Trouble With the Curve

A veteran major-league-baseball scout (Clint Eastwood) clings to his job even as his eyesight fails; his concerned boss (John Goodman) turns to the man’s semi-estranged daughter (Amy Adams) to help get him through one more season. First-time writer Randy Brown’s screenplay is short on surprises but long on grist for its likeable stars (including Justin Timberlake as a romantic interest for Adams) and dislikeable villain (Matthew Lillard as a hotshot upstart in the team office, as smarmy as Jay Mohr in Jerry Maguire). Rookie director and Eastwood protégé Robert Lorenz keeps the amiable story humming along efficiently, and the result is an easy to take star-vehicle entertainment, comfy and predictable as an old pair of shoes. Robert Patrick, Ed Lauter, Bob Gunton and George Wyner add to the familiarity.