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"Million Dollar Arm" is sweet. Sure, it's formulaic, but it's full of such likable characters you don't mind getting manipulated by the film about two Indian teenagers who head to America in an effort to land major league baseball contracts.
One of the chief strengths of the film is Thomas McCarthy's screenplay, which smartly lets us get to know not only the Indian teenagers (Suraj Sharma and Madhur Mittal) and the agent (Jon Hamm) who bring the young men to America, but several other sharply written characters.
There's an old scout (Alan Arkin) whose grumpy exterior hides a gentle side; a perpetually cheerful Indian man (Pitobash) who dreams of coaching baseball and spreading his love for the game in his home country; a kindly doctor (Lake Bell) who acts like a surrogate big sister to the two Indian teens and a college baseball coach (Bill Paxton) who cares more about the boys' off-field success than their baseball progress.
That McCarthy's screenplay is so good shouldn't be a surprise to movie fans. He's the writer/director of such equally warm-hearted films as "The Visitor," "The Station Agent" and "Win-Win," films that excelled in creating fully rounded characters.
The film is broken into two parts, both revolving around fish-out-of-water scenarios. The first is fast-talking sports agent JB (Hamm) who travels to India to recruit potential baseball prospects. The problem: The billion or so people in India have no idea about America's favorite pastime. The Indian people, though, are crazy about cricket, so JB figures he may be able to find a few players who can transfer their skills to the baseball diamond.
Once in India, though, he faces several obstacles: The crowds, the vast size of the nation and the peculiar way business is done — a sort of laid-back and polite bribery. Watching a frequently exasperated and always sweaty Hamm navigating India is fun.
The scenes in India are filmed in energetic style by director by Craig Gillespie, who captures the energy and color of India big cities and the quieter small rural villages, complete with a hard-driving South East Asian pop score.
The second fish-out-of-water story revolves around Dinesh (Mittal) and Rinku (Sharma) as they hit America. Both come from small villages in India and struggle with the language, culture and homesickness. The film is full of charming moments: The boys fascinated by an elevator, thrilled by the idea of pizza delivery and shocked that an "old" guy like JB is single and doesn't have a family.
The film also features a romance between JB and a doctor (Bell) whose a tenant in the agent's guest house. That the two will grow romantically attached is a given, but because Hamm and Bell are so good together it doesn't matter the storyline is so obvious.
Like most sports movies, all the action builds to a big athletic showdown, where the boys must impressive a bunch of dubious baseball scouts. Since Hollywood doesn't do movies about noble failures, the outcome isn't much of a surprise. But since "Million Dollar Arm" is such a funny, and warm movie, you won't mind that invertible outcome.
'Million Dollar Arm'
Now playing: Century 14 Northridge Mall, Maya Cinemas Salinas 14
MPAA rating: PG for mild language and some suggestive content
Film facts: Stars Jon Hamm, Suraj Sharma, Madhur Mittal, Aasif Mandvi, Pitobash, Lake Bell, Bill Paxton and Alan Arkin. Directed by Craig Gillespie. 120 minutes.
BOTTOM LINE: This drama/comedy about teenage boys who come to America from India to pursue a career in baseball features a sweet screenplay and strong performances. It's a winner.
post originated from http://www.thecalifornian.com
One of the chief strengths of the film is Thomas McCarthy's screenplay, which smartly lets us get to know not only the Indian teenagers (Suraj Sharma and Madhur Mittal) and the agent (Jon Hamm) who bring the young men to America, but several other sharply written characters.
There's an old scout (Alan Arkin) whose grumpy exterior hides a gentle side; a perpetually cheerful Indian man (Pitobash) who dreams of coaching baseball and spreading his love for the game in his home country; a kindly doctor (Lake Bell) who acts like a surrogate big sister to the two Indian teens and a college baseball coach (Bill Paxton) who cares more about the boys' off-field success than their baseball progress.
That McCarthy's screenplay is so good shouldn't be a surprise to movie fans. He's the writer/director of such equally warm-hearted films as "The Visitor," "The Station Agent" and "Win-Win," films that excelled in creating fully rounded characters.
The film is broken into two parts, both revolving around fish-out-of-water scenarios. The first is fast-talking sports agent JB (Hamm) who travels to India to recruit potential baseball prospects. The problem: The billion or so people in India have no idea about America's favorite pastime. The Indian people, though, are crazy about cricket, so JB figures he may be able to find a few players who can transfer their skills to the baseball diamond.
Once in India, though, he faces several obstacles: The crowds, the vast size of the nation and the peculiar way business is done — a sort of laid-back and polite bribery. Watching a frequently exasperated and always sweaty Hamm navigating India is fun.
The scenes in India are filmed in energetic style by director by Craig Gillespie, who captures the energy and color of India big cities and the quieter small rural villages, complete with a hard-driving South East Asian pop score.
The second fish-out-of-water story revolves around Dinesh (Mittal) and Rinku (Sharma) as they hit America. Both come from small villages in India and struggle with the language, culture and homesickness. The film is full of charming moments: The boys fascinated by an elevator, thrilled by the idea of pizza delivery and shocked that an "old" guy like JB is single and doesn't have a family.
The film also features a romance between JB and a doctor (Bell) whose a tenant in the agent's guest house. That the two will grow romantically attached is a given, but because Hamm and Bell are so good together it doesn't matter the storyline is so obvious.
Like most sports movies, all the action builds to a big athletic showdown, where the boys must impressive a bunch of dubious baseball scouts. Since Hollywood doesn't do movies about noble failures, the outcome isn't much of a surprise. But since "Million Dollar Arm" is such a funny, and warm movie, you won't mind that invertible outcome.
'Million Dollar Arm'
Now playing: Century 14 Northridge Mall, Maya Cinemas Salinas 14
MPAA rating: PG for mild language and some suggestive content
Film facts: Stars Jon Hamm, Suraj Sharma, Madhur Mittal, Aasif Mandvi, Pitobash, Lake Bell, Bill Paxton and Alan Arkin. Directed by Craig Gillespie. 120 minutes.
BOTTOM LINE: This drama/comedy about teenage boys who come to America from India to pursue a career in baseball features a sweet screenplay and strong performances. It's a winner.
post originated from http://www.thecalifornian.com
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