Screwball

Name: Screwball
Genre: Documentary
Released: March 29, 2019
Duration: 105 min
Rating: 72
Cast: Armando Bernal IV, Blake McCall, Bryan Blanco, David Bolinger, Frankie Diaz

2019

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 8 Ratings

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8.3	User Score Universal acclaim based on 8 Ratings

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Screwball

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Movie Details & Credits

Greenwich Entertainment | Release Date: March 29, 2019

Starring: Armando Bernal IV, Blake McCall, Bryan Blanco, David Bolinger, Frankie Diaz, Ian Mackles, Jake Alexander Martin, Jake Stephens, Jonathan Blanco, Nicholas Ryan Hernandez, Samuel Kai Taylor

Summary: Recounting the high-profile doping scandal that rocked Major League Baseball, director Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys) takes us into the surreal Miami underworld that provided performance-enhancing drugs to Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and other star players.

They say South Florida is a sunny place for shady people and this is certainlyRecounting the high-profile doping scandal that rocked Major League Baseball, director Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys) takes us into the surreal Miami underworld that provided performance-enhancing drugs to Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and other star players.

They say South Florida is a sunny place for shady people and this is certainly true of steroid peddler Anthony Bosch and his most notorious client, Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees. While Bosch's medical credentials may be lacking, his storytelling skills are first rate as he hilariously details the rise and fall of his “health clinic”, including mob connections, financial chicanery, his cocaine habit, and Rodriguez's eccentric behavior.

The documentary plays like a madcap Floridian crime comedy in the vein of Elmore Leonard or the Coen Brothers while it raises serious questions about the ethics of professional sports. Powerful interests would be happy to let this story slip from memory, but Screwball makes it unforgettable. [Greenwich Entertainment]… Expand

Director: Billy Corben

Genre(s): Documentary

Runtime: 105 min

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Critic Reviews

Barry Hertz

Mar 25, 2019

More entertaining than a dozen Major League Baseball games stacked on top of one another. Read full review

The Film Stage John Fink

Mar 25, 2019

Corben finds humor in the absurdity; what might not be so apparent while you’re laughing your ass off is just how well-made and -researched a tale this is. Read full review

John DeFore

Mar 25, 2019

A very entertaining film, stuffed with colorful idiots and serves-you-right twists. Silly in ways that reflect poorly of the filmmaker's taste but will endear it to many viewers, it's a true-crime tale that has much to do with Major League Baseball but requires no interest in the sport to enjoy. Read full review

Robert Abele

Mar 26, 2019

Corben’s account is a prideful slab of snark, about Florida, its usual suspects, and the glittering allure of fraud, which one interviewee states is “the unofficial state business.” Read full review

Chris Salce

Apr 4, 2019

Screwball is an entertaining way to bring a very serious scandal to light. Read full review

Michael Rechtshaffen

Mar 29, 2019

Inevitably, the oddball Elmore Leonard-meets-the Little Rascals conceit loses some of its wacky effectiveness, but while Corben might not hit this one out of the park, Screwball energetically rounds the bases. Read full review

Richard Roeper

Mar 29, 2019

The talented director Billy Corben swings for the fences and takes a decidedly creative approach, but unfortunately, he devotes far too many at-bats to one particular stylistic choice. Either you’ll find it original and funny and suitably outlandish, or, like me, you’ll grow weary of the technique. Read full review

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OneSubtleDose

Apr 27, 2019

Corben's Screwball is an absolute gem. It is informative, factual, hilarious and relevant to the screwball lawlessness of South Florida than it is to the game of baseball. Must-see.

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3ebfan511

Aug 18, 2019

Entertaining, odd, but not very critical, of the major league steroids epidemic. The filmmaker seems to have gotten Bosch's cooperation to make the film so...he goes very easy on probably the "mastermind" of the operation. and much of the action is rendered with children acting out theEntertaining, odd, but not very critical, of the major league steroids epidemic. The filmmaker seems to have gotten Bosch's cooperation to make the film so...he goes very easy on probably the "mastermind" of the operation. and much of the action is rendered with children acting out the main characters conversations as one or the other narrates. It adds to the comedy, and makes it entertaining, but..on the downside it isn't really a hard-hitting piece on any of its subjects. Ultimately, as I used to be pretty upset about A-rod cheating, this film, with the child-like renditions, reminds you that baseball..is just a game. There really aren't many criminal penalties at stake, it is simply..a game. Which is not a way I thought of it, and differs strongly from a more dramatic sports docs about say, Lance Armstrong, or the olympic doping. It is fairly entertaining, and somewhat funny, so it kept my attention and is definitely worth watching if you like humorous or silly documentaries, with...a lot of interesting characters and stories. But I find the light take ..leaves some of the subjects off the hook, as it doesn't really examine the morals of what the subjects did.… Expand

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