Million Dollar Arm (Cinema Screening)

(Spoilers)

So this weekend sees the UK catch up with the US as Million Dollar Arm is released! On paper this film really shouldn’t have worked for me, I really am not a fan of cricket and I’m not really into baseball, none of the cast really excited me but I did think that the film would be average to good so I ventured to the cinema anyway.

Million Dollar Arm really was fantastic, easily the most feel good movie that I have seen this year. I always enjoy a sports movie and it is even better when it is a biopic. I also love all things India! I really enjoyed the section of the movie that was shot there. It is just such an interesting culture, every thing about it interests and intrigues me. I know that Million Dollar Arm has been compared to Slumdog Millionaire, however I think this is unfair as being based in India is really the only thing these films have in common. Saying that they did themselves no favours in using one of the tracks from the Slumdog soundtrack! This hardly bothered me though as I am such a fan of both these movies. As I have mentioned I am not a fan of cricket so I enjoyed the various jokes that were made at its expense. The film actually got me really interested in baseball though, it was clever as we never saw a full match but just parts of them or the training scenes. This is something that I don’t think I have seen a sporting film focus on, I enjoyed watching the journey to becoming rather than conquering a sport.

This film has probably the most likeable characters that you will find in cinemas this year. All of the lead characters were fantastic, but especially the two Indian stars Rinku and Dinesh, played by Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi) and Madhur Mittal (Slumdog Millionaire), they were superb. It was so great to watch them journey from their homes in India to becoming baseball pitchers in LA. Both actors performed so well and often had to act without using words which I was impressed with. The personalities around these two only enhanced the characters, Amit provided most of the laughs in the movie, and he did it so well. This character made me laugh out loud several times, this was another strength to this film, it was effortlessly funny. John Hamm and Lake Bell were both good in their respective roles and helped bring the cast together, I thought that the love storyline between their two characters could have become tedious however this was keep under control so actually added to the film. You will most likely come out of this film wanting to hang out with the characters, move to LA (or India) and get yourself a bat and ball and learn how to play baseball. This film had me smiling so much and played on all the right emotions at the right moments without ever going overboard.

Million Dollar Arm genuinely has something for everyone, making it the perfect family film. Those who adore love stories have something, of course the sports fans are in for a treat, people who want to be entertained will be kept happy with the laughs on offer and those globetrotters will just love the sequences in India. Feel good, funny and just a pleasure to watch, Million Dollar Arm is an inspiring film based on a true story that I can’t wait to revisit. This is one you don’t want to miss so please go check it out!

BIGGEST FLAW – There was nothing about this film I didn’t like

BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT – Crafting such likeable characters

Rating – 10/10