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(About Our Ads) "THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED" (2005) (Shia Labeouf, Stephen Dillane) (PG) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate None Heavy Minor None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild None Minor None Minor Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Minor Heavy Moderate Moderate Mild QUICK TAKE: Drama: While dealing with others' disparaging views of him, a former caddie competes against various golf champions in the 1913 U.S. Open. PLOT: It's 1912 and 19-year-old Francis Ouimet (SHIA LABEOUF) is an Irish immigrant in Brookline, Massachusetts who works as a caddie, much to the dismay of his traditional father Arthur (ELIAS KOTEAS) who thinks he should get a real job and stop dreaming of becoming a golfer. Francis' mother Mary (MARNIE MCPHAIL), however, has always quietly supported his dream that even included keeping him out of school as a boy one day so that he could go and see his idol, British golfing champion Harry Vardon (STEPHEN DILLANE). Francis gets his shot at fame when one of the golfers where he works encourages him to enter a tournament as an amateur. Despite others' objections, including from the father and brother to socialite Sarah Wallis (PEYTON LIST) who's drawn his attention, Francis begins play with the agreement with his father that if he loses, he'll give up the game for good. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't make the cut. A year later, Francis works in a sporting goods store where he's approached by a representative from the U.S. Golfing Association. It seems that they want a local entrant for the 1913 U.S. Open and think he's the right fit. After some soul searching and despite his earlier agreement with his father, Francis decides to play. With the tutelage of old golf pro Alec Campbell (LUKE ASKEW) and stuck with the young and diminutive but wise for his years Eddie Lowery (JOSH FLITTER) as his unlikely caddie, Francis enters the tournament. But the odds are against him. Not only must he face current U.S. champion John McDermott (MICHAEL WEAVER), but also a trio of British ones including Vardon, his friend Ted Ray (STEPHEN MARCUS) and their country's young champion Wilfred Reid (GEORGE ASPREY). With the command from Lord Northcliffe (PETER FIRTH) to win one for their country, the three set out to battle the Americans, unaware that their biggest challenge will come from none other than Francis. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into golf or are fans of someone in the cast, they might, but a period film about a person they've never heard about might not be that enticing to others. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG For some brief mild language CAST AS ROLE MODELS: SHIA LABEOUF plays a 20-year-old former caddie who agrees to enter the U.S. Open tournament as an amateur despite an earlier agreement with his father to give up the sport. He shows courage and resiliency as he battles the odds and formidable opponents. STEPHEN DILLANE plays his childhood idol, a British champion who's a bit beyond his prime in the sport but can still compete with the best of them. He smokes and drinks some. ELIAS KOTEAS plays Francis' hard-working, immigrant father who thinks his son is wasting his time with the sport when he should be working a real job. MARNIE MCPHAIL plays Francis' mother who's more supportive, but quietly so. JOSH FLITTER plays Francis' young and diminutive caddie who's filled with golf and life wisdom and advice. PEYTON LIST plays the young socialite who draws Francis' attention despite her family's condescending view of him. STEPHEN MARCUS plays Vardon's burly friend and playing partner who smokes, drinks and punches Wilfred to the floor when tired of his blowhard demeanor. PETER FIRTH plays a British club member who looks down on Francis and wants Vardon or one of his other Brits to defeat the Americans. He smokes and drinks some. GEORGE ASPREY plays the young British champion who's full of himself. MICHAEL WEAVER plays his American counterpart who doesn't want to allow the Brits to come close to winning. LUKE ASKEW plays a seasoned golf pro who helps train Francis for his quest. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this PG-rated drama. Profanity consists of a handful of minor expletives, while some colorful phrases are also uttered. Various characters have bad attitudes (mostly of the condescending variety), while tense family material involves a falling out between the main character and his father. Various characters drink and/or smoke throughout the film, while part of a barroom fight is briefly seen and a person is accidentally hit on the head with a golf ball. Some brief, imitative behavior is present, as are a few flashbacks and imagined scenes featuring some stern looking men in black, tall top hats that could be unsettling, but only to very young viewers. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's some shaky camera work during a montage. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE There's a comment about having drinks all around for a group of men. Miscellaneous people drink champagne and more at a golf tournament reception. Various people drink, including Ted who has a shot. Some men have drinks. Ted has wine. Lord Northcliffe tells others to raise one (a toast) to the British. He, Harry and Ted then drink. A man drinks from a flask. A reporter has a drink by him. BLOOD/GORE None. