The Scout (1994)

Sorry, this movie sucks

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The acting wasn't bad but they completely butchered any semblance of reality with regards to baseball. Let's just recap all that was wrong just with the "final game" (Game 1 of the World Series)1) A player can't make his first appearance in the World Series--he'd have to be on roster before then 2) Since Steve Nebraska was playing in Yankee stadium, the DH rule was in effect. Meaning he couldn't have batted. 3) In order for Nebraska to have used his 81st pitch to strike out Ozzie Smith, that means that the Cardinals put "The Wizard" batting 9th in the order. Yeah, right. 4) Before the game, Costas makes some comment about how "many are predicting a perfect game from Steve Nebraska". Seeing as how there have only been 17 perfect games in history, one would highly doubt a 1st ever start would be a perfect game. 5) 81 strikes in a row...nobody even hit a ball? A World Series caliber team can't ONCE key in to a 110 mile per hour fastball to make even accidental contact once?Most idiotic movie regarding baseball of all time.

Poor Al Percolo, he is a man that has brought shame to the Yankees by recommending prospects to the team that don't work out. The team's general manager, Ron Wilson, wants to punish him by sending him deep into Mexico to scout new talent. When Al sees Steven Nebraska pitch in a Mexican league ball game, he realizes this is going to be his redemption. Not only is he a great pitcher, but can that man belt home runs out of the ball park!As Al stages a test to show the different major league teams what Steve can do, Steve Nebraska proves to be the man they all have been waiting for. He is signed for an awful lot of money, but he must pass a sanity test in order to join the team. No sweat! Al gets the name of a psychiatrist out of the Yellow Pages, who turns out to be Al's worst nightmare. Dr. Aaron discovers Steve is an abused child that has a lot to deal with.Michael Ritchie directed this funny comedy. Albert Brooks contributed to the screen play he co-wrote with Andrew Bregman and Monica Johnson. Mr. Brooks plays Al Percolo, the scout of the title with his usual style that makes him one of the best actors working in comedies these days. Brendan Fraser is Steve Nebraska, a complex man who loves to play baseball, but has too many unresolved issues to deal with. The amazing Dianne Wiest plays Dr. Aaron, who injects a shot of reality into the movie. There are some funny moments in the film. One of the best involves Tony Bennett, who is performing in a night club where Steve and Al have been invited by the Yankee management. When Tony Bennett introduces young Steve Nebraska as the next Yankee star, the young man takes a bout and decides to lead the house in a rendition of "I Left my Heart in San Francisco". The other great moment occurs when Mr. Bennett shows up to sing the National Anthem at the start of a World Series game and he sees Steve, and he asks him is he is going to have the whole stadium sing.There have been other great baseball pictures. This one doesn't try to be one of them. It's just a light movie done for laughs and the mistake most viewers make is to expect it to be what it never intended to be.

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.

After drafting two consecutive lemons into the Yankees at great cost and having them flop to great embarrassment, scout Al Percolo is banished to scout in Mexico where the standard of baseball is a lot lower – try watching a goat play on third base! However there he finds an American player, Steve Nebraska, who can pitch like the wind and bat like a monster. He drafts him to the Yankees but has to get a physiologist to treat him to ensure he doesn't flop in the same way as the others.I like Albert Brooks. He has never set the world on fire here in the UK but his films can usually be witty and well written if never hilarious. Here however he hits a real bum note with a misguided and unfunny script that he fails to make better in production and delivery. The film starts promisingly enough, with the illusion of being bright and breezy. The introduction of Nebraska appears to deliver more of the same but no – it doesn't. The tone becomes heavier as Nebraska's psyche is probed and I expected it to go deeper. However it does neither. It is never well explained why he is the way he is, or what he's working on – instead he just goes moody. Add to this the usual fun of sports movies is gone but nothing replaces it.The end result is that it is a drag to watch with nothing explaining enough for you to care what's going on. When the sports action does return in the final 10 minutes it is so unlikely (in fact impossible by official rules and biological reason) and badly shot that it adds nothing to the film. It's a shame cause Brooks could have mixed comedy with the deeper issues raised by Nebraska – instead he loses the plot with them both and delivers neither well.Brooks is actually OK but has no real witty lines to deliver after the first 15 minutes. Also, because of a lazy script, he has to become the character that everyone watching will know he shouldn't become – but it sets up the finale…lazy! Fraser is somewhere between playing a goofy guy we love and being `a good actor'™, however here he is just annoying and is neither. Wiest is wasted but it's interesting to see a young Rapaport. Sadly the baseball cameos were wasted on this little Irish lad and I may have missed jokes as a result.Overall this is a wasted chance to mix witty comedy with deeper issues as told through Nebraska. The film starts well but soon the deeper issues suck all the fun out of it but aren't developed well enough to replace them with anything else. Well worth missing.