Having read the book last year, I finally saw the movie The Greatest Game Ever Played. I give it 3 stars (out of 4), but would only recommend it as (1) family fare (makes sense, it's a Disney movie); (2) to golfers who like the historical aspect of the story or (3) to those who might have read the book. To anyone else, the movie would largely be a snooze.
TGGEP, the movie, deviated from the book in many ways and made some of the key personalities (Wilfred Reid, to name one) disposable. But you can imagine what a task it is to cram 5 rounds of golf into just over one-half of the film. To his credit, Bill Paxton, the director, does a nice job with camera angles, special effects and capturing the personalities of the main characters including two of the real characters in the book, Ted Ray and Eddie Lowery.
I can understand why this movie bombed at the BO; golf is difficult to sell when its live and the drama is unfolding, its impossible to sell when watching a guy line up a putt that took place 90 years ago and for which you already know the result. But with the U.S. Open a few weeks away, again, it might be interesting for the historical aspect.
Credible performances all the way around keep the film from ending up out of bounds.
A brief word about Mark Frost's book. If you like golf and/or golf history and you haven't read it yet, do so immediately. It is an easy read and he wastes not a single word in describing the origins of professional golf, the players involved, class struggles, etc., and then wraps up nicely with a summary of the lives after the U.S. Open of the major characters.
TGGEP, the movie, deviated from the book in many ways and made some of the key personalities (Wilfred Reid, to name one) disposable. But you can imagine what a task it is to cram 5 rounds of golf into just over one-half of the film. To his credit, Bill Paxton, the director, does a nice job with camera angles, special effects and capturing the personalities of the main characters including two of the real characters in the book, Ted Ray and Eddie Lowery.
I can understand why this movie bombed at the BO; golf is difficult to sell when its live and the drama is unfolding, its impossible to sell when watching a guy line up a putt that took place 90 years ago and for which you already know the result. But with the U.S. Open a few weeks away, again, it might be interesting for the historical aspect.
Credible performances all the way around keep the film from ending up out of bounds.
A brief word about Mark Frost's book. If you like golf and/or golf history and you haven't read it yet, do so immediately. It is an easy read and he wastes not a single word in describing the origins of professional golf, the players involved, class struggles, etc., and then wraps up nicely with a summary of the lives after the U.S. Open of the major characters.