The Short Game

Last updated

The Short Game
The Short Game promotional poster.jpg
Directed by Josh Greenbaum
Produced byJosh Greenbaum
Christopher Leggett
Rafael Marmor
Narrated by Edd Hall
Production
companies
Delirio Films
Tenman Films
Iron Ocean Films
Distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films
Phase 4 Films
Netflix
Release date
  • September 20, 2013 (2013-09-20)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
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 film premiered in 10 cities on September 20, 2013. [3]

Contents

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 Valéry). [5] Kournikova went on to win the boy's division of this event for his age group. [6]

The film also includes interviews with golfing legends Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Chi-Chi Rodríguez, and Annika Sörenstam.

Cast

NameAgeGenderHometownNationalityResult
Amari Avery8Female Riverside, California Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1st
Jed Dy8Male Manila, PhilippinesFlag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 9th
Allan Kournikova 7Male West Palm Beach, Florida Flag of the United States.svg United States1st
Zamokuhle "Zama" Nxasana8Male Johannesburg, South AfricaFlag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 18th
Alexa Pano 7Female Lake Worth Beach, Florida Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1st
Sky Sudberry8Female Tiki Island, Texas Flag of the United States.svg United States8th
Augustin Valery8MaleParis, FranceFlag of France.svg France40th
Yang Kuang7Male Shenzhen, ChinaFlag of the People's Republic of China.svg China14th

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. [8]

Critical commentary

Based on 18 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, it had an average 6.2 rating out of 10 and an 83% approval rating. [9] At Metacritic, its has a score of 51 out of 100 based on 10 reviews. [10] The film won the Audience Award at the SXSW Film Festival in March 2013. [11]

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. [12] 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 were 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." [13]

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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Results for 2012 World Championship | U.S. Kids Golf". www.uskidsgolf.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2018.
  8. Murie, Michael (October 25, 2013). "Shooting with 18 Cameras: The Making of The Short Game". Filmmaker . Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  9. "The Short Game (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  10. "The Short Game". Metacritic . Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  11. Holmes, John (2013). "Anna Kournikova's Little Brother is a Blossoming Golf Champion". Professional Golfers Association . Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  12. 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.
  13. 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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