The Scout

Rating:
Summary: A real feel-good movie
Review: "The Scout" is one of those movies that leaves you with a warm feeling in your soul after the video has been turned off. It is the story of a man who finds a friend and triumphs over his fears.
Al Percolo is a New York Yankees scout who is experiencing the worst luck of his life. When his boss sends him to Mexico on a grudge trip, Al discovers "the greatest ballplayer that ever lived": Steve Nebraska. Al manages to land a deal with Steve, but is fired while telling his boss about his great find. When the pair returns to the United States, Steve is promptly snapped up with a $55 million bid from the Yankees. Despite all his success, Steve's world is anything but the fairytale it appears to be. Steve has dangerous idiosyncrasies and an abusive past, which are uncovered as time goes on.
Brendan Fraser plays the part of the slightly eccentric, slightly insecure Steve Nebraska with astounding depth. Albert Brooks is perfect as the cheeky, unyielding scout.
However, Dianne Wiest is much too abrasive as Steve's psychologist, Doctor Aaron. She cannot decide who her character is. One minute she is speaking gently to Al, the next she is glaring and snapping at him. I'm afraid this psychologist might need a psychologist herself!
Despite the heavy subject material, the movie has its light moments. There are several comedic occasions provided by Steve's singing, and I must say, these points alone are reason enough to see the movie. Of course, there is also the inevitable victory, which makes everything beforehand worth it.
What is really refreshing about this movie is how clean it is. There are less than ten profanities in the entire film, and they are the only objectionable content.
"The Scout" is simply a fine piece of work, and a wonderful trip to take from everyday life.

Rating:
Summary: Good Actors Do a Lot with a Little; Shoddy Sports Scenes
Review: "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.





Rating:
Summary: The Scout
Review: Albert Brooks fans will not be disappointed with this one. The irony of it all, which is the classic style of Brooks, is told in a story about a baseball scout (Brooks) down on his luck and banished to Mexico where he finds the ultimate free agent Steve Nebraska (Frasier). One catch - Nebraska isn't all there upstairs. Brooks goes all out to make the impossible possible and learns a greater lessen in the end that the best interest of others isn't served when our own interests are involved. Witty, funny and touching. Classic Brooks!

Rating:
Summary: I would not call this a comedy
Review: Brendan Fraser is great in this movie, but I would not call it a comedy. It is a drama with some funny lines. I don't think a young man seriously disturbed by an abusive background is funny. However, I enjoyed the movie and would watch it again. Tender & touching

Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies I've ever seen
Review: I like everything about this movie. It's got comedy, it's got drama, and it's something you can watch with your girlfriend's family without getting embarrassed. I love baseball movies and this is one of my favorites. A lot of celebrity cameos, too: Steinbrenner, Saberhagen, Keith Hernandez, Ozzie Smith and singer Tony Bennett. A good movie for any underdog with major league dreams.

Rating:
Summary: Its hard to believe this was actually made...
Review: Just so there is no mistake, this is THE worst movie I have ever seen. I have seen a lot of movies. I saw this when it came out. And still, 7 years later it holds this prestigious position. I have to spoil a few parts of this film to make my point. Don't read on if you want to be "surprised" by it.

Lets start with the things that we know about the characters in the film by the end.
Albert Brooks is a washed up Baseball scout until he finds Brendan Fraser. He is really desperate to find his "King Kong" to bring back and show the world. Because of this he plays the mildly pathetic role of the pushy mentor. That's pretty much it for this textbook one dimensional character.
Diane Wiest is the psychiatrist that is introduced to help out Brendan Fraser's character since he has a few "issues". She cares for his well being, well, because she's a doctor. Oh and a woman, so of course she's motherly. Whatever. That's pretty much it for this ( also ) textbook one dimensional character. I think she has about 10 minutes of screen time. I think Steinbrenner had about 10 too.
There is a list of other curious characters that awkwardly stumble in and out of this story but I won't mention them here to save time.
Now lets get to Fraser's character. The things we know ( by the end of the film ) are that he is an inhuman pitcher. He knocks the catchers over with his awesome power. He hits every ball out of the park. He loves baseball. We figure out that he has abandonment issues mostly from the hints dropped early on. He avoids questions about his parents, he freaks out at the airport in New York when he loses sight of Brooks and begs "don't leave me alone again" or something equally obvious. And then of course because Diane Weist tells us this is so an hour into the movie. "He has abandonment issues" I think is her line. "REALLY?" was mine. She also informs us ( and Brooks ) that he had an abusive father with the deeply moving and poetic line "I think he had an abusive father".
Ok now to my biggest problem with the film. The questions that are NEVER answered about Fraser's character.
1. Brooks finds him in Mexico. We never find out why he is living there.
2. His parents are gone. We never find out where or why. No of course we never meet them. That would be to obvious.
3. He hates questions. He freaks out right from the start "I don't like all these questions, I don't like answering questions". We never find out why.
4. Woman walk by him and give him their phone number without ever meeting him. We don't know why. I guess cause he is cute. But this character point is never used again. With the exception of a woman that works for the Yankees who wants to take him home. No nothing ever comes of this. Well maybe it is so that Brooks can deliver the responsible social commentary "You know you need to use protection?". Kill me know.
5. Before he gets signed he says that he has no problem playing in front of people, big crowds or not. When he signs with the Yankees, he freaks out when asked if he is going to pitch this season. "Oh... I .... I don't know about that" he states. WHY?. You never find out. I guess its the abandonment issues. Whatever.
6. And now my favorite character trait. Oh god I love this one. He's really good at doing laundry. That's right. He knows all there is to know about doing laundry.
Laundry my friends.
You know this because he tells you so in one scene. How does he know so much? you ask. That's right, you never find out. Amazing.

