Crossing the Street

Rating: 6/10 (6 October 2005)

Greetings again from the darkness. When Hollywood goes after a true story, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. With "Titanic" and "Apollo 13", there is no mystery to the viewer on how the story ends. What keeps us interested (or not) is the how-it-happened, or behind-the-scenes details.
The 1913 U.S. Open is one of the most fascinating golf and sports stories of all time. But we know how it ends before we walk into the theatre. Where director Bill Paxton (yes, the "Twister" actor) fails us is with the behind-the-scenes stories. He touches on the class warfare of the time and the family and personal demons that haunt both 20 year old Francis Ouimet (played right down the middle by Shia LaBeouf) and the great Harry Vardon (Stephen Dillone captures the quiet dignity of the champ). There is just very little depth or meat to the non-golf stories of the men. Toss in a pure Disney character in Ouimet's caddie, Eddie (played for all its worth by the interesting looking and full of rhymes Josh Flitter), and you have a mediocre, pleasant film that is going to please most audiences, but will be forgotten the next day.
Just for fun, it should be noted that Bill Paxton's real life son plays young Harry Vardon at the beginning of the film and an almost unrecognizable Elias Kotsas plays Francis' father. Having not read Mark Frost's book, I am unable to comment on whether the source material provided more substance than the film delivers. I just know that the film is a quick high and very little else.