Jon Hamm is taking a page from the Tom Cruise playbook.
The Mad Men star has shed his Don Draper demons to play J.B. Bernstein, a sports agent in the midst of a show-me-the-money crisis who throws a proverbial Hail Mary in an attempt to salvage his career in Million Dollar Arm.
And this is a Disney movie, so we're guessing that, while he has some flaws (he's arrogant and seems to have commitment issues, but that can change over the course of two hours) things are going to work out for him in the end—and he'll get the beautiful, kind-hearted doctor-next-door, played here by Lake Bell.
In a brand-new trailer for the film, released today, we instantly see how Million Dollar Arm will fit nicely alongside based-on-a-true-story films like Miracle and The Rookie.
Informed by business partner Aasif Mandvi that he's out of money and after he witnesses a potential client get signed right out from under him (yes, the Jerry Maguire similarities are plentiful), J.B. heads to India to recruit hard-throwing cricket players in hopes of finding Major League Baseball's next great pitchers.
Cue the culture-clash comedy, slick sports-action sequences and will-they-make-it-against-all-odds plot that Disney does so well.
And if Hamm's recruits also convince him that he should cut the crap and realize that Bell is the woman for him...so be it.
Alan Arkin as a veteran, wise-cracking scout and Bill Paxton as a skeptical pitching coach ensure that the supporting lineup packs plenty of punch.
Million Dollar Arm is due in theaters May 16, 2014, and should provide a nice respite from Hamm-as-destructive-anti-hero when Mad Men returns early next year as well.
Excited to see Jon Hamm play nice for a change?