Entertaining Drama in Baseball Setting

Rating: 7/10 (23 October 2013)

Since so many reviews here have detailed the plot of this movie, I will skip much of that. I wish to argue with the folks who claimed this was predictable.
I also wish to suggest you ignore the review from the person who thought the high school kids being scouted were supposed to be "Triple-A" professionals, one step from the majors. To miss that fact reveals that person missed a lot.
I guess it was predictable that the stars, the father and daughter, who we are told at the beginning are not close, would become closer. You couldn't have this movie in any way if that weren't true.
It was surely predictable that the young scout, Johnny, who was signed years ago by Gus (Eastwood), who came across as a likable fellow right from his first scene where he stops to watch some kids playing baseball and gets caught up doing a pretend broadcast of a home run (he wants to become a baseball announcer), and who seems to like Mickey (Amy Adams) right from meeting her, would develop a relationship with her. But, as with any romantic movie, you don't know if it will continue or not.
As for Mickey's job at the law firmshe was insisting she'd be back for the presentation, that, thanks to computers, she was working on most of the time she wasn't trying to help her father. Since her firm was in Atlanta and her dad was scouting this kid in North Carolina, she certainly could fly back for the big meeting and then return to help her father. Anyone claiming they knew just how her position at the firm would be resolved cannot be telling the truth because the movie doesn't make it clear—she's "thinking about it," I believe was the line, with only the suggestion of an alternate path. If you can claim you knew just how that issue would end, I'll use the Casey Stengel line and call you "Clara Voyant." The issue of the hot shot prospect was whether Johnny's club, the Red Sox would draft him right before Gus's Braves could. I agree the title suggest that the young hitter might not be a good draft pick, not in the first round at least. But I certainly did not know if 1) the Sox would pick him and then regret it, or 2) if the Braves would pass on him, listening to Gus (and Mickey), or 3) if the Braves would ignore Gus and go with their computer guy. I don't see how anyone would claim it was "predictable." Or, let's say, out of 100 people we might have found about 33 who predicted it accurately.
My issues with the movie were that they made Gus too grumpy and his relationship with his daughter too estranged. The big reason why he did what he did when she was little, came as a very definite surprise.
I would have made this film less bitter and more lighthearted. I thought the actors did a fine job, and want to commend John Goodman for a far better role than anything I've ever seen him do, although in a supporting role.
If you develop interesting characters, the audience wants to see how various issues are resolved. That they know (can guess) some of the plot developments is not a problem. There are plenty of things that aren't predictable. We cared about these characters, even grumpy Gus and that's why this was an above average film.