A Shot at Glory

So bad it's good, but so bad it is. Duvall is how I would imagine the late Bill Shankly would sound if you had slipped him a mickey containing LSD. How a great actor of his stature came to be in this turkey can only be attributed to his legendary drinking sessions with Jimmy Johnstone going beyond the wee small hours and into the twilight zone.

Surprisingly the cheeky chappie and rookie actor, ex Rangers player Ally McCoist is not as excruciating to watch as others who should know better in this. Michael Keaton looks as stunned as a cow on a quiz show, as he tries to work out what the hell is going on here.

I laughed when I'm sure I wasn't meant to and for the rest of the movie my toes curled so much that I got cramp.

In the name of the beautiful game, avoid this like the plague.

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.

It's difficult to make a movie about football (soccer) that will satisfy one's appetite for interesting match scenes as well as a desire for a worthwhile plot. 'A Shot at Glory' certainly does not pull this off, but it is an attempt worth watching in any case.

The plot is rather mediocre, but at least it is somewhat linked to the fortunes of the team itself. Nosy American owner (Keaton) buys team, threatens to move it to Ireland if aging coach (Duvall) can't win the Scottish Cup. The second strand of the plot involves the former Golden Boot winner (McCoist) brought in by the owner, who is the somewhat estranged son-in-law of the coach. The third element, of course, is the performance of the team itself. There is certainly some awful dialog in the film, but it quickly passes from memory once the matches begin.

In comparison to 'Bend It Like Beckham' and 'Mean Machine,' the two football-related films 'A Shot at Glory' can easily be weighed against, the film at hand establishes itself as the clear choice in terms of the realism of the matches. The experience of watching each match is rather like watching a cinematic version of Championship Manager -- there is very little continuity between moves, but it somehow seems to make sense.

At the end of the day, 'A Shot at Glory' is well worth watching if you are looking for a well-executed football movie. The plot may be formulaic, but the match scenes put many others to shame.

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.

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.