Million Dollar Arm

2014 • 124 minutu

Film honi buruz

Based on a true story, sports agent JB Bernstein (Jon Hamm) finds that business has changed and things aren't going well for his career. In a last ditch effort to save his livelihood he concocts a scheme to find baseball's next great pitching ace. Hoping to find a young cricket pitcher he can turn into a major league baseball star, JB travels to India to produce a reality show competition called "The Million Dollar Arm." With the help of cantankerous but eagle-eyed retired baseball scout Ray Poitevint (Alan Arkin), he discovers Dinesh (Madhur Mittal) and Rinku (Suraj Sharma), two 18 year old boys who have no idea about playing baseball, yet have a knack for throwing a fastball. Hoping to sign them to major league contracts and make a quick buck, JB brings the boys home to America to train. While the Americans are definitely out of their element in India — the boys, who have never left their rural villages — are equally challenged when they come to the States. As the boys learn the finer points of baseball — JB, with the help of his charming friend Brenda (Lake Bell) — learns valuable life lessons about teamwork, commitment and what it means to be a family.

Balorazioak eta iritziak

Based on the true story of 2 Indian Cricket players who became minor league baseball players in my Pittsburgh Pirates organization, this movie is yet another Disney, "too good to be true but it's really true" baseball movies in the vein of The Rookie. There is so much extreme poverty in India, poverty beyond what Americans comprehend, that even the promise of a low minor league baseball salary (roughly $15K a season) would've been enough to spur the competitive juices of the young men of the slums. A proffer of $1M is mind-boggling. It would've been nice if the two young players had been more successful once they made it to the MLB system, but alas, they didn't, and I'm glad that Disney doesn't give true characters futures they didn't have. However, the story of redemption for the scout who found them, and love, and revived his career & reputation, was a nice (and also true) side-story. As a baseball historian & fanatic, I hope one day that MLB is truly filled with the best talent in the world, no matter the players' origins.

The only thing about the movie that confused me is when they were on the plane and they said that we will see your family soon I thought they were going back to India. I think they were on a plane back to Bernstein's house and that the tryouts we're somewhere else. Other than that fantastic movie, and what makes it really cool is that it was a true story. I recommend this movie as a movie that inspires people to be their best.

With baseball there's always the game and then there's the player's, coaches, agents and fans that breath life into the game. This movie captures it all from a prospective not yet seen woven with the ageless thread of the love of the game.