A Gentleman's Game

I am not a golfer. I don't enjoy watching golf. I don't enjoy talking about golf, and until yesterday, I didn't enjoy seeing movies about golf.

What "Gentleman's Game" showed me was that the subject isn't always the motivator and pinnacle of the film's heart. The characters and the writing is what makes this piece work and sustain my interest.

This was a very well made film with a strong cast that should be viewed by a larger audience. Gary Sinise isn't the star, but he has a good role in this film. The star is Mason Gamble, best known as "Dennis the Menace". He will be someone to watch as he grows into his acting abilities even more in the future. Mason has a strong command of the screen and is self-aware as to his presence there. (Trivia...his first role was in "Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray, whose brother Brian Doyle-Murray costars in this film. Mason was also in Rushmore, again with Bill Murray.)

Dylan Baker is wonderful and understated, and Phillip Baker Hall spews country-club snobbery and hatred.

First rate cast, strong direction from a first-time director (who co-wrote) and a glossy appearance all help this film be elevated from so many out there and stand out as a wonderful little story. Nothing massive happens, just life, which is massive enough.

There is no storyline. There is not one story but many and none of them is taken to a satisfying conclusion.

Frustrating : many good ideas potentially. The end result is a mess (ie not a documentary, not a film about golf, not a film about the relationship between the 2 main characters, not a father and son story...).

My vote : 5 / 10.

Timmy Price (Mason Gamble) is the son of a middle class family whose father belongs to the venerable and exclusive Fox Chase Golf Club. His well meaning father forces him to caddy at the club the summer he turns thirteen. At first Timmy doesn't fit in with the caddies, and is generally ignored as being another "members kid...who come to loop for one day and never come back..." Timmy keeps at the looping (caddying) though and soon discovers his own gift for the game.

While looping Timmy watches the members associate with each other and interact with the staff. Lessons about life and growing up are subtly characterized, often with nothing more than the actual events to relate Timmy's realizations. This is an excellent movie to watch in the "coming of age" genre. The movie is narrated by the "adult" Timmy as he is looking back at this time in his life. One of the strongest aspects of the film is that the whole story is conveyed without the sugary sentimentality or rose colored emotion that is often used to tell a coming of age story. Very refreshing.

This film exposes the country club life, where the elitist a think they're better because of they're station in life, even over the other members in they're own club. A young golfers life is changed when he realizes how perverse the life he thought he wanted was and learns life lessons from an ex-pro who hung up his clubs for the very same reasons.

This really is a great little golf movie. Based on a novel by Tom Coyne Gentleman's Game picks up where Caddy Shack leaves off and doesn't go near Tin Cup or Baggar Vance for being pretentious.

The story revolves around Mason Gamble who plays Timmy Price, a young gifted golfer who is the focus of everyone's attention. Timmy's father, played by Kevin Thomas, will do everything in his power to get Timmy the right breaks.

From joining an exclusive country club, to pushing son Timmy to caddy at the elite Fox Chase Country Club to seeking the reclusive Foster Pierce, played by Gary Sinise, to groom young Timmy for the upcoming tournament it's all about the game.

Along the way Timmy and we discover the splendor of young love, the love of a father for a son and how a young man's search for excellence helps bring the withdrawn Foster Pierce back to the reality and self respect that he has run from.

Throw in Brian Doyle Murray's character, Tomato Face, that runs the caddy shack, a dark secret that the country club elite try to hide and a surprise confrontation between a black club pro and the elder patriarch of Fox Chase and you have a great story.

I don't golf but enjoyed this movie thoroughly and would recommend it to anyone who has a love of the game or a love of life.