Screwball

SCREWBALL (2018) covers the Biogenesis scandal that rocked baseball. I don't give a damn about that sport, but this was really engrossing as all of the major players involved in that scandal are interviewed and layout how the whole thing blew up. Tony Bosch was the "brains" of the operation and it is kind of insane how quickly his HGH operation grew in size (haha), ending up being the go to place for everyone from big MLB athletes (including highest paid player of all time, Alex Rodriguez) to high school players. Even more insane is how the story got exposed SPOILER: Bosch, who was living the high life, refused to repay a small loan to a employee and they went nuclear on him; yes the whole multi-million dollar operation came down because he wouldn't repay a $4,000 loan. Director Billy Corben rose to prominence with the COCAINE COWBOYS docs a decade or so back and he balances the many interviewees well. He makes an odd choice of having kids play the various players in re-enactments. It is a little off putting at first, but makes more and more sense as the doc goes on given how childish the people involved behave. I only knew the headlines when this story broke back in the day, so knowing the full story is totally crazy.

People confuse celebrity with Integrity.

This is a great documentary that provides "inside baseball"----- no pun intended----- to the Steroid use era. Specifically, It's wonderful to see cheaters such as Ryan Braun, AROD, and Melky Cabrera being publicly exposed. I remember Ryan Braun and how he and his legal team discredited the gentleman who obtained his urine sample. Terrible. AROD has no shame. The sheer number of players involved is staggering and disappointing. This documentary uses a light-hearted style to expose the cheaters and liars who took the American people for a ride, denied their culpability and tried to make others look bad. It's must see viewing to learn that the players who people lionize can be absolute losers when it comes to personal integrity. I hate seeing AROD still involved in MLB, and I can't wait until Ryan Braun leaves the game for good. People haven't forgotten that you clowns betrayed our trust.

I really enjoyed hard-hitting docs on Lance Armstrong, and the olympic doping scandals, but...this is not that film. This is a silly take on the subject where the narrated action is re-done..with kids dressed up in adult clothing re-enacting the action. It is humorous and makes the doc easy to watch and helped keep my interest. but I feel the filmmaker was probably too close to Bosch, in getting his cooperation, and therefore....never really examined the darker side of his behavior, and mostly gives him a pass. It also goes light on A-rod and pretty much..just highlights that baseball is just ...a game. Not life or death, nor criminal, but just..a game. I feel when someone cheats to get 400 million dollars in contracts..its a serious offense, so...I would have liked a bit more of a harder hitting take on the subject. But it was definitely decent, and an odd-type of documentary with humor that makes it easy to watch, and effective in its own way.

Screwball lives up to it's title. It takes a quite satirical method of telling how the Major League Baseball doping scandal came about. Picking out the poster child of Dr. Tony Bosch as the major performance drug purveyor to the A-List on a tip from a one-time Average Joe user acolyte turned whistleblower over an unpaid $4000 loan. The whole thing was at various times akin to a circus as it unfoldedl In the end it ook down not only the "fake" doctor but a chunk of Major League talent as it tarnished the sport. Actually the comic relief is entertaining, but the dark side is hardly addressed which isn't too surprising as that unsavory part is likely considered damage control/self-preservation of a billion-dollar industry.

Okay, we all know the story: Baseball and Steroids, part II. Interesting, but not THAT interesting.

How this movie makes this sad / tedious subject fun is the filmmaker's approach: He has real characters being interviewed, and where he cannot? HE uses children to play the roles of adults - and the kids NAIL IT. It keeps a more or less creepy and sad story light, at times is hysterical and makes the whole film seem fresh.

If you are a baseball fan OR a fan of creative fim making, this one is a winner.