Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius

We saw this movie last night on its opening night for the public. It was a good movie about a man who loved to play golf, and over his lifetime transformed himself into a man of integrity, perseverance, and great intelligence. He knew what was really important in his life and he made a plan that allowed him to fulfill his destiny in golf and in his personal life. He was the best golf player in the world, but he was also an awesome man personally. One of his greatest accomplishments was bringing his father and grandfather together, healing a life-long rift.

The movie was well done. It was both entertaining and enlightening. It definitely kept our interest for the whole two hours. We felt his sense of life-long struggle, that life was never easy for him, and we celebrated his accomplishments, both on and off the golf course. The actors did a wonderful job, especially Jim Caviezel as Bobby and Malcolm McDowell as OB Keilor, the newspaper reporter who wrote about Bobby's career from the very beginning. Jeremy Northam also had a good supporting role as Walter Hagen.

We'd recommend that you see this movie; you don't have to love golf to enjoy it (but if you do, you'll enjoy it all the more). It's worth seeing in the movie theater.

A nice, indeed refreshing departure--along the lines of Sea Biscuit, Radio, and Chariots of Fire--from today's largely vacuous movie fare. The generational interplay between grandfather, father, and son together with the undergirding theme that there are things more important than championships, combine to make this a fine film.

This film is not for those whose entertainment tastes demand sex, gratuitous violence, or fast paced action. On the other hand, if you are tired of that type entertainment and enjoyed the above mentioned films, or Master and Commander, you should find this a very worthwhile picture. Unfortunately, it was not well-attended the day I saw it, though I did attend a matinee.

If you are a golfer and your eyes don't well up when this movie starts you have no business in watching the rest of the movie. For the rest of you, this true story will give you a glimpse of one of the best, if not the best, golfers and truest gentlemen the golf world has ever known.

The story, acting, dialog, cinematography were all first class. Some good music was even put in from time to time. All that aside this is a moment in a life that we feel is more important than all that. Even if the story, acting, dialog and cinematography weren't up to par, it would not have mattered much because we learned about the man who lived and played in another zone than the rest of us. But, that is a moot point because everything here was up to par.

For years whenever we watched the Masters Golf Tournament we heard the name Bobby Jones and the announcers would list some of his accomplishments, however, this never really told us about the man himself. Well, this movie does. Okay, some things in it may seem sappy, corny, and not real, but in those days that is the way things were. Those were days when respect for everything meant everything, was everything; and people moved on from that standard.

In some ways the movie makes Bobby Jones out to be more human although we held him above that station. Yes, he had a temper when he hit a bad shot, but learned to control it. Yes, he had some medical problems that we never really knew about. Yes, he seemed somewhat selfish running from tournament to tournament at the expense of his family, but the pressures on him were really great. And, his family always stood by him. He accomplished what he wanted to accomplish at a young age, and then quit tournament golf to be more with his family. Later he founded Augusta National Golf Course where the Masters is played each year.

James Caviezel was probably the best person to play the role of Bobby Jones and his performance made Bobby Jones more real for me and this will always stay with me. It is probably too much to hope that the age of respect will once again come around, but to those who see this movie that standard will be remembered at least on the golf course. Anyway, this movie is a real special treat.

Bobby Jones has the same feel as the many old movie biographies of the 1950s, like the Glenn Miller Story, but it is better written and better acted and certainly the historic artifacts are better, although it is true that everything looks so new! There is no high drama, but one gets a sense of the sheer effort it took for Jones to succeed. Anyone who knew only the bare outlines of his career, and about his background, may have assumed that he was a "natural"to whom the game came easily. The opposite is true and the movies demonstrates, ironically, why amateurs have disappeared from golf. The effort needed to excel is too great except for the most gifted of golfers. Tiger Woods would not be what he is if he had to work at another job for 9 months a year.

But my questions is: what do some people hate morality tales, but especially the ones that are true. Is it inverted snobbery? I think so.

Wow, what a nice movie! Beautifully filmed, too.

This is a loving tribute to the American amateur golf legend Bobby Jones but it doesn't sugarcoat his story. Jones is shown with his good and bad sides, especially his horrible temper which he corrected, and his nervous ailments which he was unable to correct and caused an early retirement from the game.

There is a lot of golf footage in here, of tournaments won and lost and battles against famous professional Walter Hagen, who always is pictured in these golf films as an arrogant, flamboyant man. In contrast, Jones' modest character is even more apparent than would normally be noticed.

Anyway, Jim Caveziel is likable as Jones and the two young actors who play the golfer as a kid also do very well. Jones' love interest is appealingly played by Claire Forlani. The two make for a handsome couple.

This is simply a good-natured, feel-good movie that is pleasing to the eyes as well as the heart. If you are a golfer, this a must, but a nice story even if you don't play the game. If you have the DVD, check out the documentaries here. They are quite interesting.