The Sporting Club

I found this virtually unknown film grossly misplaced in the "horror" section of a video store, and curiosity, coupled with rumors of it being "gory" (not true at all), made me rent it. It was a dreadful mistake, and you should never, never make it yourselves. There is no discernible point or logic to any scene or part of this film, and the characters couldn't be more unengaging. So unwatchable that it's doubtful most viewers will be able to make it all the way to the end. (*)

This is an odd film. It starts out as what looks like to be two friends and a girl they share going up to a cabin with other "rich, have's" in a place to check out their ancestors time capsule, as the "haves" then crash with the local bikers and the caretaker Jack Warden. When the lead "shoots" Warden wounding him, he and the bikers decides to terrorize the "haves" like tar and feathering them, and you would think it would become an action film, but then it does a complete 180 and becomes a orgy film! Even for that time period, this film couldn't have appealed to hippies, or bikers, or radicals, or even filmgoers of 1971. Perhaps someone could release this on DVD, and have the director and writer do an audio commentary, then it might make sense to all this boredom. The titles theme is very catchy and haunting however, and I am glad I found the soundtrack 17 years ago! Great tune that'll last with you for a long time.

God bless the New Hollywood era of the late 1960's and early 1970's: it seems to be a bottomless well of offbeat (and often criminally overlooked) gems like Frank Perry's PLAY IT AS IT LAYS, Bill Norton's CISCO PIKE, Noel Black's PRETTY POISON -- and even the flawed but still-fascinating THE SPORTING CLUB. This was the first of several films based on the novels of (or screenwritten by) author Thomas McGuane, followed by the wonderful pot-addled western RANCHO DELUXE and the equally-good 92 IN THE SHADE with Peter Fonda and Warren Oates. THE SPORTING CLUB sadly isn't quite as good as these two, but it's still pretty interesting in its own right. The plot revolves around a woodsy retreat for wealthy sportsmen (and women) called The Centennial Club where they gather sporadically to drink heavily and congratulate themselves on being so rich. James Quinn (played by Nicolas Coaster in a fine, understated performance) is a soon-to-be-broke member of this fraternity whose one close connection is with his former college buddy Verner Stanton (Robert Fields), who has a dangerous obsession with dueling pistols, and Verner's girlfriend (Margaret Blye). There are some parallels here with DELIVERANCE (which came a year later): both movies feature heavily-armed businessmen trying to find themselves out in the woods, although SPORTING CLUB is much more satirical. The movie achieves a kind of cock-eyed brilliance when Jack Warden arrives, playing a boozey former bait-shop owner whose been picked as the Club's new groundskeeper. His performance suggests something that's been stewing in grain alcohol for a bit too long and captures the off-center flavor and rhythms of McGuane's writing better than almost anything else in the film. (It also strangely reminds me of Burl Ives's great performance as a grizzled swamp poacher in Nicholas Ray's WIND ACROSS THE EVERGLADES.) Warden's final anarchic act of payback against the Club members is truly classic. Director Larry Peerce's early 1970's career included some fine dramas such as "Goodbye Columbus," "A Separate Peace" and "Ash Wednesday" and deserves re-appreciation. One of the best sequences here comes early in the film when Fields and his friends hijack and destroy a bus during a Presidential appearance at the local dam; the sight of two wealthy capitalists literally trashing their own Establishment is the kind of contradiction that makes McGuane's writing so memorable. To be honest, the film is far from perfect -- the plot tends to meander too much and lose focus, and if anything, the movie feels a bit too consciously "literary" -- but its definitely worth checking out especially if you're a fan of early 1970's New Hollywood films. Note: although it doesn't seem to be listed on Amazon.com, there is a late 1980's video release of the film on Charter Entertainment so it's available if you can find it.

An obnoxious, bloody, exploitative attempt at social relevancy which sees a group of rich folk traveling to a getaway in northern Michigan. Here all the sick decadence of the group surfaces in the space of a weekend. Orgies, killings, and other gross happenings are paraded before the camera.

Linda Blair plays the character Barby here, she is only a child but she got the eyes of the an angel and the voice of a goddess. She play the party very well. Nobody would know that this little child will have the part in one legendary horror film named The Exorcist after this film.