lovely film

Rating: 8/10 (23 June 2016)

Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams as father and daughter attempt to connect in "Trouble with the Curve" from 2012.
For those who criticized the baseball part of the film, asking if the production had a consultant, etc., I will say that the baseball was what Hitchcock called "The McGuffin" - an excuse for the real story.
Eastwood plays Gus, an Atlanta Braves scout who has been in the business for perhaps too long - he has macular degeneration and glaucoma - maybe - but he won't see a specialist. His daughter, Mickey, is a lawyer heading for partner in a high-powered Atlanta firm. It's scouting time again, and Gus' boss and friend Pete (John Goodman) is afraid he isn't up to it. There is a newcomer to the team administration who uses computers to choose players, and his eye is on a kid named Gentry.
Nervous, Pete calls Mickey and asks her to go with her father to North Carolina and help him. Mickey is in the middle of the case that will make her partner, but she goes out of a sense of duty. Also, she wants her father to talk to her and explain why he abandoned her for much of her childhood. As a result, she pushes everyone away, including a scout they meet in North Carolina (Justin Timberlake) who is interested in her.
This is a beautifully acted if predictable story about healing wounds and communicating, something that is difficult for an old- fashioned father to do. Clint Eastwood is an irascible character similar to his role in Gran Torino - he brings a lot of humor to the part as well as some powerful dramatic moments.
Amy Adams looks for all the world like she's 28 - she was 38 when she made this, playing a 33-year-old. She brings a poignancy to her performance as a workaholic and vulnerable young woman.
Very enjoyable, and I shed a few tears besides. Highly recommended.