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Million Dollar Arm

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Jon Hamm in Million Dollar Arm (AP/Disney)
Jon Hamm in Million Dollar Arm (AP/Disney)
What's it about:

In a last-ditch effort to save his career as a sports agent, JB Bernstein concocts a scheme to find baseball’s next great pitching ace. Hoping to find a young cricket pitcher he can turn into a Major League Baseball star, JB travels to India to produce a reality show competition called Million Dollar Arm.

With the help of a cantankerous but eagle-eyed retired baseball scout, he discovers Dinesh and Rinku, two 18-year-old boys who have no idea how to play baseball, but have a knack for throwing a fastball. Hoping to sign them to major league contracts and make a quick buck, JB takes the boys home to train in the US. While the Americans are definitely out of their element in India, the boys, who’ve never left their rural villages, are equally challenged across the Pacific. As the boys learn the finer points of baseball, JB, with the help of his charming friend, Brenda, learns valuable life lessons about teamwork, commitment and what it means to be a family.

What we thought:

Million Dollar Arm tells a story that many are very familiar with; the rags to riches, overcoming adversity in foreign lands story. But this time around it is told in an honest humorous heartfelt way that we can all relate to.

Jon Hamm plays a sports agent whose company hits tough times when they miss out on a big client who would have been their meal ticket. He comes up with the "unusual" idea of going to cricket obsessed India to scout for the next best thing in the baseball world.

The film is an absolutely beautifully told story of family, love, trials and tribulations and subsequent triumph.

The actors portrayed the characters honestly and expertly. Although it’s a sport movie, it has a lot of heart, you find yourself crying and laughing the next minute.

The story is very relatable to all those who have had to face challenges in their lives and the delivery by the actors is second to none.

Everything from the music to the hot, humid streets of India and back to the United States, comes together beautifully, the film does not feel forced or manipulated in order to make the viewer feel a certain way.

You find yourself embracing being part of the journey of these two Indian "sportsmen" together with their hilarious translator and busy, young model loving agent.

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