Simply Perfect

Fresh and Exciting

Excellent but underrated film

Better Late Then Never

SPOILER: Overall, I liked the film, primarily on the strength of Stephen Dillane's and Shia LeBeouf's performances. Simple truths are completely ignored. For example Francis' father (Elias Koteas) is a ditch digger. I cannot think of a lower paying wage one could have. That noted, he has a nice home, raises a family of 5, go to the opera (!), etc. I found this ridiculous.Also Peter Firth's (playing a British Lord) character arc as the most antagonistic person is much too heavy handed. It goes far beyond class differences and into the realm of comedy. I won't even mention his lines; one can simply look at his clothing and makeup and find it laughable. A silly, pasted on mustache coupled with a hat 2 sizes too large are outrageous. Worst of all is the absolute angelic quality of Francis. In the real world, this young man would rebel to some degree. Th worst thing he does is tell his father "fine" after being told he will have to live elsewhere. There is no way one can have this much ability, be aware of it and (of course) have strong passion about it. It is ridiculous; especially in a 20 year old man. I find it unbelievable on many levels. And to think they write "This is a true story". It is not. In reality, he beat Vardon by several strokes and it was far back to 4th place in the 1913 US Open after 4 rounds were played.As usual, in became a "docudrama"; Bill Paxton or Disney should have written (at the beginning) BASED on a true story.

Barely adequate sports saga set in 1913 America, with a plucky French Canadian immigrant Kid (Shia LeBouef) up against Stephen Dillane as polished English champion Harry Vardon. (A true English gentleman who is haunted by ghosts in top hats telling him he's not well born enough to be a golf champ. Yes, it's as dumb as it sounds.) There's a number of elements to this movie, and none of them work together all that well. The period clothes and settings don't really establish a mood, because all the actors talk and act in a breezy, modern, 21st century style. The dirt poor hero has a rich girl who falls for him at first sight, and Peyton List plays this Victorian beauty with a million dollar smile, tons of sex appeal, and all the modesty and decorum of a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model prancing across a beach in her bikini. (Not that I'm complaining!)Veteran character actor Elias Koteas plays Ouimet senior, the bitter, hard bitten French Canadian dad who insists his son will never amount to anything. The writing here is so overdone it's like something out of WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY. ("Ze wrong kid died! Ze wrong kid died!") The irony is that the bitter father is the most believable, period authentic character in the story, and the actor playing him practically steals the movie. You keep feeling like the story is going to turn into FENCES, but of course Disney can't have an American tragedy breaking out in the middle of a feel good sports story. So the unhappy father comes around in the last reel -- and if you think that's a spoiler, you haven't seen many sports movies. Oh, and the comic relief is a fat, annoying, bratty kid who sounds about as 1913 as Eric Cartman. "Screw you guys, I'm going home!"

Although a keen golfer myself with a love of the history of the game, perhaps due to not being an American, I somehow didn't know about this wonderful true story of young golfer Walter Ouimet winning the US Open golf championship in a play-off against two British golfing-greats Ted Ray and Harry Vardon, being caddied all the way round by a ten year old boy! I doubt even Disney could have come up with a story so implausible although it's perhaps no surprise that it was Disney who funded this warm, if sentimental and idealised bringing to life of the tale.Yes, there are some unnecessary touching-ups to the original sequence of events, like the liberty taken with the last-hole winning putt (Ouimet actually won by five strokes) and especially the invention of a society love interest of young Ouimet, not only to add a touch of romance but also, in the form of her snobbish father and brother, some class-conflict, just one more obstacle for the young golfer to take on. The film wisely chooses not to demonise his two main English opponents Ray and especially all-time great Vardon, indeed the latter is shown to have demons of his own and who apart from one mild example of gamesmanship practiced against an opponent, is shown to be demonstrably fair and sporting, very much upholding the traditions of the game.It does take a bag-full of camera tricks to make golf exciting in a movie and director Bill Paxton uses every one of them to try to do so, using zoom-ins and outs, fast-cutting and slow-motion, at times even sitting the viewer actually on the ball as it flies to its target. These are perhaps overdone and betray the film's target family audience, but are compensated by good acting by all the main actors, especially young Le Bouef a credit to the memory of the modest but competitive Ouimet and the even younger Josh Flitter as Eddie Lowery, his moxy, pint- sized caddie, who was obviously 10 going on 40 (unsurprisingly the real-life Lowery grew up to become a millionaire).Filmed in warm soft-focus with a pleasant depiction of the era of golf's Golden Age and a stirring soundtrack at its back,this was an entertaining film, which while occasionally taking the circuitous route, managed to get round the course in a little bit better than par, I'd say.

Disney tells a wonderful underdog saga with "The Greatest Game Ever Played," the true story of Francis Ouimet, the father of amateur golf, directed by Bill Paxton, starring Shia LaBeouf, Stephen Dillane, Marnie McPhail, Elias Koteas, Josh Flitter, and Stephen Marcus.The Massachusetts-born Ouimet was the child of a Canadian father and Irish mother, who grew up across the street from a country club, where he started caddying at the age of 11. Golf at that time was prominent in Britain, and the British were the world's best golfers. It was a sport of the rich. Francis Ouimet, like the great British golfer, Harry Vardon, came from poor circumstances. In one of the first scenes, Vardon is summoned to an exclusive club. He believes, as a golf champion, that he is being invited to become a member; instead, the club wants him to work for them.Against his father's wishes, Ouimet begins to compete as an amateur golfer, ultimately qualifying for the U.S. Open in 1913. The championship resulted in a three-way playoff between Vardon, Ted Roy, and Ouimet. Ouimet's upset win popularized amateur golf in the United States.Ouimet's caddie was a ten-year-old boy, Eddie Lowery, whose brother couldn't caddie because he was caught by a truant officer.Bill Paxton has done a great job directing this rousing film, giving the viewer the feeling that his is there on the course, watching the various shots as they travel across the green.The performances are excellent, with LaLaBeouf doing an amazing job as Ouimet, who puts up with prejudice and hardship to live his dream. As Eddie, Josh Flitter is fantastic as Eddie, a little adult with sage advice. Standouts in the rest of the cast are Stephen Dillane as Harry Vardon, and the actors who play Ouimet's parents, Elias Koteas in a very emotional, heartfelt performance as Francis' tough, protective father, and Marnie McPhail, a pretty woman who exudes warmth as Francis' loving and encouraging mother.Highly recommended - this is an inspiring film for the whole family, beautifully produced and acted.