“The Greatest Game Ever Played” (Walt Disney Pictures)
When you slap a title such as “The Greatest Game Ever Played” on a film then audiences might expect it to be “one of the greatest movies ever made.” It isn’t. It is a good movie but not a great one, because basically folks it’s about golf and when has there ever been a really great golf movie
The Disney folks are great at bringing sports movies to the screen in wonderfully watchable packages. Remember “Remember the Titans” Remember “Miracle” And you could go on and on through the past years. They have tried to wrap this film about a golfing duel between one of the world’s greatest golfers and an amateur in sentimental flavoring like those other films had. It just won’t wash.
The movie is based on the true story of Francis Oimet, a twenty-year-old amateur golfer who gets a chance to play against the fabled Harry Vardon (Stephen Dillane) in the 1913 US Open Golf Championship. Vardon was the reigning champion and wanted to take the trophy back to England with him one more time. Oimet was a shopworker in Boston who loved the game but it was frowned upon by his working class father (Elias Koteas).
The movie dwells a little on Francis’ personal life and the snobbery of the people involved in the game of golf; but basically the film is one golf championship and that’s it. If you are a golf addict you will love the movie but if you don’t see the thrill in hitting a ball into a hole then you might get a little tired of it all.
Shia LaBeouf is solid in his role as Francis. He makes a believable golfer and can also show cockiness and humility in equal measure. Dillane makes Vardon an impressive hero. The movie is stolen however by Josh Flitter who plays Francis’ irrepressible caddy, Eddie Lowery. Young Mr. Flitter knows how to dominate any scene in which he is featured with some of the most adorable mugging seen on screen since “The Little Rascals.”
Special mention should be made of Shane Hurlburt’s inventive camerawork, and Brian Tyler’s moving musical score. Both men do an impressive job and add to the overall quality of the film. Bill Paxton (the lead actor in “Twister”) adds another career field to his resume as the director of this film.
The film is rated PG for very mild profanity.
“The Greatest Game Ever Played” is a good movie but it is certainly not one of the “greatest.” The “great golf film has yet to be made.
I scored “The Greatest Game Ever Played” a putted 6 out of 10.
