REVIEW: ‘Moneyball’ is worth all the money spent

SPENCER PALMER

I never thought I’d get emotionally involved in a baseball game until I saw “Moneyball.”

Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is a small-market general manager for the Oakland A’s. They have a low budget of $38 million and are trying to defeat giants who compete with $120 million. Beane is forced to look for replacement players after the team loses three of its stars.

While Beane is on his quest, he meets with a friend from the past who runs another team. As Beane tries to negotiate for players, brilliant player-analyst Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) keeps disrupting Beane’s game.

After the meeting Beane hunts down Brand and begins to change his views on baseball — how the game is played. Brand, a summation of Maryland, Yale and baseball, has a mathematical method on how to have a winning team. Beane buys into Brand’s ideas, and they begin to rethink the game of baseball.

Using Brand’s program and assistance, Beane assembles a team from the “island of misfit toys” to turn the A’s game around. Slowly and surely, the A’s start to win games, but no matter how hard they work, relentless opposition surrounds every move they make.

“Moneyball” is a humorous movie, but not because the characters told jokes. The situations and the realistic one-liners kept the audience laughing frequently.

Flashbacks of Beane’s life help the audience develop an understanding of his unique perspective as a former all-star player, turned general manager. The movie shows how Beane used his experience to develop the team because he cut through the fluff of baseball politics and went straight to teaching.

As Beane became more involved with his players and developed relationships with them, he became inspired to help others, and he developed into a great leader. His growth brought the team closer together, and it was great to see it all come together.

Beane and Brand worked to change the game and make a difference, and it was interesting to see the reactions and perspectives of those in the baseball industry, especially the scouts and recruiters. I don’t understand baseball that well, so having that extra dimension helped me understand how the baseball system works.

The movie had a documentary feel, at times. In the opening sequences and throughout the film, actual footage is shown of some of the games and sports news reports on the games and the team. This was great to keep reminding the audience that the movie is based on a true story.

Although some people said the movie was long, it didn’t feel long to me. The length was just about right for the story to be understood and well done. “Moneyball” is a movie with a heart. The audience is given the chance to bond with the characters by learning about some of the players and their lives outside of baseball. Further, Beane’s daughter Casey (Kerris Dorsey) gives more depth to Pitt’s character and his familial responsibilities, strengthening the emotional connection the audience has with the movie.

The score of the movie was good, but the balance was what stuck out to me. Casey Beane’s song gives a humorous emotional touch to the movie. Her song really shows her support for her father and how she can love him through all the uncertainty of what’s ahead in life.

Pitt (“Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” Ocean’s Trilogy) continues to have an uncanny resemblance to Robert Redford. He did not overwhelm the screen with his fame, and he played a regular person quite well.

Hill (“How to Train Your Dragon,” “Superbad”) brings a nerdy, comedic edge to the film. He fits the look and attitude of an analyst ready to change baseball. I thoroughly enjoyed Hill’s entrance scene as Brand. It was hilarious and revealed Brand’s brilliance early on.

Dorsey practically steals the show with her song she only sings twice, which is more than enough to lift one’s spirits and give a good feeling to the entire movie. She has a good singing voice, and I think she’ll go far in the movie industry with a possible singing career.

The only reason I rated “Moneyball” an A- is because the F-word was used twice when it didn’t need to be there. If all the foul language had been cut, “Moneyball” would have been rated PG, and I would have rated it an A.

All in all, I felt good at the end of the movie. Enjoy the show!

— Spencer Palmer is a graduate student working toward an MBA with a recent bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. He enjoys watching all sorts of movies. Email him at spencer.palmer@aggiemail.usu.edu.