Despite what you may think of Eastwood as a person (with his recent political debacle) he's still a charismatic screen presence!

Rating: 6/10 (1 October 2012)

'TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE': Three Stars (Out of Five)
Clint Eastwood returns to acting (after saying he was retiring with 2008's 'GRAN TORINO', but almost no one ever really retires in Hollywood) and appears in the first film he hasn't directed since 1993's 'IN THE LINE OF FIRE'. It is directed by his buddy though, Robert Lorenz, who served as an assistant director on most of Eastwood's films since 'IN THE LINE OF FIRE'. It's Lorenz's first time as lead director and it's also the writer's first feature as well (Randy Brown). The film is about an elderly baseball scout who might be forced in to retirement if his daughter can't help him out. Amy Adams plays his daughter and the film also co-stars John Goodman, Matthew Lillard, Robert Patrick and Justin Timberlake. The movie is a little cheesy and predictable at times but it does work as an emotional drama at times as well thanks largely to the lead performances.
Eastwood stars as Gus Lobel, a once great baseball scout who's credibility is now being questioned after failing to keep up with modern changes to the game. He also has vision problems that he keeps a secret until his daughter Mickey (Adams) calls his doctor and finds out about them. Gus is given one last chance to scout a potential recruit in North Carolina and one of his boss's (and buddy), Pete (Goodman), asks Mickey to go with him on the trip to keep an eye on him. A former recruit of Gus's named Johnny (Timberlake) is also in North Carolina scouting for another team. He develops a romantic interest in Mickey who uses the time with her father to better understand past neglect from him.
The movie is pretty predictable for most of it's duration and there's definitely nothing new or unique here. It's clichéd and some of the jokes seem a little forced but as a drama it does work when it needs to. Eastwood is as classic and likable as he's ever been, despite what you may think of him as a person (with his recent political debacle), he's still a very likable and charismatic screen presence and he hasn't lost any of his movie star qualities with age. Adams really brings her A game to deliver the emotional punch the film needs and Lorenz's directing is adequate. It's a shame they couldn't get a better actor than Timberlake to round out the cast but Eastwood and Adams as the film's two leads don't disappoint.
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