Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

If you are not a baseball fan or if you are familiar only with the legends surrounding Ty Cobb you may enjoy this film. As a film I found it tiresome. I felt that Tommy Lee Jones, a great actor, was over the top playing an admittedly outlandish character.But the real problem with the film is it just isn't true. It's really not the director's or script writer's fault. The problem lies with the source material. Mr Stump spent aome time with Cobb but a lot of his work written after Cobb died is a pack of lies. Ty Cobb was a tough perhaps over the top competitor and a lot of his contemporaries resented that. Also he was jealous of some of his rivals particularly Babe Ruth who changed the game from the style which Cobb had excelled in, but he was not nearly the racist that he appeared in the film. He stated that talented black athletes should be allowed to compete with whites. He greatly admired Willie Mays and Roy Campanella. Before integration he frequently went to Negro League games and occasionally threw out the first ball. Stump had a bad reputation among other writers for plagiarism, historical inaccuracy, and was even accused of forging or stealing Ty Cobb memorabilia. Much of his work was discredited in a much better book that came out recently "Ty Cobb, A Terrible Beauty" by Charles Leershen. Cobb was no saint. He was certainly a "wild child" from Georgia. But he wasn't the monster depicted in this film.

I first saw this movie some 20 years ago and thought what most people probably thought, that Cobb was an amazing ballplayer, and a half-crazy racist. Yet I recently read George Leershen's book 'Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty' and my opinion has definitely been swayed. Mr. Leershen researched Cobb like no other and discovered that much of the things said and written about him (most notably by Al Stump's and his book that the film was based on) were untrue or wildly exaggerated. Cobb never killed a man, he wasn't a racist (in fact his Father, Grandfather AND Great Grandfather were abolitionists if nothing else), he never sharpened his spikes, and never went out of his way to use them on somebody, unless they were in his path to the base. Even that famous picture of him flying airborne into what looks like the crotch of the catcher, was really him knocking the ball out of his glove, which he did, confirmed by the catcher himself. Al Stump was a notorious liar and fabricator who's 'Tale' of Ty Cobb didn't nearly add up to all of Leershen research or even Cobb's Grandson's first hand knowledge of Ty's place in Tahoe, both know more of truth than what Stump was willing to write about, for the sake of telling the story he wanted for the sole interests of making money, which is why he waited until AFTER Cobb died to release it. Now all that being said, was Cobb an Angel? Absolutely not, but let's look at the facts of what we know for sure. Cobb was relentlessly Hazed by other players before and after his Mother killed his Father mere weeks before his professional debut at 18 years old. And most baseball players back then were poorly educated, alcoholic thugs. Take a look at some of those early Detroit Tiger team photos that Cobb played on, never before does 'A picture speak a thousand words' or hold more truth than some of the faces and personalities you'll see he came up playing with. Cobb himself was educated and liked to read, yet he also loved the game of baseball and overcame a lot to prove what he could do and that he 'belonged', always playing as if his life depended on it. Many players in turn became jealous of his abilities and 'wild-child' ways on the base paths, which only added to his legend of how he was able to do what he did.Did Cobb have a couple of altercations with people of color? Yes, but make no mistake he had WAY more altercations with whites. Cobb didn't hate black people, I don't even think Cobb hated anybody, but if you got in his way or went up against him, he would have something to prove, black, white or even a handicapped guy in the stands in a wheel chair missing a few fingers. Apparently that heckler in question was pretty famous for it, and had been laying into Cobb whenever he came into town for a while until finally Cobb snapped and went up into the stands to shut him up once and for all. Does anybody know what the guy said to Cobb? Not sure, but you could easily imagine a couple of sore spots in Cobb's life that would potentially set him off. If you add what Cobb endured and had to overcome from others and it explains his behavior a little better. It by no means gives him a free pass, but it put things in a different context.People love to knock other people, and in case you didn't notice, this goes on today more than ever, in newspapers and social media etc. Ty Cobb was in a league of his own and people either loved or hated him for it. Al Stump took some random stories handed down through the years, twisted them into what he wanted while adding some of his own BS and turned it into a book he thought would sell.. And then they made a movie from THAT book?! Cobb could be a lot of unpleasant things at times, but he too was once an innocent baby who eventually got molded into the man who became one of the greatest to ever play baseball, but at a price. Without the hazing or his Father's untimely death, who knows if those demons would have pushed him to that same greatness? Let alone becoming the ornery, temperamental man he was? A Terrible Beauty Indeed.

First things first, this movie is based off of a book written by Al Stump, who is played by Robert Wuhl in the film. Al Stump in recent years has proved to be a liar and a forger so sports historians are calling into question a great deal of his supposed insight into Ty Cobb. In other words, in all likelihood Mr. Stump exaggerated or outright made up most of his allegations against Cobb to sell books. That isn't to say Ty Cobb was a prince of a human being because there's enough contemporary evidence to show that he wasn't. But some of the most vile things that have been said about him can be traced to Stump's writing. So take the things this movie has to say with a huge grain of salt. Another black mark against the film is that it has very little actual baseball in it. This movie doesn't care about Cobb the baseball giant. It only cares about Cobb the asshole. To include one side of the man without the other is a pointless exercise in self-righteousness. Why is a biography of Ty Cobb even necessary without his baseball accomplishments? Because he was a racist and a bully? There are millions of those, past and present, who aren't getting movies made about them. It just defies reason. Cobb was one of the greatest (and dirtiest) baseball players ever. Going by this movie, however, you would think he was just some crotchety old man who shared wacky adventures with a sports reporter. Tommy Lee Jones was too old to play this role, as is especially evident in the flashbacks to when Cobb was younger. He plays Cobb as a silly cantankerous cartoon of a man. Every bit as over the top as his performance of Two Face in Batman Forever. Let that sink in for a minute. Robert Wuhl plays himself as he always does. The movie is entertaining in spots. The comedic parts work better than the dramatic. I can't really recommend it because the bad outweighs the good and, personally, knowing about Stump leaves a bad taste in my mouth over the whole thing.

I watched this movie on New Year's Eve while I was having a movie marathon to help me stay awake till midnight. I found the movie to be interesting but I felt it could have used more baseball scenes. I understand it was about him telling his story to Al Stump but I was expecting more baseball flashbacks. Tommy Lee Jones is really good in this movie and Robert Wuhl really stands out as well. It was neat to find out where Cobb was from and to see scenes where he was in Cooperstown for a ceremony. This movie did get me interested in checking out more info on Ty Cobb and of course checking out Al Stump's book plus others I may find. If your a baseball fan or Tommy Lee Jones fan this is worth checking out but Cobb's mean attitude does grow old after a while.