It appears that Disney is trying to run the gamut of based-on-a-true-story sports movies. After success with football (Remember the Titans), baseball (The Rookie) and hockey (Miracle), the House Of Mouse has now resorted to golf and will follow that up in January with basketball and Glory Road. For now, we have The Greatest Game Ever Played, but we may as well call it Every Other Sports Movie You've Ever Seen.
If you've seen any of the aforementioned titles, you know the drill. A team of misfits or a once-promising athlete get a second chance, usually aided by an unorthodox coach, and pull off a monumental upset. Fortunately, when it comes to sports movies, it's more about details and characters than plot.
In this case, we have Francis Ouimet (Shia LeBeouf), a lower-class caddie who dreams of being able to tee it up with the big boys. Despite not being allowed to play on the local course, skill is not an obstacle. Instead, he must butt heads with snooty aristocrats and his disapproving father. "Golf is a gentlemen's game," we are told time and time again, "Not for the likes of you!"
No problem—this is a Disney movie and such impediments will be overcome quicker than you can say "Jiminy Cricket." Out of the blue, Francis finds himself playing against his idol Harry Vardon (Stephen Dillane) in the 1913 U.S. Open. But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.
The story opens in England, circa 1879, with a young boy who we later discover is little Harry Vardon. Then we jump to 1900 in Massachusetts, and another youthful lad, Francis Ouimet. Next it's 1913, where Doc Brown jumps out of the DeLorean and ... what is going on?
The picture is directed by Bill Paxton, who showed great promise with his previous effort, Frailty. As with many actors who turn to directing, he gets good performances out of his cast but has a little trouble getting a handle on the narrative. Here he jumps in and out of decades and locales and we are often left guessing as to who we are watching and why.
Still, LeBeouf is immensely likable as Francis. Even more so is scene-stealing Josh Flitter as his precocious caddie, Eddie. We cheer for them despite the fact that, no matter how jumbled their story gets, we know how it will end.