A Shot at Glory

I hired this movie on a recent return to Scotland and sat through all of it in spite of myself. It is utterly lamentable. Bobby Duvall sets the tone by attempting a 'Scottish' accent that had me laughing and grimacing in equal turns. By striking co-incidence my neighbours used to have a gardener from Belarus who sounded very similar to Bob so I understood what he was saying. Michael Keaton was in it too but his appearances were so infrequent and so utterly pointless that he gave the appearance of a confused crew member wandering on to the set. "Super" Ally McCoist is about the best thing in it and he never rises above "Days of Our Lives" levels of pseudo-acting . Apparently Bobby struggled to get studio funding for this (No ! Surely not !) and had to fund much of it personally as it was a labour of love. Maybe for him. For me it was a dreadful waste of time and money.

I just saw this movie on TV, and watched mainly for the appearance of Michael Keaton, one of my favorite actors, who always does a great job, whether in a comedy or a drama. This film is well worth watching, in particular for Robert Duvall's performance, and his mastery of the Scottish accent. When I first heard him speak I had to look twice, to be sure it was "himself". What a heartwarming, and exciting film it is! Even if you're not a soccer fan, there is plenty of action, along with the heart and humor. Most entertaining.

9/13 12:45 pm A SHOT AT GLORY (***)

Well-made but conventional sports drama. Long on well-filmed Scottish football scenes, short on emotional impact. Director Michael Corrente introduced the film and returned with stars Robert Duvall and Ally McCoist for the Q & A. The Q & A was brief but it was revealed that all the actors were actual football players, which accounts for the lack of characterization in the story.

If I was an American living in America with maybe a passing interest in Football or Soccer as they tend to call it, then this movie might pass as pretty good entertainment, but being Scottish and loving football since I could walk and talk I found this film to be absolute rubbish. Robert Duvall is a fantastic actor but he is hindered here by his awful attempt at a Scottish accent, couldn't he have just played it in his normal voice. Maybe they could have come out with some sort of explanation why an American would end up managing a Scottish team that would have been been easier to swallow than his Hey Jimmy! Och aye the Noo dialect. Also as a Celtic supporter you would expect me to be ready to crucify Ally McCoist's acting since he used to play for Rangers, but actually he is by far and away the best thing in the film! He's actually pretty good! Sadly the footage they used of his days with Celtic ( he's wearing his Rangers strip coloured green! ) is awful. Actually nearly everything in this film is awful, it was a very, very bad idea from the beginning. Also why is a great actor like Michael Keaton doing in this, he is wasted in a small role, was he just doing a favour for Duvall? I must say though the actual football matches were pretty well done, much better than the likes of Escape to Victory or any other football movie. ***3/10***

Well it looks as though, like Marmite, you either love or hate this movie. I saw it in an empty cinema in Edinburgh with a friend of mine who doesn't like football (soccer) but is a huge film buff. It's a shame the theatre was so quiet, as there were some good moments that deserved a higher attendance. Ally McCoist in particular belies his lack of acting experience and shows of his lovable rouge persona that British TV viewers will be familiar with from A Question of Sport.

Robert Duvall for me looked like he was having fun, but his accent is really hit and miss, going from Groundskeeper Willie to Sean Connery via Brigadoon. To be fair to Duvall, the area of Scotland the film is set is known for it's accent, which is different from the main cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow (Scotland has many local dialects and accents so it's difficult to have a true representation of the accent).

Sadly Michael Keaton doesn't add anything to the movie other than a name. While it may have helped secure funding, Keaton doesn't do much apart from play the pantomime baddie, and as such his part in the proceedings is minimal. Unless you are a massive Keaton fan it's not worth watching his performance.

In general though, it's a fun way to spend 90 minutes, certainly more entertaining than watching a real game of Scottish Premier League action. If you are Scottish, you'll have fun spotting the players, ex-players and commentators; if you're a fan of underdog-beats-the-odds movies, you'll get a kick from seeing how the small team gets stronger as the cup goes on and if you just like movies there is enough to keep you watching without reaching for the remote.