《百万金臂》

    The film is based on the true story of U.S. sports agent JB Bernstein’s plan to turn an Indian cricket* player into the next great MLB* player.

    Back in 2007, Bernstein, a driven* agent who at one time represented Barry Bonds and Emmett Smith, started a contest in India, hoping to find a baseball talent from among the country’s many cricket bowlers*. He hoped he would find the baseball equivalent* of Chinese NBA superstar Yao Ming.

    Inspired by “American Idol,” he created “Million Dollar Arm” — an Indian reality-TV contest that searched the country for its first major league pitcher. The winner would get US$100,000, plus a trip to America for a Major League Baseball tryout.

    Acted by Jon Hamm, Bernstein is clearly feeling the pressure* of a career that hasn’t quite gone as planned since starting his own agency. The reality TV competition seems to be a final effort to keep his company in business.

    It was a bold plan.

    Hiring a hot-tempered retired baseball scout* (Alan Arkin), and an eager gofer*/translator (Bollywood actor Pitobash), Bernstein begins to search through the Indian villages. The results are not satisfying at the beginning.

    He finally returns to Los Angeles with two boys — Rinku Singh (Suraj Sharma, “Life of Pi”) and Dinesh Patel (Madhur Mittal, “Slumdog Millionaire”), a pair of 18-year-olds who know next to nothing about baseball and, as it turns out, not much more about cricket.

    USC (University of Southern California) pitching* coach Tom House (Bill Paxton) is given the job of turning the culture-shocked teens into qualified baseball players. He has less than a year to prepare the boys for the big leagues.

    Meanwhile, Bernstein’s clever and funny next-door neighbor Brenda (Lake Bell) provides a sympathetic*, motherly ear for his house guests.

    The film is filled with richly-drawn characters and offbeat* humor, but it also doesn’t avoid dealing with more uncomfortable things — specifically the exploitative* nature of Bernstein’s plan.(SD-Agencies)