Trouble with the Curve (2012)
Trouble with the Curve is a quietly powerful, character-driven sports drama that follows aging baseball scout Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood) as he fights to prove he still has the eye for the game even as his vision fails. When his team questions whether he should retire, Gus insists on one last scouting trip to evaluate a hot prospect in North Carolina. Concerned friends recruit his estranged daughter Mickey (Amy Adams), a sharp, career-focused lawyer and longtime baseball fan, to accompany him — both to keep him safe and to try to heal the long-standing rift between them. What viewers will experience is equal parts road‑movie and family reconciliation: thoughtful, slow-burning scenes of scouting and small-town ballparks intercut with tender, often tense father–daughter conversations. The film balances the specifics of baseball — scouting technique, the importance of the curveball, clubhouse politics — with human stakes: Gus’s stubborn pride and declining health, Mickey’s resentment and loyalty, and a gentle romance that develops between Mickey and Johnny (Justin Timberlake), a former pitcher turned rival scout. John Goodman supplies warm comic relief as Gus’s longtime friend and protector, while Matthew Lillard’s ambitious colleague adds pressure from the front office. Emotionally grounded and quietly sentimental, Trouble with the Curve will appeal to viewers who enjoy intimate dramas as much as sports fans. Expect strong, restrained performances, scenic road-trip moments, and a heartfelt exploration of aging, legacy, and the work it takes to repair a broken relationship.
Actors: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, John Goodman
Director: Robert Lorenz
Runtime: 111 min
Genres: Drama, Sport
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