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Trouble with the Curve2012 | 111 min | PG-13 | 2.39:1
It’s rare to see an actor act their age these days, yet Clint Eastwood always seems determined to play above his years, recently drawn to cranky, senile characters, last seen on screen in 2008’s ode to senior might and lawn protection, “Gran Torino.” “Trouble with the Curve” introduces an even creakier side to Eastwood, playing an aging man facing the end of his career and his sight, while dealing with the normal irritations and blockages of old age. It’s not a comfortable watch, yet Eastwood has that irascible charm that keeps a sense of humor swirling around dark developments. The movie is lucky to have him and co-star Amy Adams, who both bring a fresh sense of life to an otherwise hokey, stale screenplay. To bring baseball terms into the review, the pair consistently hit home runs while the feature itself only manages the occasional ground rule double. 
A veteran baseball scout with impeccable taste, Gus (Clint Eastwood) is facing obsolescence with the rise of computer programs that track player performance, manned by smug scouts like Tom (Matthew Lillard, back to playing unreasonably obnoxious baddies after a career peak in “The Descendants”). Discovering the onset of glaucoma, Gus is determined to partake in another minor league season, sent to the Carolinas to track the playability of Bo (Joe Massingill), an arrogant future superstar. Fearing the worst, boss Pete (John Goodman) begs Gus’s daughter Mickey (Amy Adams) to join her estranged father on the road, helping him with his vision problems. While the harried lawyer initially balks at the request, Mickey eventually gives in, triggering old baseball stat habits, which impress scouting newcomer Johnny (Justin Timberlake). With time ticking down to the draft, Gus and Mickey suddenly find themselves addressing dormant relationship issues, while Johnny tries to win the frustrated lady’s heart at a time where she least wants the company. Although he announced his retirement from acting during press rounds on “Gran Torino,” it’s nice to see Eastwood back on the screen where he belongs. Although the character plays to his strengths of communication through grunts and glares, Eastwood finds a commendable humanity about Gus that’s not always tied to senior fatigue. Here’s a widower who’s made terrible personal choices in his life, yet remains a legend in the front office, now confronted with the end of his career and freedom due to his failing eyesight. Eastwood plays the disturbance with traditional squints and raspy roars, yet there’s a genuine fear articulated here that’s compelling, watching Gus figure out his limitations while denying he has any in the first place. It’s not always comfortable to inspect the decline of good health, yet Eastwood manages the work with a certain degree of nuance. A few forward moments of emotion (including Gus singing at his wife’s grave) retain sizable impact due to his atypical vulnerability in the role. 
I wish “Trouble with the Curve” remained with baseball and parenthood regrets, as Adams and Eastwood make a nifty team, credible as combatants and bleacher buddies, bonding over pitching and batting particulars. The story of Gus and Mickey isn’t ground-breaking, but it carries the picture with confidence, watching the daughter struggle with her day job stress while the father computes a way to connect to his child after an adolescence of repeated abandonment. There are a few sudden turns in the script that needlessly complicate the situation with drastic revelations, yet director Robert Lorenz (a longtime Eastwood collaborator) seems most comfortable with basic designs of conflict, leaving the actors to make the most out of a simple screenplay, credited to Randy Brown. There’s a love story to “Trouble with the Curve” that doesn’t work, partially due to its formulaic nature and Timberlake’s painfully labored performance of wisecracks. Johnny should be an important character, representing soured baseball ambition and an outlet for Mickey to share her grief, yet there’s no life to the subplot despite Lorenz’s persistent attention. Timberlake and Adams don’t share much in the way of chemistry, a development that grows into a major nuisance the longer the script lingers on Johnny and Mickey’s developing relationship. 
The end of “Trouble with the Curve” coughs up absurdly obvious dramatic turns to keep the audience on Gus’s side. It’s cartoon broad during a few heated exchanges, which damages the peaceful, poetic landing the writing appears headed to at the start of the third act. The film ends with a blast of ridiculousness when all it needed was closure, respecting the fragility of these tentative connections while staying true to Gus’s instinctive understanding of the game. It’s a cop-out conclusion that deserves an extended old man Eastwood growl to those in the production that encouraged it. Starring: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Matthew Lillard, Robert Patrick Director: Robert Lorenz » See full cast & crew |
 
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