So Bad It’s Good: Pitching Love and Catching Faith
Meanwhile, Tyler goes to baseball practice in full uniform. I can only assume it’s practice because literally no one is there, and he’s catching pop flies hit by the coaches. I played high school baseball at a tiny school, and the stands were full. Could they not take a camera out to a baseball game at the real school their movie takes place at?
Tyler is being scouted by a guy who sits in the empty stands, and we know he’s a scout because he nods his head and scribbles down notes as Tyler rolls around in the outfield. He catches some balls, but he never hits and no one ever takes the field. But damn could that scout emote. This guy just went for it, and he had the time of his life nodding approvingly at Tyler catching routine pop flies. More characters need to have his energy.
Next up we get a transition to another scene by cutting to a wide shot of downtown Salt Lake City, which I confused for an Apple TV screensaver. The last scene was during the daytime, but this shot starts in the dark and gets progressively brighter, so it must be the next day. This scene will involve the same two stars of the last scene, but it’s a brand new day in a different location when they were literally just in the same place at the same time. It’s a small thing that was probably affected by shooting logistics at the fields, but it interrupts the flow of the movie and it feels cheap.
We learn that the scout is Ron Allen, and it turns out that he works for the “Angels farm organization”, probably the local Salt Lake Bees. He’s acting like they’re going to recruit him, but players have to be drafted into Major League Baseball – teams don’t just get their pick of players that live near their minor league teams. Ron and Tyler’s brief exchange is painful to watch:
Ron: Nice work.
Tyler: Thanks man.
Ron: I’m Ron Allen from the Angels farm organization, we’ll definitely be in touch.
Tyler: Okay. I’m your man!
Ron: Oh, I know.
Then Ron just wanders off.
He doesn’t have anything specific to discuss, he just showed up to stare at Tyler for five minutes to let him know why he was watching him yesterday at practice. I guess he only needed one trip to know that Tyler was their guy…
Brandon shows up to keep the scene moving, and to express his admiration for Tyler’s athletic gifts.
Who talks like this?
Their exchange is also uncomfortable and another victim of terrible timing in the edit. It could also have to do with a lack of actual script and reliance upon bad improvisation, but the world may never know. Brandon remembers that he didn’t just come to stare at Tyler, but that he also needs to warn Tyler that Kami is on the prowl to get him back.
Tyler runs off at the mention of his ex because, as we’ll learn, he is terrified of women.
Tyler goes to deliver flowers with his sister, and it appears that they replaced the microphones with two cans, a string, and a tape recorder. It could be bad ADR because the words never quite match up with their mouths. Maybe it got messed up trying to reduce wind noise? Either way, it doesn’t sound like they’re standing outside. The characters are sarcastic in an unwitty way, and then Tyler’s sister asks him to date Heather because she really needs a rebound right now.
I don’t think the filmmakers understand that “rebounds” probably don’t involve relationships without kissing.
Why would this religious girl ask her religious, non-kissing brother to pity date her hot friend with no chance of anything happening beyond a game of putt-putt and some pizza? And not just any girl – one that he has already met, flirted with, asked out, and been rejected by? “A lot is on the line” according to the still unnamed sister, though I’m not sure what the stakes are…
As they walk downstairs, a woman drops her bag of groceries containing canned goods, mac and cheese, and ranch dressing. She cannot keep anything in her hands, like she’s acting in an infomercial for grocery bags that cost five easy installments of $99.99. Her acting note was to pretend like everything was covered in butter. She’s holding a purse big enough for all of her groceries, but she will never manage to figure out how space or holding objects works. This woman and her unhelpful friend cannot stop checking out Tyler, who rushes off to fetch them a bag because he’s such a good guy (and scared of women). And where is he running to get this bag? Is his place nearby? Why are they delivering flowers in the apartments they live at? His sister clarifies that she’s not dating him, so the two women really lean into their ogling. The scene closes on his sister standing there awkwardly watching them eye-bang her brother.
Wow!! 10 page critique by Mr Jacobs? We enjoyed the very unique and sensitive handling of the subject matter of the movie! It was very interesting and novel! Thank you so much! Interested in watching more of your movies! Thank you!
If I had it my way all my pieces would approach novel length.