The Long Game

Grade: B

The Long Game might have the most generic title since The Good House from two years ago. It’s an inspirational sports movie, based on a true story. I liked it as much as The Boys in the Boat, but for different reasons. The Long Game has a different kind of heart – one that comes out in ways you might not expect from your typical film like this.

One of my favorite movies of 2001 was the criminally underrated Crazy/Beautiful, starring Kirsten Dunst and Jay Hernandez. It’s been a hoot to see both of them on the silver screen within the last few days. Dunst, now 41, played a worn-down photojournalist in Civil War, and Hernandez is all grown up as a school superintendent in The Long Game. It’s 1956 in Del Rio, Texas. Hernandez plays JB Peña. He’s on his way to a meeting at the local golf club to see about becoming a member. Frank (Dennis Quaid) is an old war buddy of his, and he’s a member, so JB’s hoping Frank is his ticket in.

Four boys who go to the school are practicing golf by the highway, and one of them hits a ball that happens to hit JB’s car as he’s driving by. Rather than press charges or immediately make them pay (though angry, he is impressed by their skill), he decides to mentor them in the game, and founds the school’s first ever golf team: the San Felipe Mustangs. In the racial climate of 1956, they have an uphill battle, being Mexican. They show up for tournaments, and the old white men – who dominate the sport – mistake them for caddies.

As Dennis Quaid gets older, he becomes more and more of an archetype of himself, like Jack Nicholson. When I first saw him here, always with a flask on him, taking swigs whenever he can sneak one, I thought “here we go. He’s gonna do the Dennis Quaid thing.” Though he mainly does, I like him, and hope a project comes his way where his gruff, tipsy, theatrical delivery will be exactly what the material calls for without being silly – and will earn him award nominations.

Though I enjoyed The Boys in the Boat, so many things there happened too easily. I don’t remember that rowing team ever having a real setback; they seemed to get first place in everything, and coasted along to their happy ending. The Long Game has conflict, pushback, and ethical dilemmas, like in the scene where Quaid and Hernandez are playing against a couple long-time veterans, as respected in the community as they are arrogant. It pained me to see Quaid proclaim they should lose the match on purpose – but beats like these make for a compelling narrative. Would you rather win, or gain favor with the country club?

I courteously waited for and sat through the inevitable end credits captions that tell us what ends up happening to everybody. It’s all good. It’s par for the course, no pun intended. We’ve seen this movie before, but yet there are enough unexpected lovely ways that make The Long Game work.

Grade: B