The Scout (1994 film)
| The Scout | |
|---|---|
Michael Ritchie | |
| Screenplay by | |
| Based on | article by Roger Angell |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | László Kovács[1] |
| Edited by | |
| Music by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $2,694,234 |
The Scout is a 1994 American
Plot
After the New York Yankees' latest prospect suffers a humiliating bout of stage fright in his debut for the team, scout Al Percolo, who discovered the young man, is punished by being sent to the Mexican countryside to look for his next find.
Al's efforts are fruitless until he encounters Steve Nebraska, a young American with a consistent 100+ MPH
Al arranges an open audition at
Al picks the first listed psychiatrist in the phone book, a Doctor H. Aaron, and hopes that the evaluation will be swift, so that he and Steve can get on with life. After examining Steve, however, Dr. Aaron finds him to be deeply troubled and so severely abused as a child that he has blocked almost every memory of his early life. Desperate for Steve to play so that both can get paid, Al begs Dr. Aaron to clear Steve for play, on the condition that he sees Steve everyday before making his MLB debut.
Life with Steve proves difficult for Al; Steve throws plates at reporters outside the apartment, upstages Tony Bennett at his own show, and argues with Al over what he does with his free time. At a press conference, Al lies about Steve's past. Dr. Aaron is livid when she finds out, but Al points out that Steve's behavior stems from her helping him acknowledge and deal with his past. Al pleads with Dr. Aaron to continue the good work she is doing for Steve. When the Yankees reach the World Series, however, Steve is suddenly depressed. Worse yet, he is contractually obligated to pitch in Game 1.
A sold-out Yankee Stadium waits for Steve's debut in Game 1 of the World Series. When Steve is spotted on the roof of the stadium, Al sends for a helicopter to fetch him, then climbs up to plead with him to come down. Steve adamantly refuses, and Al, risking his own career, tells Steve that he can walk away from it all, no strings attached. Touched by Al's selflessness, Steve relents. His spirits greatly lifted, he boards the copter to make his grand entrance.
Steve pitches a perfect game, striking out 27 St. Louis Cardinals batters on 81 consecutive strikes, and hits two solo home runs in a 2-0 Yankees victory. As Steve acknowledges Al as the Yankees celebrate his efforts, Al smiles proudly.
Cast
- Albert Brooks as Al Percolo
- Brendan Fraser as Steve Nebraska
- Dianne Wiest as Doctor H. Aaron
- Anne Twomeyas Jennifer
- Lane Smith as Ron Wilson
- Michael Rapaport as Tommy Lacy
- Bob Costas as Himself
- George M. Steinbrenneras Himself
- Tony Bennett as Himself
- Barry Shabaka Henley as McDermott
- J. K. Simmons as Assistant Coach
- John Capodice as Caruso
- Art Garfield as Stan
Production
The film was based on a Roger Angell article which had been optioned by Andrew Bergman's producing partner. Bergman wrote his script for Peter Falk to play the scout and Jim Belushi to play the player. "There were honestly five different versions of this movie," says Bergman. "The original version was, he found this guy in Mexico who’s the second white man ever to receive these injections, the first being Babe Ruth. And it was this political guy on the run. It was a completely different kind of movie."[2]
Falk was not available then Walter Matthau was going to make it with Michael Ritchie. The project did not proceed until years later with Ritchie directing and Albert Brooks playing the scout. "That wasn’t my conception at all," said Bergman. "The original conception was much more bananas. The Scout still has glimmers of the original, but not doing the original is high up on my very large list of regrets, because Peter was born to play that guy. He’s so obtuse and that tunnel-vision thing he had was just great.”[2]
In a July 1999 interview with Gavin Smith in Film Comment, Brooks said that The Scout was originally intended for Rodney Dangerfield. "It was lying around, never going to get made, and I said I would like to do that."
Brooks said that he contributed to a rewrite of the script because "it was written very silly." The version he worked on, he said, "did not end like 'Rocky' with that bullshit big ending." But according to Brooks, the studio forced Ritchie to change the ending.[3]
Cameos
Reception
The Scout was a box-office flop and the reviews were predominantly negative, with TV Guide stating, "'The Scout' feels like a classic case of too many cooks spoiling the broth."[4] Variety also negatively reviewed the film, saying that Brooks and Ritchie "never quite commit to either of the movie's disparate chords -- bailing out of the batter's box in terms of the psychological drama and, after some amusing moments at the outset, generally steering clear of broad comedy."[5] Time magazine's Richard Schickel praised the film, writing, "The Scout is the best comedy-fantasy about baseball ever made, which goes to show that if Hollywood keeps trying, eventually someone will get it right."[6] The film holds a 31% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 26 reviews.[7]
See also
References
- ^ "Az emberkereskedő". PORT.hu (in Hungarian). 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- ^ a b Snetiker, Marc (9 January 2015). "Andrew Bergman on writing 'Blazing Saddles,' 'Striptease,' 'Honeymoon in Vegas' and more". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ McGilligan, Patrick. Backstory 5: interviews with screenwriters of the 1990s. University of California Press, 2009.
- ^ The Scout TV Guide
- ^ The Scout Variety
- ^ CINEMA: Fast Pitch TIME
- ^ The Scout (1994), retrieved 2023-07-27
External links
- The Scout at IMDb
- The Scout at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Scout at Box Office Mojo
