Trouble With The Curve Movie Review

Are you a fan of Clint Eastwood? If so, you may be thinking of watching Trouble with the Curve, a 2012 film starring Eastwood as the main character. Let’s see whether this movie is a fun watch.

Trouble With The Curve Movie Review

Trouble with the Curve is a sports movie centered around baseball. The movie stars Clint Eastwood as Gus Lobel, an old baseball scout who is on his final assignment.

Facing doubt from his bosses, Gus enlists the help of his daughter, Mickey Lobel (Amy Adams), and a player he once scouted, Johnny Flanagan (Justin Timberlake). 

The movie’s cast also contains Jack Gilpin, John Goodman, Matthew Lillard, and Scott Eastwood. It was directed by Robert Lorenz. Trouble with the Curve marks Eastwood’s first film appearance since Gran Torino in 2008.

Eastwood may have a dazzling career, but is Trouble with the Curve one of the highlights or lowlights of his career? Find out below!

Our Review

The Good

The cast is one of the strongest features of this movie. Eastwood delivers a down-to-earth performance. If you are an avid fan of Eastwood, you’re going to fall in love with Trouble With the Curve.

His engaging portrayal of Gus is one of his best roles in a long while.

We especially love the relationship between Adams and Eastwood. These two actors forge a believable father-daughter relationship.

It’s lovely to see how this relationship develops over the course of the movie, moving from strained to something a little more positive.

The chemistry between these two actors is effortless, which is understandable given how experienced both Eastwood and Adams are.

Adams, known for movies such as Enchanted, Man of Steel, Arrival, and American Hustle, provides a delightful depiction of Mickey. She is both plucky and delicate, resulting in a role that contrasts beautifully with Eastwood’s charismatic grizzly personality.

Timberlake, better known for his music career than his acting, is a worthwhile addition to the cast. He has a great repertoire with Eastwood and Adams, which is no mean feat given how talented and respected these performers are.

Moreover, Timberlake shines in the comedic moments as well as the emotional aspects of playing a former baseball player.

The cast also has some solid supporting roles. In particular, John Goodman’s Pete Klein, who plays a boss who is reluctant to let Gus go, has an extraordinary supporting part.

Though his role is small, Goodman provides a welcome grounding influence. Scott Eastwood, the real-world son of Clint Eastwood, also makes a nice small appearance.

The Bad

Trouble with the Curve is disappointingly predictable. If you have seen one of these sports movies before, you will likely be able to predict how the film will end from early on in your viewing experience.

The writing is quite weak at times. Though the script offers some genuine emotion, its lack of nuance means that the characters are unable to evolve beyond this generic narrative. 

The script occasionally feels very limp, resulting in there being very little happening on screen. To add to the stakes, the writer (Randy Brown) has to resort to melodrama and exaggeration.

As a result, many of the emotional scenes rely on amazing acting rather than strong writing. 

One must also acknowledge the controversy surrounding the movie. Trouble with the Curve was accused of plagiarism. If true, the idea that this narrative was stolen is certainly a critique of the movie.

Should You Watch Trouble With The Curve?

If you are passionate about baseball, you will enjoy this film. You can feel that this movie has been crafted with a real love for the sport. This film is also well-suited to older and more conservative viewers thanks to its themes and politics.

Moreover, if you are a fan of Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, or Justin Timerbalke, you will likely appreciate their astonishing performances. This film is particularly noteworthy as one of the best of Eastwood’s most recent roles. 

The movie is also a fantastic watch for fathers. It explored not only the father/ daughter relationship between Eastwood and Adams, but it also displays the close bond that sports coaches and agents can have with sports players.

So if you are a coach, you will certainly be able to relate to Trouble with the Curve.

On the other hand, this film is not recommended for people that are not interested in sports, especially baseball. Plus, if you have grown tired of predictable films that often rely on cliches, Trouble with the Curve may not be for you.

Final Thoughts

Trouble With a Curve is a movie that mostly relies on its star-studded cast. Eastwood, Adams, and Timberlake all offer dynamic performances and have surprisingly sensational chemistry with each other.

The writing is decent, though it can be a little predictable at times.
We give Trouble with the Curve 3 out of 5 stars.

If you liked this article, you might enjoy our post, ‘Mortdecai Movie Review‘.

Max Roberts