By Chris Barrymore
It was a rare night out at the movies, and for once it wasn't a cartoon. No, this time, kid coverage had been arranged and it was a night out with the wife. Our choice, perhaps surprisingly given that my wife is an avid non-baseball fan, was Moneyball.
No spoilers here, be assured. Besides, this is a story that played out in the Major Leagues ten years ago. So even if I did include spoilers they wouldn't really spoil anything. (At least not of the same magnitude as telling someone that Bruce Willis is really dead the whole time in The Sixth Sense, or that Nicole Kidman and her kids are the ghosts in The Others). Anyway, there I go digressing again.
I was a bit nervous about how much (or how little) I would actually be able to get into this film. I am not a great baseball mind. I am not even an average baseball mind. Sure, I follow the Twins a bit and hope they win, and am exposed to a lot of Twins coverage in the local media. In the summer, it is kind of hard to ignore. But I can't say that I am a student of the game.
However, I found that the story of the early 21st century Oakland teams ran slightly parallel to the Twins and their approach, at least up until a few years ago when the Twins starting inflating their payroll.
Brad Pitt is usually good, although I found myself hoping that at some point in the film he would say, "The first rule of Moneyball is that you do not talk about Moneyball". Jonah Hill played a more straightforward character here, but he still generated a few laughs. Felt it was a bit long during certain parts, but had a nice sweet ending. And no, I did not cry. Because there is no crying in baseball. Or in baseball movies.
My Rating: 9 Drews out of 10
So you will go see a movie about some British guy who writes crappy music, simply because Drew Barrymore in is it, yet you are surprised that your wife, who hates baseball, wanted to see a Brad Pitt movie?
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