As anyone that knows me knows, I could care less about sports. The movie, Moneyball, however, is awesome. Based on the novel by the same name, Moneyball is no about how a struggling team goes from the bottom to the championship, but how professional sports worked, works and was changed by guys like Billy Beane.
Beane is played by Brad Pitt, who carries the movie as effortlessly as your waiter brings you your steak. He’s joined by Jonah Hill (in a nice understated performance), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (who plays the Oakland A’s coach and Chris Pratt (from Parks and Recreation) who plays one of the key players. The plot is this: The Oakland A’s can’t compete with the New York Yankees because the Yankees keep buying up all the best players. However, Jonah Hill’s character, Pete, figures out (using a previous formula developed by Bill James) that the league has several undervalued players. By applying stats to the game and the choices of players, the Oakland A’s can put together a championship team with a lean budget. It’s a process now used by almost everyone in the league today.
Parts of the movie do tend to linger on Pitt for too long. This isn’t Major League. It’s all about Pitt, not the team. But the script by Aaron Sorkin (of The Social Network) and Steven Zaillian (of Gangs of New York) just zips right along. Even if you’d rather watch the Simpsons than baseball, I think you’re going to enjoy this movie. And for baseball fans, it’s an absolute must. I give it 8.5 keggers out of 10.
