The Scout (1994)

Am I Missing Something?

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

I made the grievous error of seeing this movie in the theater. And it has been scorched into my memory as one of the worst I've ever seen. It was billed as a comedy, and I think I may have laughed once? Maybe? It was played as a drama, but without the drama. The ending was so anti-climactic and predictable as to have made the movie even worse than it already was. Brendan Frasier does his standard job of sub-standard acting playing the typical confused, out-of-place character he played in Encino Man, George of the Jungle, the Mummy series, etc. Making matters worse, the writers hint at a possible direction in the story that may make the movie interesting, and they simply drop it in the middle leaving you hanging, but not wanting more.Don't bother, it isn't worth the time.

This movie starts out great, especially the scenes with Brendan in Mexico, but turns for the worse once his personality is fully revealed. A bizarre film that is a drama bookended by comedy. Wiest does her part very well, and "The Boss" is his jerk self. Not enough baseball scenes. It's a like a sports-themed "The Cable Guy", in that it's supposed to be funny, but Fraser is downright psychotic in some scenes. It of course wraps it up too quickly in the end. A dream World Series matchup though; Yankees-Cardinals.4/10

I guess Albert Brooks' comedy is not for everybody. His sense of humor is based on being loud, antisocial, sarcastic and incredibly neurotic. And that's why our senses of humor are on par with one another. I love that type of humor! And what's more amusing about his comedy is he almost never cracks a smile. Some comic actors feel the need be goofy in order to be funny. I don't believe comedy works that way. I believe the more serious you are in a scene, the funnier you are. As a matter of fact, comic actors need to be more serious in scene than dramatic actors. And Brooks is dead serious in portraying his characters. It's the fact that he's ranting and raving like a maniac, while keeping a straight face, that makes the scenes incredibly hilarious. So for everyone who's a fan of his comedy, you should feel right at home. There's tons of hilarious lines and tons of hilarious gags. Of course the story is predictable, like most sports movies, so don't expect any big surprises. And I felt Brendan Fraser's character was underwritten. But just see the movie for Albert Brooks. You should have a wonderful time! I can't wait to see his next movie, "The Wedding Party," where he co-stars with Michael Douglas. I just saw the trailer this weekend. My score: 8 (out of 10)

First of all, let's deal with the fact that this movie isn't at all about baseball. Not in any real sense of the sport - it's more of a wry comedy that Albert Brooks specializes in. Brendan Fraser stars in the type of role he'd spend the next few years of his career perfecting - the lovable doofus who doesn't quite have a clue but is impossible to truly dislike. He's Steve Nebraska - uber-prospect baseball pitcher who has found his life and career derailed and ends up pitching semipro baseball in Mexico. Brooks is a baseball scout on the downside of his career, in purgatory south of the border when he discovers the immensely talented - but quite immature - Nebraska. He sees this as his ticket back to the bigtime and shops his pitching prospect around the majors, eventually signing with the Yankees where Nebraska makes his debut in the World Series.Now is when this film careens towards the edge and drives off a cliff. It's not about baseball, fine. But it involves baseball to a heavy degree, even including several major leaguers and baseball people in cameos. The climactic scene takes place in Yankee Stadium during the World Series. It may not be a sports movie, but it owes its entire premise to the sport of baseball, and as a result, owes that game a semblance of respect. What it ends up doing is shafting the game so completely and making such a mockery of baseball that it ruins whatever it had built up through the rest of the film.There is simply no excuse for building Steve Nebraska as the greatest pitcher ever - a guy who not only throws 110 mph and knocks over his catcher AND the umpire with pitches, but also hits like Barry Bonds. A guy whose first ever major league appearance is in Game One of the World Series - not only a ludicrous prospect for dramatic purposes, but completely impossible in real life (the rules of baseball don't allow this, discussion ends there). A guy whose debut game consists of throwing 81 straight fastballs past major league hitters - none of whom even so much as make contact - and who throws all of them at 110 mph. (Infamous point - the last pitch is FASTER than the first pitch). Physics dictate a guy like this would completely shred his rotator cuff, labrum muscles, and probably destroy every ligament in his elbow. Not to mention any major league lineup worth its salt (for instance, one playing in the World Series) would sit on this guy's fastball and absolutely torch him the second time through the order.Is this nitpicking? I don't think so. The Scout may be better judged as a comedy than a baseball movie, but it can't totally remove itself from the sporting aspect. I think that any movie that involves baseball as heavily as The Scout does owe it to its audience - as well as its subject matter - to make some slightest bit of effort to craft something that doesn't insult fans of the game. You can make sentimental stories that use baseball as a backdrop - and involve legendarily talented players - that don't mock the game and flip it the middle finger. The Natural comes to mind.As a comedy, it's average. As a baseball movie, it's completely insulting and awful.