Silly and laughable

Rating: Null/10 (25 October 2000)

I have to disagree strongly with WilPower-2; this movie isn't even worth seeing on video. There may be games that can serve as a metaphor for life, but golf isn't one of them, and as a spectator sport it's about as exciting as watching your fingernails grow. Also, I absolutely REFUSE to believe that any 10-year-old boy in 1931 Georgia would EVER call golf "the greatest game there is." Oh, please.
The actors are appealing but their performances aren't, since all of them play Symbols instead of characters, drawling in cornpone-and-magnolias accents until the molasses fairly drips from the screen. Will Smith is especially ill-served, having to recite sage homilies like "Yeah, a man's grip on his club's like his grip on life..." Oh brother.
Nice scenery, though. And WilPower is right about one thing: the actors playing Bobby Jones(Joel Gretsch) and Walter Hagen (Bruce McGill) are more interesting than the stars.