[three-star-rating]Jon Hamm, Lake Bell, Alan Arkin, Bill Paxton, Aasif Mandvi, Pitobash, Suraj Sharma, Madhur Mittal[/three-star-rating]
Most sports movies are pretty predictable. Million Dollar Arm delivers nary a curveball plot-wise, but it does the sports genre well, pitching the same old game with heart and charm. The only slight difference is the setting in India.
Based on a true story, this flick tells the tale of a selfish, slick sports agent (Hamm) who holds an international contest to bring two lucky Indian boys to America to possibly pitch in major league baseball. At the same time, Hamm can sell baseball to a billion Indians and bolster his floundering agency. It’s a publicity stunt that just might save the day.
However, Hamm misjudges India – its overcrowded streets, its lackadaisical business operations, and the hunger of thousands of boys who want to live the American dream. Hamm and scout Arkin finally find two candidates – Sharma of Life of Pi and Madhur Mittal of Slumdog Millionaire – and immediately bring them out of their poor, overcrowded villages to training in L.A. The boys – both lacking in English, both barely aware of baseball – are sent to unconventional coach Paxton and given six months to become viable major league pitchers.
A curious fact: Disney produced this, so it’s surprising that the film (gently) shows culture bias, premarital sex, and drinking. In years past, this PG-rated film would’ve been distributed by Disney’s more adult studio Touchstone. Walt might have balked at such a film bearing his name, but the new Disney seems to understand the world it lives in. Even with the more mature moments, Million Dollar Arm is still a goodtime family flick.
In that vein, the movie does a great job contrasting the squalor of India with the opulence of rich L.A. The soundtrack, compiled by Oscar-winner A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire), is a brilliant marriage of both cultures.
Some things do feel like the film is bunting instead of swinging for the fence. Arkin plays a grouchy old coot, much like almost every other role he now plays. Bell is stuck as the sexy, wise mother type – a sort of love interest-slash-Jiminy Cricket. Also, we already know how the movie ends.
A braver film might have said more about the crassness of holding a contest in hopes of making money off of a billion mostly poor people. In real life, this contest didn’t make India baseball crazed, so Million Dollar Arm is now mostly a stateside gimmick. This film was never going to take such a risk talking about taking money from the poor, especially with Disney at the helm.
[rating-key]
This is Hamm’s first time carrying the show, and he does so with subtlety. The Indian actors (including comic relief, Bollywood star Pitobash) are quite affecting. Director Craig Gillespie seems to be getting better and better (Lars and the Real Girl, the new Fright Night). The script is by little-known actor Thomas McCarthy, who is accumulating an impressive roster of writing credits (The Station Agent, The Visitor, Up, Win Win).
So, sure, maybe nothing here hits a homerun. Through consistently playing the same tried-and-true game very well, Million-Dollar Arm ekes out a win.
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