But trust me, it does all of the above.

“Moneyball” is the story of the 2002 Oakland A’s, and their miracle 20-game win streak. But more importantly, it is about how General Manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) and his assistant Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) put together a winning franchise despite having one of the lowest payroll in baseball. The do this by using unconvential statistics to seek undervalued players.
Both Pitt and Hill deserve Oscar nominations. Frankly, Pitt can’t not get nominated, and it sure would be nice to see Hill show that he has come a long way since those brilliant Judd Apatow comedies, such as “Superbad” and “Knocked Up.”
“Moneybal”l takes a not so glamorous story and shows audiences that it’s just that, not so glamorous. Beane had a lot of hard work and people reject him completely. This is almost hard to believe because Pitt makes him out to be the most likeable charismatic man in the history of baseball. He’s maybe one of the most lovable characters audiences will ever see. His bonding with Brand is completely adorable, and he is much more clever than any GM would ever need to be.
One scene where Pitt and Hill both get the chance to shine is in Brand’s first encounter with the A’s veteran scouts. Beane is trying to sell his newfound scouting philosophy to his board of advisers. He does a wonderful job being the pretty face of the revolution.

He goes to Brand for help, who awkwardly does his best. Hill conveys the difficulty of being a young man in an old man’s game, especially when supporting a controversial new theory. This scene exemplifies some of the movie’s major themes.

This is not a baseball movie, or even a movie about baseball. While everyone is talking about baseball and there is a whole lot of baseball going on, that’s not the important part. Moneyball is really about Beane and relating to his struggle.

It has the classic themes of never giving up, believing in yourself, doing what’s right, and all of that uplifting stuff. I would expect nothing less from the borderline prophet Aaron Sorkin, who wrote that Facebook movie that wasn’t, and “Schindler’s List” writer Steven Zaillian. Their collaboration lives up to any fan’s dreams. The perfectly toned script elevates a sports movie to one of the most emotional, and funny movies of the year.

While there’s nothing ambitious or ground breaking about it, “Moneyball” is perfect just the way it is. It is brilliant in ways that have been seen before, but never goes to a place that’s anything less than original. The characters are lovable and the story is a roller coaster.

People of all ages and all ranging interests in baseball, will be able to get into this movie. Yes, even Giants fans will find themselves rooting for the A’s for just a couple of hours.

Get used to the name “Moneyball” because when the Academy Awards roll around, move fans will be hearing it a whole lot.