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE A snobbish businessman/surveyor flips a coin to young Harry and says that the game (golf) is not for the likes of him (Harry). A kid caddie drops a golf ball for a player (pretending it's the man's lost ball). The man then proceeds to continue the cheating by kicking the ball out of the rough. Mary disobeys Arthur's orders and has Francis skip school so that he can see Harry in person. A crowd of adults laugh at Francis when he makes a bad drive during a store demo held by Harry. Members of a club say they can "work around" Harry's "problems" of being admitted (he belonging to the Church of Rome, his mom being French and his dad being a gardener) as a member. An older man looks down on Francis (who's a caddie) participating in an amateur golfing event, saying it's "not for your kind." Francis and his father agree that if Francis loses an amateur competition, he'll quit forever. Francis ends up not making the cut, but later plays anyway, breaking his agreement with his father. Francis tells some white lies and/or allows others to believe incorrect things about him to try to fit in and impress Sarah. Sarah's father and brother have condescending attitudes toward Francis at a tournament reception, saying he doesn't belong there and calling him "caddie-boy." McDermott angrily and rudely states that he won't let Harry or other outsiders win the U.S. Open (said in their presence). Sarah's brother continues to have a bad attitude toward Francis, telling him that Sarah has left for school when she's really still there. We hear that Francis' original caddie was truant from school, as is his brother Eddie, but that doesn't stop the boy from caddying for Francis. Spotting Eddie as Francis' caddie, Lord Northcliffe asks, "What's that carrying his bags? A pygmy?" Lord Northcliffe refers to Francis as a peasant, with Harry finally standing up to Lord Northcliffe and calling him on his attitude. FRIGHTENING SCENES Young Harry sees serious looking men in tall top hats approaching his home (as some suspenseful music plays on the soundtrack). They turn out to be surveying his family's property for a golf course. Harry (as an adult) imagines seeing the stern-looking men in tall, black top hats from his childhood. Harry imagines see the reflections of those same men on the head of his golf club. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Caddie-boy," "All that rubbish," "I might just have to kill that one," "Hitch up your knickers," "Big fat jerk," "You got a problem?" "Easy-peazy," "What the devil's wrong with him?" "You great bunch of ninnies," "Holy smokes," "Dames...who needs 'em?" "What's that carrying his bags? A pygmy?" "What the hell was that?" "I'll be damned," "Cripes," "Bloody" and "Read it, roll it and hole it." The film could inspire some kids to take up golf and do things such as putting inside the house at night as occurs here. A man blows a ring of smoke while smoking. As a stunt, Ted whacks a golf ball through a thick book of some sort. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A tiny bit of suspenseful music plays in one scene. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 2 damns, 2 hells, 2 uses of "My God" and 1 use each of "For God's sakes" and "Oh God" as exclamations. SEX/NUDITY We see drawings of empty corsets in the opening credits (nothing explicit, but it shows the female form in the abstract) SMOKING Harry and Ted smoke (pipes and possibly a cigarette or two) more than 5 times each, while many others smoke pipes, cigars and cigarettes in various scenes. We see a drawing of a man with a cigar in his mouth during the opening credits (that's multiplied several times on the screen). Seeing Harry smoking, Ted says he's never seen him smoke on the job, followed by Harry saying he should have started years earlier. A man blows a ring of smoke while smoking. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Francis' father orders his son to stop playing golf, stating that he's trying to protect him and that they are not that kind of people (meaning privileged). When Francis won't stop, his father tells him that when he's done with the tournament he should find somewhere else to live (Francis being 20 years old), particularly since Francis broke his agreement with his father (about quitting the year before). We see a flashback to when Harry was a boy seeing the golf course builders tearing down his family house to make way for their course. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The historical accuracy of the story and/or any artistic license taken with it. Overcoming the odds and obstacles to pursue one's dream. Francis' father teaches him the ethic of working hard and bringing home the money. A kid caddie drops a golf ball for a player (pretending it's the man's lost ball). The man then proceeds to continue the cheating by kicking the ball out of the rough. Members of a club say they can "work around" Harry's "problems" of being admitted (he belonging to the Church of Rome, his mom being French and his dad being a gardener) as a member. Other condescending attitudes (most aimed at Francis) are present from a variety of characters. Francis' father warns his son that golf won't feed the family and that those in the establishment will use him (Francis) for their amusement. We hear that Francis' original caddie was truant from school, as is his brother Eddie, but that doesn't stop the boy from caddying for Francis. We see that Harry has some hand tremors. VIOLENCE There's a brief barroom brawl between two men (more heard than seen, and it's all very brief). A golf ball accidentally strikes a spectator on the head. Reviewed August 31, 2005 / Posted September 30, 2005