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PG, 124 minutes. Stonington, Westbrook.

In a movie culture increasingly dominated by niche audiences, there's a special place of honor reserved for that rare film that can appeal to just about everyone. "Million Dollar Arm," an easygoing and unpretentiously entertaining baseball drama, is just that kind of film, one that tells a terrific story by way of an appealing cast, handsome production values and a warm, unaffected tone. Jon Hamm plays J.B. Bernstein, a Los Angeles sports agent who has recently started his own firm but faces imminent shuttering if he doesn't snag a major client. While channel surfing one night, he toggles between an Indian cricket match and Susan Boyle warbling "I Dreamed a Dream" on "Britain's Got Talent," and he hits on his golden ticket: He'll stage a contest in India in search of a cricket bowler with enough speed, accuracy and power to become a major league baseball pitcher. You can almost hear the Disney pitch meeting: "It's 'Jerry Maguire' meets 'Slumdog Millionaire,' boss, it's gonna be huge!" Except this particular tale has its roots in a real-life story first brought to light by sports producers Neil and Michael Mandt. Beautifully adapted by screenwriter Thomas McCarthy ("The Visitor," "Win Win") and director Craig Gillespie ("Lars and the Real Girl"), "Million Dollar Arm" doesn't break the familiar mold of come-from-behind sports movies - indeed, it obeys every convention of the genre. But it does so with understatement, style and an exceptional group of actors who bring just the right balance of humor and restraint to their roles. Both of those qualities matter most when Bernstein travels to India, where his local fixer immediately informs him that preparations for the contest are running "on time and smoothly," concepts that Bernstein soon learns are relative in Mumbai, where negotiations are more apt to take place amidst a clogged city street with a quiet bribe than with lawyers and contracts. Soon "Million Dollar Arm" hits the road, in an eye-popping travelogue through the Indian countryside, where Bernstein and his scout, a grizzled compulsive napper named Ray (Alan Arkin), audition thousands of young men, each seemingly possessed of a wilder, weaker arm than the last. Eventually, two possibilities emerge: Rinku (Suraj Sharma), an eager javelin thrower who strikes a yogalike pose before throwing the ball, and Dinesh (Madhur Mittal), a solemn laborer whose filial duties to his father can't compete with dreams of success in America.

- Ann Hornaday, Washington Post