Million Dollar Arm. Directed by Craig Gillespie. Starring Jon Hamm, and Lake Bell. Rating: 6 (out of 10).
This risk-free and somewhat bland Disney film about the boys of summer aims for a mash-up of Slumdog Millionaire and Jerry Maguire but lands squarely in movie of the week territory, despite the star presence of Jon Hamm.
Hamm has proven that he can entertain us outside of the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce boardroom, thanks to a hilarious supporting role in Bridesmaids and his 'Simon and Simon' spoof on Adult Swim.
But here Hamm is in full Don Draper mode, complete with the suit. He may be in the same business as Jerry Maguire, but Hamm just doesn't have the passion that Tom Cruise does.
Hamm plays Jamie Bernstein, 'J.B.,' a sports agent who is living handto-mouth. His clients have aged out of the game and his most recent prospect has jumped ship for a rival agency. J.B. is getting desperate. Even though he rents part of his property to Brenda (Lake Bell), a doctor, it's getting harder to pay the bills and keep his business partner (Aasif Mandvi) on staff.
One night, when flipping channels between a cricket game and Susan Boyle's performance on X Factor, J.B. gets a radical idea: harness the super fandom of cricket in India by putting on a game show offering a cash prize and a baseball contract to the winning athlete. Cricket and baseball can't be that different, right? Level-headed trainers (Bill Paxton) may be skeptical, but investors see dollar signs wherever they look. After all, who can argue with a billion new fans? The hunt is on. With a crusty retired scout (Alan Arkin) as co-judge, J.B. heads to the stifling heat of Mumbai. The standard cultural impasse emerges: nothing moves quickly in India and 'incentives' are the way to get business moving; things smell bad and there's too much traffic, too much honking.
At first, the tryouts for the TV show and travels around India yield little but indigestion for J.B. He finds himself Skyping Brenda and complaining a lot. But eventually the field of several hundred is whittled down to two young men, Rinku (Suraj Sharma of Life of Pi) and Dinesh (Madhur Mittal, Slumdog Millionaire), who claim their prize money and leave their small villages behind them, heading to the skyscrapers and junk food offered by America. Aspiring baseball coach Amit (Pitobash) comes along as translator (and is the film's comic relief).
When hotel living doesn't work out, the boys find themselves bunking with J.B. It's still all about the money, J.B. is always planning his next scheme. Soon, however, the burden of responsibility catches up with him. 'This alternative family thing looks good on you,' notes Brenda.
It's a pretty sudden change of heart. So too is J.B.'s interest in Brenda, considering he previously only dated fashion models. Despite the punchy Bollywood soundtrack, the film feels as long as nine full innings.
It's difficult to see a live-action family film these days and the film succeeds in keeping things safe enough for the whole clan. But Disney's effort to craft a family film means there is no real crisis and resultant 'aha' moment for J.B., no tantrums nor passion, and characters so pared-down that they fail to inspire. And in an underdog movie, inspiration is the name of any game.
© North Shore News
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