Predictable but appealing, Trouble with the Curve is the latest of Clint Eastwood’s odes to old-fashioned attitudes and virtues. That the star neither wrote nor directed the movie in no way prevents it from being another political address from a man who considers terseness one of a hero’s greatest qualities.
The film is gentler than most Eastwood fables; it proceeds without gunplay and stages its big showdown on the Atlanta Braves’ home field. But that doesn’t mean the story is without antagonisms. It pits new against old, male against female, modesty against arrogance and honest blue-collar types against those epitomes of white-collar trickery: lawyers.
Introduced while struggling in the bathroom with what used to be a simple function, Gus (Eastwood) is a gifted but dilapidated Braves scout whose vision is nearly shot. He regularly bumps into things around the house and represents a hazard on the road. But he believes he can still pick young players better than the computer-using youngsters — you know, like the Moneyball guys — because he can hear a perfect hit or a flawless pitch.
Gus’ scouting skills have been passed along to his daughter, Mickey (Amy Adams), who’s named for Mickey Mantle. But she has pursued self-reliance by becoming an attorney. In fact, she’s on the verge of making partner when her father’s avuncular boss (John Goodman) calls and asks her to help Gus on a trip to North Carolina. She says no, but she doesn’t really mean it. While Randy Brown’s script keeps insisting that father and daughter are estranged, Eastwood and Adams’ cozy-cranky rapport suggests otherwise.