Trouble with the Curve (2012), Robert Lorenz
- IMDB.COM: Rating: 6.7 (15,000+ votes); Metascore: 58 (40+ critics)
- ROTTEN TOMATOES: Tomatometer: 51% (87-169)
- TOP7 NEWSPAPERS: 67 AVG, no 4-star reviews
Legendary American actor-turned-director Clint Eastwood returned from his retirement for one last gig. In the Trouble with the Curve, Gus (Eastwood’s character), an old, ailing baseball scout goes on his last recruiting trip, pretty much like the actor’s trip with his last role. Of all the movies that I saw in 2012, I must say that the Curve is the only one that fails on every single level. I observed the film both as a whole and by the segments and still not managed to find the part of it that actually works. It is also rather difficult for me to comprehend why the top critics didn’t absolutely torch this movie. Even Eastwood’s poorly directed character looks wooden and unnatural, where almost anything he says falls flat. Somewhere in the partner- ship of this project and Eastwood’s age, the charisma of Dirty Harry evaporated like smoke from his Magnum 44. As a cherry on the sundae, we have Justin Timberlake, the only “actor” who is so unconvincing in his roles that he always looks like an extra or as a celebrity cameo appearance. Justin Timberlake’s acting suggests only one thing – that he has nothing in common with the common man. If there ever was a bell jar person on the big screen, he’s the one. For the past decade, he’s been riding the Hollywood bus – and us – going along the footpath of his primary profession’s predecessors who made successful music-to-movie transition (Sinatra, Cher, etc.) and won an Oscar along the way, trying desperately to repeat that success with The Social Network, yet somehow failing to realize why Christian Bale’s performance in The Fighter is worthier of such an award. Curve is a flop, an attempt to do new quality baseball drama, a la Moneyball or even Field of Dreams. Eastwood’s comeback was similar to the one of Michael Jordan’s with the Wizards. Therefore similar advice: just like MJ’s performance in Game 6 against the Jazz in 1998 NBA Finals, we as well ought to remember Gran Torino as Clint’s last.
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