Painfully Predictable but Highly Entertaining Due to the Cast

Rating: Null/10 (30 September 2012)

Trouble with the Curve (2012)
*** (out of 4)
Charming if incredibly predictable film has Clint Eastwood playing a baseball scout who comes up with some health issues so he's joined on a scouting trip by his daughter (Amy Adams) who has her own personal troubles. Soon the two are trying to heal their somewhat troubled past while the daughter also deals with a new guy (Justin Timberlake) after her. TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE certainly isn't going to win any major awards and while you'll see every curve coming from a mile away there's still no denying that the cast is wonderful and you really get caught up in everything going on. I think what makes the film so memorable as the three stars and their great performances. Eastwood could obviously play the cranky old man without any trouble but he also manages to really shine in some of the more quiet, tender scenes. Adams is also extremely good in her role as the daughter and I thought she and Eastwood had some great chemistry. Timberland is also very good in his supporting role and there's no question that he and Adams have a real spark together. Their mini love story is something that was very predictable every inch of the way but it was still incredibly charming. We also get nice supporting performances from John Goodman, Matthew Lillard and Robert Patrick. I did have some issues with the screenplay including some rather stupid scenes of making fun of Eastwood's age. This includes a really stupid sequence of him trying to get his car out of the garage and there's a scene with him in the toilet, which was just rather lame. Again, every cliché is touched upon here and I'd say there's nothing that happens that's going to surprise you but the power are the three stars and they make this worth watching.