For a minute there, I was worried about Clint Eastwood. When word began to leak about about Gran Torino, his picture after Changeling, speculation ran rampant that Clint was returning to the moribund Dirty Harry franchise. (Don’t get me wrong — I love the movies. But their time has, I think, passed.) That isn’t the case, according to Moviehole.
Unfortunately, I can’t say that the actuality of Gran Torino sounds like more than a diversion. The lead is Walt, an old curmudgeon whose prized possession is a 1972 Grand Torino. An Asian kid named Tao tries to steal the car to win acceptance from a gang. Walt, in turn, becomes the Miyagi to Tao’s Daniel-san, teaching the kid responsibility an giving him a positive self-image. We don’t know who’s playing Walt at this point, though Clint is an obvious choice.
Maybe I’m still a little worried about him.
It’s meant to be a comedy — a coming of age buddy comedy. I picture something between The Rookie and A Perfect World.
Moviehole’s got a full casting breakdown for the flick, so peek over there if you want to know all the details.