seems.

Trouble with the Curve, Trouble with the story, Trouble with the direction, you name it Lorenz has the Trouble. His film relies heavily on our liking for Eastwood, Adams, and Timberlake. It appears to hope that despite their presence, a quality story is unnecessary. There are dozens of quick, one minute scenes that attempt to show supporting details for how busy Adams is as a lawyer and how Eastwood is barely getting by in his old age. It's cheap direction and it has no flavor. Aside from this and the horrific dialog, the single worst offense here is the wasted talent. It pains me to say this but Eastwood should have hung up the acting gig after Gran Torino. His aging character of ill temperament can only go so far. He feels tired and uninterested here, just as much as Adams feels too good for this lousy drama that should have wound up on cable tv starring William Shatner and Alicia Silverstone. The interactions, dialog, and general outcome of all events are so lame, tired and predictable it often turns humorous before ultimately turning pitiful.

2/5.