Review: Million Dollar Arm
Million Dollar Arm is based on the true story of how sports agent J.B. Bernstein staged a talent competition in India, discovered two youngsters Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel - neither of whom had ever played baseball - and turned them into Major League baseball pitchers. Regardless of your familiarity with the story, the film is a solid addition to Disney's batch of inspirational sports dramas.
The film certainly follows the formula: we know that Bernstein (Jon Hamm) will evolve from business-minded jerk to caring human; that culture clashes and broad characterisations will abound; that the tryouts in the various blur of Indian cities will seem futile before producing results; that romance is inevitable between Bernstein and his tenant Brenda Fenwick (Lake Bell) for the simple reason that she is grounded and has a brain unlike his revolving door of one night stands; that he will have a crisis of conscience: pursure the athlete that will get him and his cash-strapped agency back on their feet or nurture Rinku and Dinesh, who may be failures in the making. Million Dollar Arm tracks all of this in a pleasant and indistinct manner.
Unlike its predecessors The Rookie and Invincible, the film interestingly does not focus on the actual characters who embody the studio's "When you wish upon a star" ethos. This is understandable - Hamm, a versatile leading man who is both handsome and approachable, is the big name attraction - but to the film's detriment. For one, it makes Million Dollar Arm come off as a carbon copy of Jerry Maguire. For another, the film feels more like Bernstein's victory rather than Rinku and Dinesh's which is a shame as their story is the emotional core of the movie.
Rinku and Dinesh are good-hearted young men - Rinku uses his winnings to buy a new truck for his dad - and they find themselves unmoored in the big city. Yes, they may not have as many opportunities in their village but contrast the outpouring of support they have at their farewell (arguably the most moving part of the film as well as the only time when it genuinely felt as if they were on location) to Bernstein's abrupt abandonment of them - it's hard not to feel for these two boys who just want to make Bernstein and their families proud.
Maddhur Mital and Suraj Sharma both do very good work, unconvering the layers and nuances in Thomas McCarthy's script. Though it would have been easy to play the fish-out-of-water angle for laughs, McCarthy and director Craig Gillespie ground the boys' experiences with a surprising cultural sensitivity and emotional truth.
Million Dollar Arm
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Written by: Thomas McCarthy
Starring: Jon Hamm, Lake Bell, Alan Arkin, Bill Paxton, Aasif Mandvi, Maddhur Mital, Suraj Sharma, Darshan Jariwala, Pitobash
