Movie Review: Moneyball

Posted by MomOnMars on October 02, 2011

I’m always a sucker for a movie based on true life – and Moneyball did not disappoint.

The story is based on the 2002 Oakland Athletics, a team that was systematically gutted of its good players and left for dead. Billy Beane, a ball player who never quite lived up to his potential in the big leagues, as the general manager is tasked with figuring out how to make the team work on a shoestring budget.

He finds his answer in a Yale graduate with a knack for numbers. He’s named Paul Brand in the movie, but the character is actually based on Paul DePodesta.

Using advanced statistical analysis, called sabermetrics, Brand and Beane pull together an unlikely club that goes on to win a record 20 straight wins in the American League…after sitting at the very bottom of the league for the first part of the season.

The movie is rated PG-13, and that’s a good rating. I wish they had left out the few rather “colorful” descriptions, though, so it could be a solid PG movie, because I think younger children who play sports would enjoy the movie, too. There’s no sex and limited profanity. As best I can tell, the rating comes from one, unfortunate description of a player with an ego.

My 11-year-old Twirl did have a bit of a hard time keeping up with the storyline, but I suspect that may have been because the movie does move quickly and we don’t watch or play sports around our house.

Another note on the movie theatre. We saw Moneyball at Alamo Drafthouse. This is not a theatre for children. The movie previews were a little heavy handed for a younger crowd, and the cell phone warning was really a bit in your face. Note to self: take kids to other movie theatres in town. Except maybe Twirl and I will come back for the Grease sing-along next week….