"Is that it. Is that all you got?"

Rating: 7/10 (9 June 2013)

Well I think Mr. Eastwood threw us all a curve ball this time. This isn't so much a movie about baseball as it is about relationships and coming to terms with advancing old age, and there probably isn't a better role model for portraying that realistically than Clint. One thing is sure, Eastwood isn't afraid to film himself in an unfavorable light. There's one scene where he's looking at himself in the mirror and he looks even older than his eighty two years; it was rather shocking to this viewer who has occasion to view a young Rowdy Yates riding the trail in 'Rawhide' every now and then.
Considering Eastwood's most recent work, "Trouble With the Curve" isn't going to rank up there with films like "Million Dollar Baby" or "Gran Torino". Those pictures had his directorial touch, a quality that's notably absent here. Character and story development seem almost secondary here, and even though the pace of the film progresses smoothly enough, much of it is predictable without any twists or surprises.
The thing that kept me off balance a bit here was the role of Bo Gentry. Considering the importance of his character to the flow of the story, I kept wondering why the film makers selected a non-athletic looking Joe Massengill to play the part. He had the annoying blow hard thing going well enough, but he just didn't look like a good ball player to me, even as he was hitting them out of the park. It didn't surprise me one bit when old Peanut Boy blew his doors off to end the story.
Baseball fans interested in the science of the game won't find this in the same league as "Moneyball", but if you're looking for a breezy picture to while away a couple hours this fills the bill well enough. There's definitely a nod to the youthful audience with Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake on hand, while John Goodman surprises portraying a generally sympathetic character trying to bridge the father/daughter divide between the principal players. If you lower your expectations from some of Clint Eastwood's other recent work, this will manage to entertain fairly well.