The FTT Movie Review: The Scout

Now available on Netflix Instant, "The Scout" is a 1994 film with Albert Brooks, Brendan Fraser and Dianne Wiest. As it's the dead zone of August, I gave it a spin.

I've got a weak spot for Brooks. "Defending Your Life" is a beautiful little movie, and his episode work on "The Simpsons" is among the best in the series. In "The Scout", he plays a desperate, grasping manager who works with a Sidd Finch-ian baseball savant (Fraser), who signs with the Yankees. Hijinks ensue, mostly because Fraser will go to any limits for a joke.

Star cameos abound (George Steinbrenner, Tony Bennett, Keith Hernandez, Bret Saberhagen, Bob Costas), here's some legitimate tension in the plot, and while it looks like it was filmed more for speed than cinema, I've seen worse, especially when it comes to a sports movie. The ending is a bit over the top and just plain insane, but it's well-acted, and my standard for such things is low when it comes to the instant stuff. And if you caught Costas broadcasting the Stephen Strasburg debut, you already heard most of his lines.

Besides, it's nice to see the old Yankee Stadium, and Bob Sheppard, the only park and voice that the team ever needed. Even if the ending isn't happy... at least not to me, as an A's fan.