Trouble with the Curve, and Won't Back Down - Movie Reviews

Often, I review old movies here.  There are a couple of reasons for that:

1. I'm old.
2. Many new movies are a disappointment.

I still like to go to the theater to see a movie, and we go frequently.  Unfortunately, it's all too common for us to be in the mood to see a film, but be unable to find one worth the $20 or so to get inside.  These two movies both looked like we'd enjoy them, so we went with high expectations.

Trouble with the Curve has everything necessary to be a popular success: Clint Eastwood, playing his now-familiar gruff old man with a (well hidden) heart of gold; Amy Adams, as his cute-as-a-bug daughter; and Justin Timberlake as the guy who gets Amy Adams (lucky bastard!). 

The problem here is this movie is extremely shallow.  Clint's character is just like everything he's done since he got old - he's a tough guy who's falling apart physically (I guess this is growth for him - he used to just play a tough guy).  He's distant from his daughter, keeping his emotions hidden, with a big heart somewhere deep inside.  We've seen it all before - much like his old Spaghetti Western characters, you could take any character he's played, move it to a different film, and just go right on with the story.  Clearly, Clint has a limited range as an actor - he's OK in this, I've just seen it all before.

I never get tired of watching Amy Adams.  She's very likable, and you want everything to work out well for her.  Unfortunately, you don't understand why she wastes time following her father around.  She gives up plenty for him, but you don't get a glimpse of what it is that makes her willing to do that.  She can't be stupid, but you're left with that impression.  Likewise, it's hard to see her ending up with Timberlake - I mean, he's a handsome guy, I guess, but there's no spark between them.  There's also no reason they get together in the first place, and no reason for conflict later on (and, no real reason they get back together at the end). 

I'm not giving anything away to say this all gets wrapped up nicely at the end - everybody is happy, except the bad guys, who are unhappy.  The characters are one-dimensional, the story is predictable, and, as far as I can see, there's no enlightenment delivered as the plot unfolds.  The happy ending seems contrived - complicated situations don't lend themselves to simple solutions in real life.  The ending really feels like someone said, "OK, it's been long enough, we need to get this wrapped up now".  It's not bad, it's just not good.  If you really want to see this, wait 6 months and catch it for free on cable.  If it starts early enough, you just might be able to stay awake until the end.  If you really want to see Clint, pop some popcorn and put High Plains Drifter into the DVD player.

 A few days later, we went to Won't Back Down, the story of two women's struggle to save their children's failing school.  Maggie Gyllenhall plays a struggling single mother, with Viola Davis as the crusading teacher.  This movie has its moments, but many characters are cartoon-like - pure good or bad, with little or no nuance.  The movie has a point to make, and they make it with a sledge hammer.  According to this, the problems in our urban schools are the sole result of the teacher unions - the teachers don't care about their students, and the only solution is to disband the union.

This is a simplistic view of the problem - poor performance in any field is most likely the result of incompetent management. In the real world, problems have complex causes and solutions.  Most conflicts are best resolved by compromise between the two sides.  The movie ignores this reality, and can't really be taken seriously because of it.  It's the cinema equivalent of Fox News - a slanted, distorted, simplistic view of a complex issue.

Gyllenhall is appealing, and Davis is quite good, as usual, but that's not enough to save this show.  There's a good movie in this topic, but this isn't it.    Save your money on this one.