Rating: PG13
Genre:
Comedy Drama
Release Date: 10/02/2001
SubTitles: English/Espanol
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD4.0/DD2
Run Time: 101 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: 20th Century Fox
After several weeks filming
The Scout in the late 1970s, star
Peter Falk and director
Howard Zieff abandoned the project. Two decades later, writer
Andrew Bergman gave his original script to
Albert Brooks and
Monica Johnson, who polished it as a vehicle for
Brooks and director
Michael Ritchie.
Brooks stars as Al Percolo, a talent scout for the New York Yankees whose latest recruit (
Michael Rapaport) has just vomited on the field and fled. Sent to Mexico as punishment by his boss (
Lane Smith), Percolo finds phenomenal young pitcher Steve Nebraska (
Brendan Fraser). Before he can get back to the Big Apple, however, Percolo gets pink-slipped by the Yankees, so he offers Nebraska as a free agent. After a stellar tryout, Nebraska is signed for millions. Soon after, he starts to exhibit odd behaviors that may be linked to psychological problems. A psychiatrist (
Dianne Wiest) hired by the ball club wants Nebraska in daily therapy, so Percolo ends up babysitting a mentally unstable pitcher.
Brooks' normally winning mix of laughs with psychological insights didn't add up to box office or critical success, despite cameos from real-life sports figures such as
George Steinbrenner and
Steve Garvey.
~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
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