Million Dollar Arm (2014)
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Critics Consensus: Pleasant to a fault, Million Dollar Arm is a middle-of-the-plate pitch that coasts on Jon Hamm's considerable charm without adding any truly original curves to Disney's inspirational sports formula.
Critics Consensus: Pleasant to a fault, Million Dollar Arm is a middle-of-the-plate pitch that coasts on Jon Hamm's considerable charm without adding any truly original curves to Disney's inspirational sports formula.
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Movie Info
Based on a true story, Disney's "Million Dollar Arm" follows JB Bernstein, a once-successful sports agent who now finds himself edged out by bigger, slicker competitors. He and his partner Aash (Aasif Mandvi) will have to close their business down for good if JB doesn't come up with something fast. Late one night, while watching cricket being played in India on TV, JB comes up with an idea so radical it just might work. Why not go to there and find the next baseball pitching sensation? Setting … More- Rating:
- PG (for mild language and suggestive content)
- Genre:
- Drama , Comedy
- Directed By:
- Craig Gillespie
- Written By:
- Tom McCarthy
- In Theaters:
- May 16, 2014 Wide
- On DVD:
- Oct 7, 2014
- US Box Office:
- $36.4M
Cast
-
Jon Hamm
as JB Bernstein -
Aasif Mandvi
as Aash -
Madhur Mittal
as Dinesh -
Bill Paxton
as Tom House -
Suraj Sharma
as Rinku -
Lake Bell
as Brenda
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Critic Reviews for Million Dollar Arm
All Critics (132) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (81) | Rotten (51) | DVD (1)
Sappy, saccharine, and predictable to the point where it's almost painful.
A completely by-the-numbers affair.
JB is not the wisest of men and Million Dollar Arm makes no bones about him being a character in need of an upward arc. Even so, the movie never sacrifices the other characters as mere handmaidens to his growth.
Million Dollar Arm, based on true events, did a fairly good job of keeping me engaged even though I knew exactly where it was going every step of the way.
Million Dollar Arm is cute, cloying, simplistic, borderline offensive ... and thoroughly effective.
Hamm and Bell are likeable actors with terrific timing. The location shots in Mumbai are beautiful, chaotic and jarring. The script is amusing.
"Million Dollar Arm" is bland and overlong at 124 minutes. Simply put, there is nothing here of interest.
Based on a true story, this is one of those relentlessly uplifting Disney movies that mixes comedy and emotion to inspire and move the audience.
Craig Gillespie's by-numbers schmaltzathon never transcends its tourist's-eye views of India or patronisingly cliched views of its people.
Jon Hamm turns on the charm and scores a home run.
In its own gently comical way, Million Dollar Arm plays up the misunderstandings between Hollywood and India -- as well as the mutual fascination.
A likeable and agreeable movie.
Though it doesn't offer much by way of freshness, Million Dollar Arm is about as enjoyable as a predictable film gets, thanks to a feel good mix of genuine heart and wit.
It might sound like a superhero movie but Million Dollar Arm is a stirringly human drama based on a true story and a welcome reminder that extraordinary feats can be achieved by mere mortals.
A cold, hard business story, reshaped by Disney into a warm, fuzzy hug.
There's nothing wildly unpredictable on offer here, but it still winningly manages to sneak its way past your defences.
The steady hand of director Craig Gillespie (whose previous work includes the off-kilter Lars and the Real Girl) is evident throughout, and the result is warm, witty and thoroughly entertaining.
Hamm's charm works well playing a debonair scoundrel on television but in this bland, family friendly offering, it's a resource that's quickly drained.
Very funny underdog comedy that's genuinely heartwarming and full of charm.
A cross between Bend It Like Beckham and Cool Runnings, you can see what Disney is pitching from a mile away, but it's polished and pleasant.
Hamm and Bell keep this hooey light, but you can't lob a ball in here without hitting notes played better in Jerry Maguire and Slumdog Millionaire.
Million Dollar Arm isn't a complete strikeout, but it's a by-the-numbers Disney sports movie, and it doesn't have enough wit, charm or drama to elevate the formula.
You don't have to be a sports fan to like this movie, and even when it's getting predictable you'll probably find yourself enjoying it anyway. It's not brilliant or daring, but it's got genuine heart...
... has trouble finding the strike zone, and in the baseball-movie canon, is likely to be relegated to the bullpen.
As far as sports movies go, like Hamm, it's immensely likeable.
"Million Dollar Arm" benefits from a strong performance by Jon Hamm in the lead and a top-notch supporting cast.
Audience Reviews for Million Dollar Arm
A typical feel-good movie that believes that being charming is enough to keep us interested, but it is clichéd, excessively predictable to the point of being annoying and tries to sell us an incredibly corny (and laughable) message that "baseball shouldn't be about business but about fun."
MoreSuper Reviewer
J.B.: How fast do they pitch in cricket?...Fine, bowl. How fast do they bowl in cricket?
It is easy to see the main issue with Million Dollar Arm, as it is all over the poster. I like Jon Hamm, I look forward to seeing what he does, once Mad Men ends and he can really delve into some much better film roles, which he is more than able to handle, but his character is not the interesting part of this story adapted from reality. Still, we follow this sports agent in a film that takes the Disney sports movie formula (which has worked many times before) and applies it to this "Jerry Maguire heads to India" story. Unfortunately, while there are commendable elements, the film has little desire to really delve into the more interesting material involving the two kids with the million dollar arms.
read the whole review at thecodeiszeek.com
Super Reviewer
Though charming, inspiring and visually appealing, Million Dollar Arm presents a captivating story with somewhat choppy potholes in its presentation. Jon Hamm is fantastic along with the prospective cast, but it's not enough (even with the Disney charm) to fully hit out of the park. 3/5
MoreSuper Reviewer
"Million Dollar Arm" starts with JB Bernstein(Jon Hamm, relaxed with 70% less self-loathing), a sports agent, making a lucrative deal to sign Popo(Ray Maualuga), one of the best NFL players in the league right now. But before the members of JB's team can bump various body parts, Popo has a catch. He wants a million dollar signing bonus which JB honestly cannot deliver on. Now facing bankruptcy, JB cannot sleep. When suffering from a near lethal dose of watching televised cricket and 'Britain's Got Talent,' he comes up with the risky idea of going to India to look for fresh idea to look for fresh pitching talent to sign, funded by Chang(Tzi Ma) as a contest.
Even as it is too long, "Million Dollar Arm" is a nice movie with yet again a very good turn from Alan Arkin. In general, the movie is inoffensive, harmless, charming and nowhere near as broad as it could have been in its comedy.(My brother found the story inspiring, so maybe he should have wrote this review instead.) Overall, it is about a protagonist who finds what is truly valuable in life. Except this is is not really JB's story, is it?
Super Reviewer
Million Dollar Arm Quotes
- JB Bernstein:
- Welcome to America, boys.
- Aash:
- Who's that?
- JB Bernstein:
- She's my neighbor. Not my type.
- Aash:
- Why? Because she's not a model? Yeah, stay away from that.
- JB Bernstein:
- I'm J.B. Bernstein, I'm a sports agent.
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