Overrated

Rating: 8/10 (12 January 2012)

MONEYBALL is gathering a lot of acclaim as an Oscar potential contender on several levels, so much so that for those who have little interest in baseball in general have overcome that inertia and have watched this film primarily out of devotion to the work of Brad Pitt. For this viewer the film is long on tedium, lacking in excitement and character involvement and focusing on the financial background of a sport that is supposed to be for the pleasure of the public. Yes, there are moments of interest in the concept of building a team based on saving money by hiring players who by statistics realized on a computer program show potential for building a solid team (as opposed to scouting for popular 'names' with the public and the media). These moments are underlined by the strong performance of Jonah Hill as Peter Brand, the Yale Economics graduate who comes up with 'the concept'.
The story is based on Michal Lewis' book 'Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game' and adapted for the screen by Stan Chervin, Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian. Bennett Miller directs. The story is basically a docudrama about the Oakland Athletic's General Manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) who is faced with the loss of the best payers of his team to scouts from other clubs with bigger dollars. If he ever wants to win the World Series, Billy must find a competitive advantage. Billy is about to turn baseball on its ear when he uses statistical data to analyze and place value on the players he picks for the team.
Oakland A's GM Billy Beane is handicapped with the lowest salary constraint in baseball. If he ever wants to win the World Series, Billy must find a competitive advantage. Billy is about to turn baseball on its ear when he uses statistical data to analyze and place value on the players he picks for the team. The rest of the film is a push pull game played in the boardroom, with the manager (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and with certain players (Chris Pratt, Stephen Bishop et al). Tossed in for some reality testing is Billy's daughter Casey (Kerris Dorsey), ex-wife (Robin Wright), and a few encounters with reappearing people.
The idea for the film is solid but it wears thin because it is so insular to Oakland. The fact that it is a true story (with a less than satisfying ending) probably will attract some viewers. It certainly is not Brad Pitt's best role to date, not does the film seem that it will have much holding power. But, if you are a fan of baseball it just may ring your chimes.
Grady Harp