'Million Dollar Arm' Boasts Undeniably Pro-American Message

The Indian-born pitchers at the heart of Million Dollar Arm live in an economically distressed neighborhood.

Thanks to a visiting reality talent show, they may get the chance to boost their incomes immeasurably. All it will take is determination, practice and a trip to the United States.

It’s the American Dream in microcosm, and it’s in full display with the new PG-rated film opening this weekend.

Jon Hamm plays a sports agent hoping to find pitching talent in an unexpected source–India. When he finds two athletes whose rough mechanics let them throw in the 80s he thinks he’s secured his own future. What the three men each realize is that it will take more than ability to become a success. Their chance at fame and fortune, though, is there for the taking. It doesn’t matter if they were born in the U.S. or they arrived there in a most unusual fashion–via reality television and a shallow sports agent.

“You can do anything here … you can change your name to Spencer,” one of the pitchers says–the name Spencer a reference to a cast member on the reality series The Hills. It’s a laugh line, no doubt, but it comes with serious implications.