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Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
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Reviews Counted:73
Fresh:19
Rotten:54
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: This earnest, monotonous biopic lacks dramatic tension and simplifies Jones' life.
Theatrical Release:Apr 30, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $2,536,460
Synopsis: For some athletes, the ultimate win comes through a stroke of luck, but for Robert Tyre Jones, Jr., "Bobby Jones," it was truly a stroke of genius. His natural skill and uncanny passion for the... For some athletes, the ultimate win comes through a stroke of luck, but for Robert Tyre Jones, Jr., "Bobby Jones," it was truly a stroke of genius. His natural skill and uncanny passion for the game of golf earned him the title of "The Best Golfer in the World." But it was his style that set him apart. A dashing smile. Impeccable integrity. Unrivaled intensity. Legendary wit and intelligence. An epic passion for life, born out of adversity. For a brief moment in time, this incredible man became an American hero. Bobby Jones - Stroke of Genius tells the story of that man. Overcoming a sickly early childhood, Bobby Jones' earned recognition as a sports phenomenon by the age of 14. Triumphing over his own spirited temper, self-imposed perfectionism and the barbs of public scrutiny, he often endured pain and grueling physical strain to achieve victory on the golf course. Of the 13 titles that he collected during his short career, four of them - the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open, the British Amateur and the coveted British Open - were won within four months of the same year, earning him the title of Grand Slam Champion, a record that has never been broken. The next year he retired from competitive golf. He was 28. The film stars Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ, The Thin Red Line), Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black, The Rock), Jeremy Northam (The Singing Detective, Gosford Park, An Ideal Husband) who are joined by an ensemble cast of some of today's most compelling actors including Connie Ray (About Schmidt, Stuart Little, Hope Floats), Brett Rice (The Punisher, Monster, Remember the Titans) and Malcolm McDowell (The Company, Between Strangers, A Clockwork Orange) as O. B. Keeler. Making their screen film debut are Devon Gearhart as 6-8 year old Bobby Jones and Thomas Lewis as 14 year old Bobby. -- Official Site [More]
Starring: Jim Caviezel, Claire Forlani, Jeremy Northam, Connie Ray
Starring: Jim Caviezel, Claire Forlani, Jeremy Northam, Connie Ray, Brett Rice, Malcolm McDowell
Director: Rowdy Herrington
Director: Rowdy Herrington
Screenwriter: Rowdy Herrington
Producer: Kim Dawson
Studio: Film Foundry Releasing
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Reviews for Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius
The movie struggles to drum up excitement during the golfing games and gets bloated by trying to examine every angle of Jones.
is not so much a film as a sermon conceived as a series of lessons designed for moral improvement and delivered by a preacher who long ago exchanged enthusiasm for boredom
Jones was an incredibly complex character, and the movie paints him as some kind of back-swinging Howdy Doody.
In going after a "Seabiscuit" type of movie about the famous '30s amateur golfer Bobby Jones, the filmmakers chose a double epithet for a biopic that gets nowhere near that film's captivating sports story from the same era.
Maybe golf films don't have to be comedies to succeed, but frankly, we'd all be better off renting Caddyshack again.
If only the movie were as interesting as Jones' actual life and achievements.
Plays out much like a round of golf -- slow, old-fashioned, tediously long, and lacking in drama.
True-blue golf buffs should find it a treat. For others it's no deeper than a tin cup on a putting green.
Even the staunchest of golfheads must know they're watching a cut-and-trite accounting, rather than a fanciful evocation.
The sort of film wherein Bobby can't win a tournament until he can control his temper.
The relentlessly downbeat nature of the character eventually becomes a bit wearying, not to mention such pained admissions as 'The longer I play this game, the harder it gets.'
Earnest, plodding docudrama...Bobby Jones might have had a stroke of genius, but this reverential biography about him is a movie of mediocrity.
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