The Scout
by Michael Ritchie
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Actor: Albert Brooks, Anne Twomey, Brendan Fraser, Dianne Wiest, Lane SmithDirector: Michael Ritchie
Brand: FRASER,BRENDAN
Writer: Albert Brooks
Producer: Albert S. Ruddy
Producer: Andre Morgan
Producer: Herb Nanas
Writer: Andrew Bergman
Writer: Monica Mcgowan Johnson
Writer: Roger Angell
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
Published: 2001-10-01
DVD Release Date: 2001-10-02
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of The Scout
DVD Review: Good Actors Do a Lot with a Little; Shoddy Sports Scenes
Summary: 3 Stars
"The Scout" starts out with tremendous promise and gradually loses steam as the plot loses focus and several loose ends are not tied up, but the movie's weakest element is its complete lack of authenticity with the baseball action scenes. The project smacks of a Hollywood pitch that never got entirely thought through.
Imagine the filmmaker pitching the studio on this movie. "I've got Albert Brooks, and he's going to be a pompous blowhard of a Yankee baseball scout -- we've already got Steinbrenner on board, as long as he gets a cameo or two -- who uses his sarcasm to mask his underlying insecurity. He snags a kid who he thinks is going to be the next big thing, so we get some classic Brooks wordplay, but the kid upchucks all over the pitcher's mound at Yankee stadium, so -- and get this! -- Brooks gets exiled to Mexico! And after a while in Mexico, he meets the next great ballplayer -- this kid is Ruth meets Clemens! We've got Brendan Frazer -- he's the next big thing, too! -- to play the kid, with a great arm, but he's a loose cannon. And he comes to New York to pitch for the Yankees! So, it's Pygmalion meets Bull Durham meets Broadcast News, but it's got a heart."
And that's as far as the story really goes. The first half-hour of the movie is hilarious as Brooks rises and falls (one of the best lines of the movie, from the exec who exiles Brooks to Central-Southern Mexico), is, "I thought about firing you -- this was better." And Brooks is probably the perfect actor to play an obnoxious New Yorker sitting next to a Mexican baseball fan who is eager to share his ballyard snack, a barbequed pig foot.
As long as Brooks is the focus of the story, "The Scout" works. But unfortunately, the movie should have been called, "The Scout and the Flake," 'cause Brendan Fraser's character, Steve Nebraska (what the heck kind of a name is that?), intrudes. We never learn why he's playing in Mexico, or why he's such a flake, or why he alternates from clueless charm to near-murderous rage, or other similar things. We also don't learn much about the appropriately-named Harriet Aaron, psychiatrist (Dianne Wiesst), whom we think could be Steve's long-lost mother after a couple of Harvard-related hints, but this goes nowhere.
But the movie is still working essentially in these scenes, if only through the strength of the actors -- this is a darn good cast.
The movie really falls apart during the actual baseball scenes. Fraser is clearly an athlete (not everyone could pull off "The Mummy" the way he does), but he equally clearly not a baseball player. His throwing motion is completely unbelievable for a guy who can supposedly throw 100+ miles per hour -- which the movie underscores by never showing a complete wind-up-to-catcher's mitt shot of Steve pitching. Fraser's swing (he's also supposed to hit like Ruth) is also not up to par -- Kevin Costner, Robert Redford, Tom Berenger, and even Tom Selleck have all been much more believable at the plate. The obviously-staged baseball scenes undercut the movie and wipe out whatever suspension of disbelief that you may have developed.
The movie also makes a strange decision at the end. We get a long, drawn-out scene where Steve teeters on the brink of melt-down and Al Brooks tries to save him. Ultimately, Steve ends up on the mound -- which should be the victory/climactic scene. It's never been in question that Steve can throw and hit the ball with the best ever, so the victory was whether he could make it on the mound in the first place. Instead, the movie extends the scene by showing (well, or nearly showing, since we never really see Steve pitch) Steve win the game in historic fashion. This scene just jangled and reminded me that the action scenes are subpar.
Still, fans of Albert Brooks should enjoy this movie for what it is, and fans of young Mr. Fraser will not be disappointed. Overall, a good acting effort with half of a film.
Description of The Scout
A down and out baseball scout finds a truly amazing player in a small Mexican town, however, the player is literally crazy.Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 3-FEB-2004
Media Type: DVD
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