I remember hearing that Amy Adams was slated to play Clint Eastwood's estranged daughter, and that she would be hitting the road with her baseball scout father, because he's losing his eyesight and in denial about it. That's still it - the basic story. Of course, what they didn't tell us in the casting release was that there's a romantic subplot for Adams, one that pairs her with a young scout - one played by Justin Timberlake.
Here's the thing: each of our lead performers are in a different film. Eastwood is in a sad, tough drama, Timberlake is in a romantic comedy, and Adams is left to tie the two together. It doesn't quite work, which, I imagine, is why the film didn't do as well as I had hoped it would.
It's difficult to watch Eastwood getting older, or at least playing into the stereotypes and pitfalls of doing so. You've gotta figure, for a badass like Eastwood, it's got to be even harder to go through than it is to watch. It's rather heartbreaking. Clearly Eastwood's doing fine - he's just acting! - but still, there will come a day...
There will probably not be a day in which I buy anything about the chemistry between the three lead performers. I can't say that I really buy Adams as Eastwood's daughter, Timberlake as a former pitcher, Adams as interested in Timberlake, or the three of them in the same movie. Kind of strange.
Other than that, I don't really have much to say about the movie. I love John Goodman in everything, so his role as a staffer for the Atlanta Braves is great to watch. He's got such a fantastic voice. And what's up, Matthew Lillard? The actor, best known for his roles in She's All That and as Shaggy in the live-action Scooby-Doo series, plays the antagonist Braves staffer looking to force Eastwood into retirement. An unexpected but believable turn for Lillard - wherever will he turn up next?
Not the finest work from any of these folk - I'd wait to see what's on the other side of the Curve.
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