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Oscar®Oscar® Nominee for Best Picture, Writing (Adapted Screenplay), Actor in a leading role, Actor in a supporting role, Film Editing, and Sound Mixing
MOVIE REVIEW

Moneyball

MPA Rating: PG-13-Rating (MPA) for some strong language.

Reviewed by: Daniel Thompson
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Average
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Sports Drama Adaptation
Length: 2 hr. 13 min.
Year of Release: 2011
USA Release: September 23, 2011 (wide—2,900+ theaters)
DVD: January 10, 2012
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Relevant Issues
Copyright, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures

action on your convictions with strong commitment

not judging people on merely their appearance

giving credit to others for success

Featuring Brad PittBilly Beane
Jonah HillPeter Brand
Robin Wright PennSharon
Philip Seymour HoffmanArt Howe
Chris PrattScott Hatteberg
Kathryn Morris … Tara Beane
Tammy Blanchard … Elizabeth Hatteberg
See all »
Director Bennett Miller
Producer Michael De Luca Productions
Scott Rudin Productions
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Distributor

“What are you really worth?”

I’ll admit it: I love baseball. There is no other sport like it. Unlike football, basketball, or even soccer, baseball requires a love of the game and an attention to detail to even casually enjoy it. It is the only sport that you can watch and see something new every night. For fans like me, a love of baseball comes from a lifetime of experiences. Playing little league with my big brother, catch with my dad (and mom from time to time), and going to games with my wife are experiences that have instilled in me a love of the game. While “Moneyball” is about a man who tried to change the game, the film is also a lot like baseball itself. For some it may seem slow or irrelevant, but for fans of America’s pastime or quality filmmaking, “Moneyball” is pure magic.

Book coverBased on the best-selling book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis, the film centers on Billy Beane, former major league player and current general manager of the Oakland Athletics, one of the poorest teams in all of baseball. In a sport where there are big payroll discrepancies from team to team, Beane is faced with the task of rebuilding a baseball team that has just lost their three best players to richer teams.

Instead of trying to compete with the richer teams with raw talent, he does so with statistics. He decides to go against the advice of his veteran staff and put together a team of misfits based upon the computer of a Yale graduate named Peter Brand who has never played baseball before. He plays a washed up catcher at first base, signs a star from the past, and drafts players that no other team even wants. Along the way, Beane faces trials from people inside and outside the organization, as he strives to change the way baseball teams are made.

While the novel by Lewis is a great story of humanity wrapped in a big bag of statistics and history, the film is an excellent story with ancillary mentions of statistics and history. This is a necessary shift by director Bennett Miller, because it makes the story accessible to those who have not read the book and may not be big fans of baseball. Billy Beane is a man who has a lot of pressure to do something unprecedented,, and he is so competitive that he cannot even watch the games and sometimes lets his anger get the best of him.

For fans of baseball like me, “Moneyball” works on all levels. It is funny, true to the spirit of the book, and expertly made. While he has had his share of misfires (“The Mexican”, “Mr. And Mrs. Smith”), Brad Pitt shines as the lead character Billy Beane. He does an excellent job of portraying someone who wants so desperately to succeed but who also has a heart. It is probably the best acting job of his career. Jonah Hill is also excellent as Peter Brand. Brand is a character that was altered greatly from the book, but Hill successfully brings it to life. Also, the always excellent Philip Seymour Hoffman commands the screen in his few scenes as crotchety A’s manager Art Howe. It is understandable that those not familiar with baseball may find the film somewhat slow.

There are many positive and redemptive qualities in “Moneyball”. The main idea of the film is someone who is willing to look past outward appearance to judge someone. This quality is so rare in our culture that it always deserves to be mentioned. The main character, while not perfect, is someone who cares about his family and those around him. He is willing to take responsibility for things that are not his fault, and give credit to others, particularly his manager, even when he himself deserves it. ***Spoiler Alert*** At the end of the film, Billy is offered over twenty times the amount of money he currently makes to become a part of another team, and he turns it down on principle. ***End Spoiler***

“Moneyball”’s PG-13 rating is accurate, but only because of language. No sexual situations are present in the film, and there are only a couple of minor sexual innuendos. There are 2 F-words plus about 20 other milder profanities. While the language is present, it is almost non-existent compared to the amount of language found in the book. Considering the high pressure situation and atmosphere of a major league baseball clubhouse, the heavy language was accurately portrayed, without being gratuitous.

“How can you not be romantic about baseball?” ask Beane during the film. If you read the first paragraph of this review, you already know that I am. “Moneyball” is an excellent baseball film for fans like me, but it also works as a mainstream movie, because of its exaltation of positive characteristics like loyalty and family. It may not be for everyone, but baseball fans, and fans of good movies, cannot afford to miss “Moneyball”.

Violence: Mild / Profanity: Heavy / Sex/Nudity: Mild


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
Positive—Thoroughly entertaining movie that is well cast and well acted. I happen to love baseball, but I also found the business actions behind baseball as depicted in this movie to be really interesting. This movie is worth seeing.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Halyna Barannik, age 65 (USA)
Positive—Will be well enjoyed by baseball fans. Neither exalts nor debases religious values, although one player is presented as saying “I’ll pray for you,” as comic relief. The point of the movie is to judge people on things other than appearance.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Rigs, age 47 (Canada)
Positive—Other than some language, the movie had no offensive elements. While it’s not from a Christian worldview, it is a great story about committing oneself to something when you have a conviction for it, even when other people want to discourage you. Based on a true story.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3
Joe, age 63 (USA)
Positive—I enjoyed the film, but it is more a business film than a sports film. There are lots of loose ends, but real life is like that. Interesting story is well-told. There is little objectionable to mention. It is not a Christian film, but it is not an anti-Christian film or a corrupting film.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Blue, age 53 (Australia)
Neutral
Neutral—This movie was okay. I was interested, at first, but it fast lost my attention. Of course, I’ve never really been much of a sports person, so all the baseball jargon just went whooshing over my head… but that hasn’t kept me from liking other sports movies in the past. This is just my opinion, but I didn’t really see anything Oscar-worthy about this film.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Kadie Jo, age 19 (USA)
Comments from young people
Positive—This was an incredible movie. I usually don’t give movies 5 stars, but “Moneyball” deserved it. Brad Pitt was fantastic, and Jonah Hill also did a wonderful job. There was some language, including 2 f-words, but, other than, that it was clean. This is easily one of the best movies of the year, and I am very glad I saw it. Violence: None Profanity: Heavy Sex/Nudity: Minor
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
C, age 13 (USA)
Positive—Amazing movie- probably my favorite movie ever! Awesome acting, good story. I am really not a big fan of sports, but I found the plot easy to follow (however, it wasn’t super simple). Had no objectionable material, except for brief strong language. Definitely watch this.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
James Bowman, age 12 (USA)

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