“Million Dollar Arm” is a Disney creation directed by Craig Gillespie and the screenplay was written by Thomas McCarthy. The movie was released on May 16, 2014 and can now be seen on DVD.
“Million Dollar Arm” has an all star cast including Jon Hamm (Mad Men) playing sports agent JB Bernstein and Alan Arkin as major league baseball scout Ray Poitevint. Bill Paxton (Twister) played the compassionate pitching coach, Tom House, Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi) lives up to his fame playing the role of Rinku Singh, Lake Bell is the female character who pulls it all together as Brenda Paauwe. Amit, the wanna-be baseball coach is perfectly played by Pitobash and Madhur Mittal absolutely fits the part of Dinesh Patel.
“Million Dollar Arm” is based on the true story of JB Bernstein and what he did in order to save his career and the lessons he learned along the way.
JB Bernstein is a struggling sports agent who can’t keep up with the competition so he comes up with a plan for a major league baseball pitching contest in India.
They search for young cricket players and see how fast they can pitch a baseball. The top two players will come back to Los Angeles and train to become baseball pitchers at Southern California University with the ultimate goal that they will be signed by a major league team.
The competition is televised and becomes a complete sensation. 19-year old Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel win the competition and leave their families in India to live their dream and come to the United States.
A tryout takes place on national TV in front of major league scouts and for all to see back in India. Just imagine the pressure these young men were facing and the concern that they would fail and let down their families and all the young boys back in India.
These young men face challenges in trying to understand a completely different culture. They have to learn to speak English and know nothing about the game of baseball.
The foods, where they live and the outside environment are completely different from their home. They show such a deep respect for their parents when they leave India and become homesick being separated from their families.
Bernstein knows nothing of family and these young men, along with Brenda, somehow begin to teach him about love and the importance of these kind of relationships. They are an important part of our lives.
He learns how caring for one another and working as a team will bring them all closer together and able to handle success or failure together.
This is a film about second chances and never giving up on your dreams. There is humor, heartbreak, disappointment, victory and, in the end, a feeling of accomplishment. It will be an inspiration and leave anyone who watches the film feeling good.
This is a biography sports drama film that came from the same Disney studio that created “Remember the Titans” and “Miracle”. Some of the music in the film was written by Slumdog Millionaire’s Oscar-winning composer, A.R. Rahman.
If you enjoyed these films you will no doubt be tempted to watch “Million Dollar Arm” over and over again.
Rotten Tomatoes critics rated the movie with a 61 percent approval and 71 percent of their audience liked it.
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