The Scout

Al Percolo is a talent scout whose star recruit falls apart during his Major League debut, and the humiliation gets him sent to rural Mexico as punishment. There he spots Steve Nebraska, a young American whose throwing arm looks like a once-in-a-generation gift, and brings him back home. The New York Yankees are willing to put a large contract on the table, but only if a psychiatrist can confirm that Steve is mentally stable, and the scout soon learns his discovery is as erratic as he is gifted. The comedy stars Albert Brooks as Al Percolo, Brendan Fraser as Steve Nebraska and Dianne Wiest as Doctor H. Aaron, with Anne Twomey, Lane Smith and Michael Rapaport in supporting roles. Michael Ritchie directed from a screenplay by Roger Angell, Andrew Bergman and Albert Brooks, with Albert S. Ruddy and André E. Morgan producing. It was Ritchie's fourteenth film as director in chronological order, arriving between Diggstown (1992) and A Simple Wish (1997). Made for a budget of 20 million USD, it returned about 3 million USD worldwide. On IMDb it holds 5.5/10 from around 7,300 votes, while on TMDB it has 5.2/10 from 124 votes, and a critics' rating of 4.6/10 from 24 reviews places it below the audience scores.