Scout, The MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +3 Content: -1

Al Percolo (Albert Brooks) is a down-on-his-luck scout for baseball's New York Yankees. After several of his expensive draft choices wash out, Al is sent on a scouting trip to Mexico as a kind of punishment. Unexpectedly, he discovers Steve Nebraska (Brendan Fraser), a kid who can throw over 100 miles an hour and hit anything that is pitched to him. Al brings Steve back to New York and Steve is offered a $55 million contract with the Yankees. Everything seems to be going great until Steve is asked to go for a routine psychological exam. Dr. Aaron (Dianne Wiest) discovers that Steve is blocking something from his past that makes it dangerous for him to play baseball. After Al frantically intervenes, Dr. Aaron reluctantly agrees to let Steve play, but only on the condition that he continue therapy with her. THE SCOUT is a funny film with some bright comic moments but no true soul. Even so, it is a fairly entertaining film made for young adults on up.

After several twists and turns, the story focuses on just how greedy Al is and to what lengths he will go to get Steve to play baseball. It also flirts with some very serious subject matters like mental illness and child abuse but never addresses them, using them merely as plot complications. Apart from an extended gag on a nervous player throwing-up, the few blemishes of this movie come mostly from its foul language. In fact, the absence of violence, nudity and sexual content makes it all the more puzzling why the foul language had to be added. Along with several obscenities, there are several regular profanities and some crudities. People watching the film may not even notice most of them, so why not just leave them out? What good are they since they add no meaning to the plot or purpose to the dialogue? In any case, the language helps turn a fair film into a foul ball, giving Hollywood one more strike against its name.

Preview Reviewer: Greg Wilson
Distributor: 20th Century Fox, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035