A Gentleman's Game (2001)

Director:

J. Mills Goodloe

Writers:

Tom Coyne (novel)
Tom Coyne (screenplay)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Sometimes lessons come from unexpected places.

Plot:

A drama revolving around characters whose lives are transformed one summer at an exclusive East Coast country club. |

Plot Keywords:

Cheating | Swimming Pool | Cover Up | Nude Swimming | Tournament

Awards:

3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Mason Gamble	...	Timmy Price
Gary Sinise	...	Foster Pearse
Philip Baker Hall	...	Charlie Logan
Dylan Baker	...	Mr. Price
Henry Simmons	...	Walter Kane
Ellen Muth	...	Mollie Kilduff
Brian Doyle-Murray	...	Tomato Face
David Zayas	...	Alfred D'Angelo
Kevin Thoms	...	Casey Price
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Della Femina	...	John Byrne
Robin Dorian	...	Mrs. Norton
Linda Emond	...	Meredith Price
Justin Goncalves	...	Jamie Bryne
Greg Horos	...	Bartender
Art Houston	...	Golfer
Christopher Kadish	...	Position A
Jay Patterson	...	Golf Pro
Greg Wood	...	Richard Norton

Also Known As:

Esporte de Cavalheiros (Brazil) (cable TV title) [pt]

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

USA:112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Manayunk, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Artists Management Group (AMG)

Trivia:

Timmy Price's house is actually co-writer Tom Coyne's parents' house, where Coyne was living during filming.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: After Dylan Baker (the father) and Mason Gamble (the son) are playing their first round of golf together and Baker realizes Gamble can play, the two walk down the fairway. The film is reversed. Both are previously shown playing right handed with gloves on their left hands, but gloves are now both on their right hands and when they stop to shake hands on a bet, they shake with their left hands.

Quotes:

Timmy Price: Well, maybe I could hit a few balls up here and you could give me some pointers.
Foster Pearse: Do I *look* like Mr. Miyagi to you? Wax on, wax off. Oh yes, Timmy-san, you hit a few balls, I give you pointers.

Movie Connections:

References The Karate Kid (1984)

Good Book, Waste of Film.

I had the good fortune of reading the book before seeing the movie. It was an epic of adolescence, a dream of summers gone, a great potential indie film or big budget drama. It somehow got into the hands of a hack, who clearly took notes watching Boogie Nights and Rushmore without actually learning anything at all. The script loses the meat of the book in favor of forced emotional notes and low brow gags. I feel sorry for the actors, since the characters in the book were rich and textured, but cut down to embarrassing charactures in the film. Mason Gamble is great when given the opportunity, as is Dylan Baker, but the skeleton that remains of the story plays out like a bad after school special. Poor people = GOOD, Rich people = BAD.

Though it's almost worth watching to see the Southern California beach where Gary Sinise parks his trailer which is meant to pass for a bay in Delaware.

It's a good book, but an embarrassing turn for first time director Mills Goodloe.

K.