This movie actually sucks the quality out of all other movies. It is the movie that I gage all other movies by. In that respect I suggest you see it too. Every thing you see after will at least be better than this one.

A final note, just so you know I'm not the only one that thought this movie stunk. This movie was actually made in 1988 and shelved by Fox. It only saw the light of day because of the baseball strike in 1994 to try to recoup loses.

Rating:
Summary: Its hard to believe this was actually made...
Review: Just so there is no mistake, this is THE worst movie I have ever seen. I have seen a lot of movies. I saw this when it came out. And still, 7 years later it holds this prestigious position. I have to spoil a few parts of this film to make my point. Don't read on if you want to be "surprised" by it.

Lets start with the things that we know about the characters in the film by the end.
Albert Brooks is a washed up Baseball scout until he finds Brendan Fraser. He is really desperate to find his "King Kong" to bring back and show the world. Because of this he plays the mildly pathetic role of the pushy mentor. That's pretty much it for this textbook one dimensional character.
Diane Wiest is the psychiatrist that is introduced to help out Brendan Fraser's character since he has a few "issues". She cares for his well being, well, because she's a doctor. Oh and a woman, so of course she's motherly. Whatever. That's pretty much it for this ( also ) textbook one dimensional character. I think she has about 10 minutes of screen time. I think Steinbrenner had about 10 too.
There is a list of other curious characters that awkwardly stumble in and out of this story but I won't mention them here to save time.
Now lets get to Fraser's character. The things we know ( by the end of the film ) are that he is an inhuman pitcher. He knocks the catchers over with his awesome power. He hits every ball out of the park. He loves baseball. We figure out that he has abandonment issues mostly from the hints dropped early on. He avoids questions about his parents, he freaks out at the airport in New York when he loses sight of Brooks and begs "don't leave me alone again" or something equally obvious. And then of course because Diane Weist tells us this is so an hour into the movie. "He has abandonment issues" I think is her line. "REALLY?" was mine. She also informs us ( and Brooks ) that he had an abusive father with the deeply moving and poetic line "I think he had an abusive father".
Ok now to my biggest problem with the film. The questions that are NEVER answered about Fraser's character.
1. Brooks finds him in Mexico. We never find out why he is living there.
2. His parents are gone. We never find out where or why. No of course we never meet them. That would be to obvious.
3. He hates questions. He freaks out right from the start "I don't like all these questions, I don't like answering questions". We never find out why.
4. Woman walk by him and give him their phone number without ever meeting him. We don't know why. I guess cause he is cute. But this character point is never used again. With the exception of a woman that works for the Yankees who wants to take him home. No nothing ever comes of this. Well maybe it is so that Brooks can deliver the responsible social commentary "You know you need to use protection?". Kill me know.
5. Before he gets signed he says that he has no problem playing in front of people, big crowds or not. When he signs with the Yankees, he freaks out when asked if he is going to pitch this season. "Oh... I .... I don't know about that" he states. WHY?. You never find out. I guess its the abandonment issues. Whatever.
6. And now my favorite character trait. Oh god I love this one. He's really good at doing laundry. That's right. He knows all there is to know about doing laundry.
Laundry my friends.
You know this because he tells you so in one scene. How does he know so much? you ask. That's right, you never find out. Amazing.

This movie actually sucks the quality out of all other movies. It is the movie that I gage all other movies by. In that respect I suggest you see it too. Every thing you see after will at least be better than this one.

A final note, just so you know I'm not the only one that thought this movie stunk. This movie was actually made in 1988 and shelved by Fox. It only saw the light of day because of the baseball strike in 1994 to try to recoup loses.

Rating:
Summary: A very cute movie!
Review: This is a great movie for the whole family, cute and funny. Brendan fraser is absolutely adorable in this role. Definately one of my favorites!

Rating:
Summary: Will be loved by Albert Brooks and Brendan Frasier fans.
Review: This movie is a delightful surprise, from Albert Brooks, to Brendan Frasier, to Dianne Wiest's great turn as a psychologist. I was laughing out loud by myself, always a sign of a great movie to me.

Rating:
Summary: Started great but ended not so great
Review: Was great in Mexico but was not very good in new york though the baseball game stunk