At first glance one might assume Trouble with the Curve is another Moneyball kind of movie.  Although both films occasionally rally around the same base, new screenwriter Randy Brown fields an entirely different story.

Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood) has made a living at something he loves -- baseball. As a scout he’s brought the best players to the Atlanta Braves, often by listening to the crack of a bat rather than seeing the swing. Seeing, however, is one of the old age problems beginning to plague Gus, and he ignores it like he ignores his daughter.

Gus became a single father when Mickey (Amy Adams) was six-years-old. Not knowing how to raise her in the world of baseball, he often shipped her elsewhere to be cared for. Now grown and about to be offered a partnership in the law firm she’s worked hard to impress, Mickey still harbors resentments about her father’s lack of concern for her.

When Gus’s real health problems become clear to his friend and boss Pete (John Goodman), he informs Mickey that the front office wants her dad to retire. Mickey knows if Gus doesn’t have baseball in his life it will be the end of him. After agreeing to Pete’s request, Mickey surprises Gus by showing up at a game in North Carolina where he’s scouting Bo Gentry (Joe Massingill), a powerful hitter who rarely misses a pitch.

Because Gus is angry that Mickey thinks he needs watching, there’s a lot of verbal sparring between them. Mickey, a chip off the old block, knows baseball as well as her dad. That’s exactly what Johnny Flanagan (Justin Timberlake) learns. He’s another scout looking at Bo, but he takes an instant liking to Mickey. She shies away from him, still trying to figure out how to say goodbye to her previous boyfriend. She’s also more interested in making a real connection with Gus.

Eastwood plays a familiar character here. We’ve seen him as the curmudgeon in many films including Gran Torino, Space Cowboys, In the Line of Fire and as the tough guy who won’t give up in movies like Dirty Harry, Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby. But that’s what fans like about Eastwood. He embodies this character to a fault, so there’s no second-guessing about his intentions in scenes when Gus refuses to learn how to use a computer and constantly tells Mickey to go home. Its good writing that lets another person sneak under someone else’s wing and soften him up, as Mickey does in Trouble with the Curve.

Timberlake serves mostly as eye candy, doing a good job in a role requiring little screen time. Goodman nicely handles the same kind of role. Adams is the star here.  Like her father, Mickey is in transition -- at her job, with her dad and new suitors. She really needs a shoulder to lean on -- and with every snarly remark from her father, Mickey swings back through Adams’ terrific talent. She’s been nominated three times for an Academy Award (Junebug, Doubt, The Fighter) and wowed fans in Julia & Julia, Enchanted, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and more.

Eastwood enjoyed working with Adams.  “Amy was a joy to work with,” he said. “Mickey’s a girl who was raised on baseball, and one thing I admired about Amy is that she can sprint like a guy, wind up and throw a ball like a guy, and take a real swing with a bat. So she was perfect for the part of a woman who isn’t an athlete, but who grew up around a sport, who has it in her blood.”

Discovering who will leave the game as a winner in Trouble with the Curve makes for a fun and entertaining viewing experience, especially for fans of this fine cast.  

(Released by Warner Bros. Pictures and rated “PG-13” for language, sexual references, some thematic material and smoking.)

Review also posted at www.reviewexpress.com.