Million Dollar Arm

Based on a true story, Million Dollar Arm is a predictable motivating sport film from the Disney stable.

Jon Hamm with his flawlessly groomed stubble and cocky grin plays the haughty sports agent Bernstein with ease. As a groomed smooth talker in sharply tailored corporate suits, there are few to match Hamm and he does what is expected of him. The two main characters of the movie are Suraj Sharma, the star of Life of Pi who plays Rinku and Madhur Mittal, the older brother in Slumdog Millionaire who plays Dinesh. Both of them perform their roles very beguilingly and inspire affection from the crowd. The rest of the supporting cast also perform their roles very well especially Lake Bell who was very impressive in her cameo role as Brenda.

I might be a bit biased since I am from India but the comedy in the movie is hilarious...I found myself laughing throughout the movie enjoying every moment of it. The direction and editing are also pretty impressive. In a nutshell, all the elements in the movie combine really well and the result is a fine movie which has plenty to offer.

So, overall, Million Dollar Arm is a finely made movie which will impress you despite being predictable and is certainly worth a watch.

My Rating : 8.5 out of 10

Regardless of how people say the film was a Disney Film, predictable, etc, unaware of this true story, all I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Being an Indian student in America, the film connected me to my culture in India. The background music, the sentiment, and the portrayal of Indian traditions made me feel nostalgic of how I miss my home back in India. All I can say is that watching this movie made me feel like I was in India enjoying this experience with Rinku and Dinesh! The music was excellent. AR Rahman killing it as usual! Suraj Sharma has a bright acting future and Amit looked very cute. Excellent film! Go India!

OK, I admit that you could probably predict the course of the movie just from seeing the trailer. However, this movie makes you forget about its predictability. The acting was superb, you really feel for the characters and what they are going through. You want them to succeed and surpass the adversities. With that being said, this movie will make you laugh, cry, and smile. It's just one of those feel good movies. In fact, the entire theatre audibly laughed and cheered on the boys. This is the first time I've ever seen a theatre audience so engaged in a movie. I recommend this movie for everyone. If you're looking for a feel good, charming movie, this is it!

First, let me say I LOVE sports movies. Second, it is rare that I give any movie higher than a rating of 8. This movie has it all--and it's not really a "sports" movie.

To begin with, there is a great story. The characters are well developed and the scenes in India provide just the right background for what these young men must have gone through in their transformation. There was more that one heart-jerking moment without ever being maudlin. I was prepared to give this a lower score because I was sure the love-interest story was contrived just for the movie, but it turns out to be true.

Be sure to stay for the credits, which has many "real-life" photos as well as more scenes from India, and updates on most of the characters. I was disappointed to see there wasn't a follow-up on Aash who provided the initial inspiration for the concept, but I'm guessing he/that WAS created for movie.

While sports movies usually follow a tried-and-true formula, and this one hones pretty close to that formula, it is still refreshing nonetheless and quite enlightening. I was not at all familiar with this story, and am interested in finding out more.

And lastly, how refreshing it is to see a good movie (set in professional sports, no less) that has NO obscene language. Other filmmakers, take a look at how successful and enjoyable this movie is without a profanity laced (or drenched) script.

In terms of content, it's hard not to like MILLION DOLLAR ARM. There's a winning performance from Jon Hamm as the harassed agent trying his best to re-establish himself, while discovering the importance of looking after his charges; complemented by Lake Bell as the next- door neighbor, the intern who understands more about the young Indian boys' predicament of inhabiting a completely alien culture. As the two boys, Suraj Sharma and Madhur Mittal are particularly good at communicating - often through nonverbal means - their sheer bewilderment once they are transplanted from their rural Indian surroundings to metropolitan Los Angeles. Although they eventually make a success of their quest to become major league baseball pitchers, they nonetheless find it difficult to adapt to alien surroundings.

And yet there is a strong sense in which Craig Gillespie's film serves to perpetuate rather than negotiate stereotypes about the Indian nation and its people, and the Americans' responses to it. Hamm's JB is predictably confused by the disorganized ways in which the Indian people do business, especially in his interactions with Vivek (Darshan Jariwala). By implication, therefore, the American (i.e. efficient) ways, are naturally superior. Meanwhile aging coach Ray (Alan Arkin) rejects the Indian way of life altogether, as he complains about the prospect of contracting the so-called "Delhi belly" (an upset stomach), and returns to America on the first available flight.

Once the Indian boys are transplanted to the United States, they are frequently used as butts for cheap jokes; there is one scene in a hotel, where they experience problems with the elevator, which is particularly orientalist in tone. The film seems not to be aware of contemporary realities; in economic terms India is no longer a backward country but gradually becoming an economic superpower in its own right.

Nonetheless the film does make an effort to recognize the strengths of Indian cultures; the emphasis on family stability and the ability to converse contrasts starkly with JB's life, in which he is so busy that he has little time either to consider marriage or even to talk to anyone at length. The Indian characters also take time for daily prayers; the contemplative life is as significant as the active life in human beings. Perhaps the western world has become too secular to understand this.

MILLION DOLLAR ARM is an ambivalent piece, at once celebratory of yet still reluctant to recognize the strength of contemporary Indian cultures. Yet it's still worth a look.