I recently saw an advanced screening of Disney Pictures new sports drama Million Dollar Arm, which releases in theaters on Friday, May 16. Like Disney's other inspirational sports films Miracle and Invincible, this is also based on a true story and is as equally heart-warming, plus this one focuses on my favorite sport--baseball.
In a last ditch effort to save his career as a sports agent, JB Bernstein (Jon Hamm) 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 “Million Dollar Arm.” With the help of a cantankerous but eagle-eyed retired baseball scout (Alan Arkin) he discovers Dinesh (played by Madhur Mittal the brother from Slumdog Millionaire) and Rinku (played by Suraj Sharma from Life of Pi), 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.
Bill Paxton also stars, which was a nice surprise for me since I hadn't seen him in any of the original ads I had watched.
As expected, I really enjoyed this film. I was excited going into it and after. The movie especially does a great job of making the viewer root for its characters and feel for their failures. I walked away smiling, believing in dreams and hard work prevailing. It's like watching a real-life fairy tale.
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