"Moneyball" Screening

Last night I attended yet another free movie screening. I was glad I was able to catch Moneyball this time around, since I was sick & missed the last screening I had a ticket for, a few weeks back. This screening was packed and it was one where they collected our cellphones before entering the theater. You can tell when a movie is expected to be a blockbuster hit b/c they are really strict at the screenings with having electronic checks, bag checks and security wands. Before seeing the movie, all I knew was that Brad Pitt was in this movie and it had something to do with Baseball and statistics.

If you enjoy watching movies about sport teams (hockey, baseball, football, etc.) or if you enjoy sports, you'll enjoy this movie. Brad Pitt did an excellent job playing the Oakland A's GM, Billy Beane. Jonah Hill played a more serious role (as opposed to his usual comedic roles) and did a good job playing Peter Brand, an Economic Yale graduate who created a code to analyse players and help built a winning team . The movie took place in the early 2000s and even though I watched Baseball in those years as a Padres fan, I honestly do not remember anything about the Oakland A's [Moneyball is based off a true story].

Yes, they showed b-roll footage of the real games and trades. It was an interesting story, how one of the (if not the) worst team in baseball loses 3 players (Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi and another guy by the name of Jason Isringhausen) to richer teams, and has to replace those players on a low budget. The story highlights the workings of rich/poor baseball teams, how teams are built, and how Beane used computer-generated analysis to trade/gain players in hopes of building a winning team on a poor team's budget. [Numerous teams have gone on to using this method for drafting players and building teams.] The scouts were not fans of this method, the Oakland A's coach wasn't a fan and played who he wanted, totally disregarding the GM's wishes. Forcing Beane to trade even more players in order to get the computer-selected guys to play. The A's start winning, but like most sports movies (and sports in real life), there is heartache.

A few ties to Boston. Youkilis is mentioned in the film as a guy to watch. Of course, we all know Johnny Damon ends up in Boston. In the end, Beane flies to Boston and John Henry offers him the GM spot, which had he not turned down, he would have been the highest paid GM in baseball history. He stuck with the Oakland A's. Boston, using the same computer-analysis to draft players, goes on and wins the World Series 2 years later.

Overall, a great movie. Running time of just over 2 hours, but the storyline moved nicely. I'm a sports fan and learned quite a bit about baseball and the trading process. I don't think Brad Pitt gets enough credit; he did a great job in this movie (and I'm not really a Pitt fan). Hits theaters this Friday.