Family, health and baseball

Rating: 8/10 (14 January 2013)

Trouble With A Curve casts Clint Eastwood as an aging baseball scout for the Atlanta Braves with both family and health issues. His family is his daughter Amy Adams who is a young attorney whom he hasn't seen in years. His health issues include macular degeneration of his eyes and a scout without good vision is handicapped in his job. My late uncle had that and I know how that eventually impaired him.
Clint's imparted a lot of his baseball knowledge to Adams and Braves GM John Goodman has asked Adams to accompany Eastwood on a scouting trip to the minor leagues before the annual draft to check on a prospect as the Braves have the number one draft pick in the National League. A lot of air is cleared in this trip.
Also Clint renews an another old acquaintance with Justin Timberlake who was a former pitcher that Clint signed back in the day, but who blew his arm out and now he's a scout for the Boston Red Sox who have the number one draft pick in the American League. Adams and Timberlake hit it off, but the road to romance is a rocky one. A washed up ball player and an upwardly mobile yuppie attorney are not a usual mix.
Though the film isn't quite of the level of Million Dollar Baby and Gran Torino, it's still a real treat for Eastwood fans. Like Million Dollar Baby the best scenes are Clint and Amy's just as in the other film his scenes with Hilary Swank his surrogate daughter. Timberlake also proves to be a capable actor.
Although Adams saves Clint's job with a gift of sorts, you know eventually he will have to quit. But like all other Eastwood characters, he's going to do it on his own terms. And she could have a nice career in a baseball front office as women increasingly are making an impact in all areas of the sport except the actual playing field.
Trouble With The Curve if nothing else proves Eastwood is a great judge of material that's still good for him and that takes into account his age. He's one productive 80 something when he's not involved in politics and talking to an empty chair.