Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2014

A few years back, a sports agent (an awful Jon Hamm) hit on the idea of enticing Indian cricket bowlers into becoming baseball pitchers through the eponymous reality show. Two hopefuls were offered contracts by the Pirates and then relegated to some third-tier farm team. MLB’s cynical involvement in this attempt to tap into a potential market of 1.2 billion baseball fans is topped only by Disney’s cynicism in shoehorning the story into its feel-good, sports-underdog mold in order to get 1.2 billion Indian butts into theater seats. Sappy, obvious, maudlin and bloated, this is strictly minor league. (124 min)