Million Dollar Arm is a Home Run!

With a sharp, slick feel to the production, but a touch of sweetness, Million Dollar Arm excels in its genre.

Usually, I'm not a big sports movie fan, but this one I enjoyed for a matter of reasons:

1. The Plot
As Million Dollar Arm being based on a true story, the plot is already interesting, being about turning cricket "bowlers", to baseball pitchers. But what I think was interesting, was how the writer added another layer to the character, JB Bernstein, played by Jon Hamm. JB works for a company that gives money to athletes when they hit a milestone in their career, such as having the most sacks in the NFL. However, the business is not doing so great. They lost their newest client, Popo Vanuatu, and are running out of clients. JB is down in the dumps, until one night when flipping through channels, he notices Cricket, and the performance of 'I Dreamed a Dream' by Susan Boyle, on Britain's Got Talent. Then,  JB gets the idea of holding a contest to see which two Indian boys can become MLB pitchers.

2. The Humor
When you think of a sports movie, there isn't a lot of laughs right? Wrong! In Million Dollar Arm, its humor source comes from the two Indian boys Rinku, played by Suraj Sharma, and Dinesh, played by Madhur Mittal, adapting to a US lifestyle, such as watching reality TV, or any TV, and eating pizza(no offense to Americans.) One of my favorite scenes was when Dinesh is stopping the elevator when he puts his hand through it, and finds it marvelous.

3. The Soundtrack

The film's composer, A.R Rahman, does a fantastic job! From pulsing South Asian score, do LA money-on-my-mind songs, its variety surprises me since most scores only focus on one theme.

Besides Amit, played by Pitobash, the supporting characters were okay. I especially didn't like Brenda Fenwick, played by Lake Bell. While Bell's performance was good, the character itself, didn't seem necessary, even though she was used to show JB that you have to be like family to Rinku and Dinesh, or being someone to relate to Rinku and Dinesh. Also, she didn't need to be JB's love interest. But that's just Disney going along with their stereotypes.

Overall, Million Dollar Arm will be liked by sports fans, and non-sports fans alike.

Rating:
B