By MICHAEL SMITH
Staff Writer
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 18, 2011
The movie Moneyball is a true story that follows the building of the 2002 Oakland Athletics (the A’s) baseball team, by their General Manager, Billy Beane. The movie starts immediately after the A’s were knocked out of the playoffs by the New York Yankees in 2001.
The film begins with the aftermath of an early exit in the playoffs, and talk of the A’s small town budget, as opposed to the budget of the Yankees or the Boston Red Sox, who both play in big markets. Beane starts to make changes in his front office staff, and then starts making creative changes to the roster to do his best to capitalize on his budget. The focus then shifts to the ups and downs that the team faces in their turbulent 2002 season.
This movie surprised me with how tremendous the acting was. Brad Pitt played Billy Beane, and there’s not much else to expect from him then incredible acting. When Brad Pitt plays a role in a movie, it can be easy to overlook the supporting cast, but they were just as good, especially Philip Seymour Hoffman, who plays Oakland’s manager, Art Howe. Two other actors who co-starred along Pitt were Jonah Hill, and Chris Pratt.
Hill co-starred with Pitt as his right-hand man, Peter Brand. Hill is best known for his roles in comedy films, such as, Superbad, Funny People, and Knocked Up. That being said, I had no idea what to expect from him in a film that is based on a true story. However, Hill played the part very well, his character did have some funny lines, but, Hill had the chance to show his ability to play a serious role, and he did it very well.
Pratt plays first baseman Scott Hatteberg, a player who’s down on his luck and thinks his baseball career is over. But Beane, picks him off the pile and signs him, even though most others don’t believe in him. Beane’s faith in him is rewarded, as Hatteberg his exceeds expectations. Pratt is best known for his role on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, as Andy Dwyer. As was the case with Hill, I went in not knowing what kind of performance I could expect from Pratt, but much like Hill, he shined bright in this film as well. There wasn’t as much of a comedic spin on Pratt’s character as there was with Hill’s, but these two funnymen gave great performances in this film.
This film provided a realistic look at building a baseball team on a budget; it is hard for a team like Oakland to compete with a team from New York or Boston. I was a little scared going in with the casting. Many great sports stories, made into movies have gone unnoticed because of questionable casting choices, and I was worried that would happen to Moneyball. This film left it all out there and should be on the list of the best baseball movies ever made. With movies like this, you can take me out to the movies anytime.
