
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 1, 1994                   TAG: 9410220027
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`THE SCOUT' IS NOT LIKELY TO SIGN UP MANY FANS

On film, baseball fantasies are essentially a matter of tone. They succeed or fail through that elusive combination of engaging characters, an offbeat plot and the game itself. When the mix is right, you can get something as memorable as "Field of Dreams." When the mix is wrong, you get "The Scout."

It has some wonderful moments, all in the first half, but somehow the story never amounts to anything. Curiously, the big finish has an obligatory quality, and it really doesn't have that much to do with the body of the film.

Al Percolo (Albert Brooks) is a scout for the Yankees. After one of his finds turns out to be an expensive embarrassment, general manager Ron Wilson (Lane Smith) banishes Al to the farthest reaches of organized baseball. He finds himself riding buses into backwater Mexican villages where the game is played in its most rudimentary form. When there aren't enough people to form a team, farm animals are enlisted.

But in one of those hamlets, Al finds Steve Nebraska (Brendan Fraser). Steve is a true "phenom," the veritable reincarnation of Babe Ruth. He has a 100-mph-plus fastball and every time he steps up to the plate, he hits a home run. He's also a man-child who seems to be missing something emotionally and mentally. Or is he simply immature? An oversized adolescent?

Al doesn't care. He just wants to sign the kid up as soon as he can.

That's where the necessary but immaterial complications arise in the script by Andrew Bergman, Brooks and Monica Johnson. Those complications involve a psychiatrist, Dr. Aaron (Dianne Wiest), and George Steinbrunner, appearing as himself. Given the nature of the conflicts, the film could have been about sports celebrity or it could have been about the adventures of an innocent in New York. Actually, it flirts with both options but doesn't really focus on either.

Overall, the acting is fine. If Brendan Fraser is less than completely persuasive when he's on the mound, he's believable in other scenes. Brooks turns in another understated performance with some sparkling moments.

Director Michael Ritchie handles things competently enough but there's simply not much he can do with the material. Toward the end, when the elements of fantasy and character should be coming together, they leave the ballpark - literally. When they come back, the story is already over.

For fans who still miss the real thing, and haven't completely blissed out over Ken Burns' "Baseball" on PBS, "The Scout" a fairly entertaining diversion, but nothing more.

The Scout **

A 20th Century Fox release playing at the Salem Valley 8, Valley View Mall 6. 100 min. Rated PG-13 for language.

by CNB