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Movies / On DVD / League of Ordinary Gentlemen
League of Ordinary Gentlemen

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League of Ordinary Gentlemen (2005)

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Reviews Counted: 34

Fresh: 31

Rotten:3

Average Rating: 7.3/10

Consensus: Even if bowling isn't your sport, this colorful documentary is still an entertaining watch.

Rated: R

Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

Genre: Television

Theatrical Release:May 27, 2005 Limited

Synopsis: Though never a sport of Kings, at one point in time bowling occupied a perfectly respectable place in the pantheon of American sports. It has long been one of the most popular participatory sports... Though never a sport of Kings, at one point in time bowling occupied a perfectly respectable place in the pantheon of American sports. It has long been one of the most popular participatory sports in America. When Eddie Elias convinced the country's top 33 bowlers to kick fifty bucks into a communal pot in a banquet hall in Syracuse, NY, in 1958, the Professional Bowlers Association was born. ABC began televising PBA tournaments in 1962, and as the lead in Wide World of Sports, Chris Schenkel's Saturday afternoon bowling telecast was for many years one of the highest rated sports programs on television. Then something happened: America ceased to embrace the portly, middle-brow image the PBA was selling, and bowling got kicked to the curb. The sport and its players, many of whom grew up idolizing the sepia-toned gods of bowling's golden era, found themselves wallowingin the backwaters of the popular imagination, alongside rodeos and tractor pulls. In 2000, three former Microsoft executives scooped up the entire apparatus of professional bowling -- its players, tournaments, trademarks and trophies, all for about five million dollars and assumption of the league's debt. Their stated goal was to save bowling from the brink of extinction and raise it to new heights, or at least put it on par with the Bass Masters tour, which, at current market values, would represent a tidy return on equity. The heavy lifting for this mission falls onto the broad shoulders of a man named Steve Miller, a former top Nike executive who had played for the Detroit Lions and rescued Kansas State football from the NCAA cellar. The film focuses on Miller and four of his charges, professional bowlers at very different places in their careers, and their sometimes funny, sometimes sad adventures on tour as professional athletes - albeit the Rodney Dangerfields of professional sports. -- © Magnolia Pictures [More]

Starring: Steve Miller

Starring: Steve Miller

Director: Chris Browne

Director: Chris Browne
Producer: Bill Bryan, Alex Browne
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

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Release:

Mar 21, 2006

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Reviews for League of Ordinary Gentlemen

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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The new and improved Tour now has a terrifically well-made and astute film documenting its birthing pains.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
Lewis Beale
Film Journal International

easy to take in, much like spending an afternoon at the lanes with some watery beer

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
03/01/06
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

"League" is unexpectedly inspiring as we watch the plucky little league, which only draws a quarter of the advertising revenue of hockey despite having better TV ratings, fight for its survival.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
11/18/05
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

Homely but enjoyable...if you might not want to join this 'League' permanently, you should find it a pleasant crew to spend ninety minutes with.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
10/04/05
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Without the social questions posed at the beginning of the film, the footage of the competition is not likely to be strong enough on its own to lasso in a new generation of players.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/02/05
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

Director Christopher Browne took a lesson from Steve Miller, when it comes to bowling on TV (or in the movies), 'it's all about scoring, pace, and energy'.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
09/30/05
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

It's a workmanlike film, but by the time two of the above bowlers are rolling against each other for the PBA championship, Browne has the audience sweating every spare.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/05
Noel Murray
AV Club

After a few flourishes of Errol Morris-like editing, first-timer Browne settles into a tone resembling the ESPN telecasts so crucial to the PBA's revenue stream, thriving on the intrinsic drama of competition and the league's emerging star system.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
08/19/05
Joshua Land
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Closer to a rah-rah public-relations video than a curtain-yanking investigative piece.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
08/17/05
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

Bowling with Purpose and Meaning, even if they aren't Bowling for Columbine

Full Review Source: Film Snobs | comment Comment
07/11/05
Jimmy O
Film Snobs
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
07/09/05
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film is part nostalgia, part wary tale of wasted youth and part underdog struggle.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
07/08/05
Tom Long
Detroit News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Manages to be funny, sad and as informative as you'd want any movie about bowling to be.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
07/08/05
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a curious movie, in the best sense, acknowledging that everybody is obsessed with something, then finding out why this particular group of people is obsessed with this particular pastime.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
07/08/05
Michael Booth
Denver Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Amusing and insightful.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
07/07/05
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Gentlemen is distinguished by its extraordinary access to the players and tour operators.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
07/07/05
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Marvelously entertaining.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
06/10/05
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News

Informative and endearing film.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
06/09/05
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Christopher Browne's documentary acquaints us with these gentlemen by presenting us their passionate quirks that actually don't make them very ordinary at all.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
06/04/05
Eric Campos
Film Threat

Its 98 minutes are as easy to enjoy as picking up a spare, and we don't mean a tire around the waist.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
06/03/05
Mike Clark
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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