The Short Game

The Short Game
Directed by Josh Greenbaum
Produced by Josh Greenbaum
Christopher Leggett
Rafael Marmor
Narrated by Edd Hall
Release dates
  • September 20, 2013 (2013-09-20)
Running time
 99 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $39,819

The Short Game is a 2013 documentary film about 7- and 8-year-old golfers. Produced by Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel[1] and directed by Josh Greenbaum, it presents eight entrants in the 2012 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship.[2] The movie premiered in 10 cities on September 20, 2013.[3]

Plot

Beginning 6 months before the 2012 World Championships, the movie visits each of the eight subjects at their homes, some of which are as far away as Paris, Manila, Johannesburg and Shenzhen, China to meet the kids and their parents. Once the subjects are introduced we observe the various trials and tribulations of the competition.[4] The subjects of the movie are evenly split between children from the United States and other countries with five boys and three girls, including Allan Kournikova (half-brother of Anna), Sky Sudberry, and Augustin Valery (great-grandson of French poet Paul Valery).[5] Kournikova went on to win the boys division of this event for his age group.[6]

The film also includes interviews with golfing legends Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Chi Chi Rodriguez and Annika Sorenstam.

Production

The majority of the film was shot during the tournament, with 18 different camera crews using Canon EOS C300 cameras with Canon 70–200mm f/2.8 and Canon 25-75 f/2.8 lenses. Each child was followed by two crews, one ahead and one behind.[7]

Critical commentary

Based on 18 reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, it had an average 6.2 rating out of 10 and an 83% approval rating.[8] At Metacritic, its metascore based on 10 reviews was 51.[9] The film won the Audience Award at the SXSW Film Festival in March 2013.[10]

Los Angeles Times critic Annlee Ellingson describes the movie as a "warts-and-all" depiction of youth golfers that is similar to the 2002 documentary film Spellbound about the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee.[4] Nicolas Rapold of The New York Times also notes that the movie was probably modeled after Spellbound and raved about the movie's uninhibited cuteness. Rapold compared the introductions to reality shows, but notes that some of the subjects such as Kournikova and his mother are more fleshed out than others.[11] Golf Digest critic John Strege said that "The toxic mix of youth sports and overzealous parents threatened to hijack" the film but the subjects themselves were so entertaining that the movie was not a loss.[3] Boston Globe critic Michael Whitmer says the results of Greenbaum's feature film debut was compelling although tinged with discomfort.[5] USA Today critic Scott Bowles described the film as upbeat and noted that "...for astute viewers and golf fans, Short hits the green consistently and is, at times, a hole-in-one."[12]

Notes

  1. ↑ Haglage, Abby (December 12, 2013). "Meet the Pint-Sized Pro Golfers of Netflix's 'The Short Game'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  2. ↑ Rapold, Nicolas (September 19, 2013). "A Mean Swing, Between the Cuddles and Flatulence Jokes: 'The Short Game,' a Documentary About Young Golfers". The New York Times. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Strege, John (September 11, 2013). "'The Short Game': Movie documents kids' world championships". Golf Digest. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Ellingson, Annlee (September 19, 2013). "Review: 'Short Game' tees off with tiny golfers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Whitmer, Michael (September 19, 2013). "'The Short Game': Where youthful drama is par for the course". Boston Globe. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  6. ↑ Winkler, Rolfe (August 6, 2012). "Eagle Scout Kournikova". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  7. ↑ Murie, Michael (October 25, 2013). "Shooting with 18 Cameras: The Making of The Short Game". Filmmaker. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  8. ↑ "The Short Game (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  9. ↑ "The Short Game". Metacritic. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  10. ↑ Holmes, John (2013). "Anna Kournikova's Little Brother is a Blossoming Golf Champion". Professional Golfers Association. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  11. ↑ Rapold, Nicolas (September 19, 2013). "A Mean Swing, Between the Cuddles and Flatulence Jokes: 'The Short Game,' a Documentary About Young Golfers". The New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  12. ↑ Bowles, Scott (September 19, 2013). "'Short Game': Story of kids' golf shoots better than par". USA Today. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
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