The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005)

Originally Reviewed
  Monday June 26, 2006

It's amazing to me from the standpoint of someone who has absolutely no interest in the game of golf, to play it and certainly none to watch it, that I would get such enjoyment out of a film that entirely based upon the sport. It must be the fact that the few golf films made are usually much more exciting than the everyday match of golf, whatever it may be The Greatest Game Ever Played is certainly an entertaining film even for a non-golf enthusiast as myself.

The Greatest Game Ever Played is a rags to riches story of two golfers in two different stages of their careers. First we are introduced to Harry Vardon, who as a young boy his family was forced from their home by rich noblemen who were going to build, none other than, a golf course. Ironically many years later Harry Vardon becomes the greatest and most popular golfer of the time, but he's still looked down upon by some of the stuck up rich because of his heritage, even though his skill is the best in the world. This definitely begins to take a toll on Harry and he soon drops away from the sport.

Meanwhile during the heyday of Harry Vardon there is another similar young boy by the name of Francis Ouimet in Boston. Much like Harry Vardon, Francis is considered low class because his father is a day labor worker and he is a caddy, so he was looked down upon by the rich who play the game of golf. Francis enjoyed golf, although he never played much because he was a caddy and caddies playing golf simply wasn't allowed. But that all changed the day he met Harry Vardon, who gave him a few words of advice, which would lead Francis to continue to practice every night until he was old enough that he could begin to play the course.

Years later, Francis is now a fine young man in his early twenties with an opportunity to play in the amateur golf tournament. This is highly looked down upon by the rich members of the golf club not only because of his his family but also because he's a caddy, and caddies don't play golf. But Francis will not give up and is told at if he can come up with the $50 entrance fee then he will be allowed to play in the trial run to see who will qualify for the competition. Of course Francis doesn't have that kind of money so he asks his father to loan him the money. His father doesn't approve of him playing golf, he thinks it's a waste of time but he gives Francis the money to try out on the condition that if he doesn't make it in, he give up the sport forever and get a descent well playing job.

Unfortunately Francis chokes at the end of the tryouts and misses making the qualification because of one shot. Francis is distraught, but he made a promise to his father. Not to long after Francis is presented with the opportunity of playing as a amateur in the 1913 US Open, which is one of the highest golf competitions around. Francis decides to play in the tournament not mentioning it to his father, and is about to start off on one of the greatest games ever played as he'll be facing against some of the greatest players in the world, even the one who inspired him, Harry Vardon.

The main reason I rented this film is because I'm a big fan of Shia LaBoeuf, that is before he started participating in the destruction of popular culture with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Transformers.  He started out his career playing the troublesome Louis Stevens on the very popular Disney show Even Stevens. I have always thought he was extremely funny and talented and I thought nothing less after watching his performance as Francis Ouimet. He does a great job in this film, which turned out to be very inspirational and entertaining.

That said the film does have a few problems and unfortunately most of them are at the beginning of the film. The main problem is how they introduce the main characters, by jumping around between the two in different times in their lives it gets a little confusing trying to figure out who is who and is this the past or the present. After some unorganized back flashes, and a little bit of a slow start the film does eventually pick up and finds a steady flow, once Francis begins to play, and even more exciting when he starts playing in the tournament. The most entertaining part of the tournament was his caddy, this little kid who turned into the comic relief and then began giving Francis some good tips on staying calm!

Overall, I really enjoyed this film, its a very touching story about a young man who has some extremely wonderful talent yet is being held down by social expectations not only from the rich but also by his own father. It's a story about a young man who had a dream and would do whatever it took to make the dream come true, no matter what other people thought. A very good film and certainly well worth a watch. I also recommend checking out some of the DVD extras which have some old footage on some things about the real Francis Ouimet. 

8/10