Million Dollar Arm

There are films based on true stories and then there are films based on an inspirationally derived event or story that just cause one to stand up and cheer and Disney's "Million Dollar Arm" fits the bill. We've seen other films of the like: "Remember the Titans", "Miracle", "Bend it Like Beckham", "Invincible", "Invictus", etc. These films hit one at the heart all the while teaching valuable lessons.

Based on a true story, this follows JB Bernstein (Jon Hamm), a once successful sports agent who finds himself edged out by bigger, slicker competitors. He and his business partner Aash (Aasif Mandvi) will have to close their business down for good if JB doesn't come up with something fast. Late one night, while watching cricket being played in India on TV, JB comes up with an idea so radical it just might work. So why not go to India and find the next baseball pitching sensation?
With a cantankerous scout Ray (Alan Arkin) in tow, they reach Mumbai where 40,000 hopefuls vie in a competition called 'Million Dollar Arm'. The two finalists, Rinku and Dinesh (Suraj Sharma and Madhur Mittal, emerge as winners, only then to fly back with JB to train with legendary pitching coach Tom House (Bill Paxton) in LA. The goal: get the two 18 year-olds signed to a major league team while only having a year for this to happen. These boys not only have to master the game, but life in the U.S. with a committed bachelor makes this even more complicated--for all of them. JB and the boys learn much more than they realized they would learn on and off the field.

Others to round out the cast are Lake Bell as Brenda, JB's tenant whom he slowly becomes attracted to, Pitobash as Amit, an interpreter who's a hoot in his role, Tzi Ma as Chang, an investor, Gregory Alan Williams as Doug, Tom's assistant coach, Darshan Jariwala as Vivek, Allyn Rachel as Theresa, and Rey Maualuga as Popo.

This was directed by Craig Gillepsie ("Mr. Woodcock" '07, "Lars and the Real Girl" '07, "Fright Night" '11, "Trooper" (TV movie) '13). By his very resume, this guy knows a thing or two about emitting passion--sometimes over the top passion out of his characters whether that passion is a positive thing or not. It was written by a seasoned pro who knows how to write. What? A script that actually works? Huh? And what a better writer than that of Thomas McCarthy ("The Station Agent" '03, "The Visitor" '07, "Up" (story) '09, "Win Win" '11). This was pure entertainment just by the writing, since there haven't been too many films of late that I would consider having quality writing. Other than a couple of very small slow areas, this script kept you moving right along. Not only was Hamm's performance believable, but the two that played the new ball players, and, of course, Arkin as Ray were equally played out well--basically a well casted film.

There aren't too many films out there now that one can be entertained, taught a valuable lesson and move one to realize that relaxing and having fun in order to earn trust trumps a venture money-making business any day of the week. Have fun with this--I know I did.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                          Rated: PG                           123mins.