The same game as the others

Never before has a film mixed class warfare and golf so seamlessly. Then again, there probably aren't a lot of options for that choice.\n"The Greatest Game Ever Played" is a classic underdog story, in the same vein as "The Match of their Lives," "Miracle," "Cinderella Man," "Seabiscuit" and every other "cellar dweller-to-champion" movie you've ever seen. That's not to say it's bad, though. Any flick that can make one of the most mind-numbingly boring spectator sports halfway interesting deserves recognition.\nThe movie is set during the 1913 U.S. Open, an event that saw 20-year-old amateur Francis Ouimet (Shia LeBeouf) triumph over British champion Harry Vardon (Stephen Dillane). That's not a spoiler, that's historical fact. It's in the record books. And now, since we already know how it's going to end -- we know Ouimet will eventually be crowned the year's champion -- where's the conflict going to come from?\nIf you ask me, it doesn't really matter, because the movie rides on great directing by Bill Paxton and some strong performances from the cast. LeBeouf is a lot more likeable in his leading role than he has been in past ones. He played the same tagalong teenager in both "I, Robot" and "Constantine," and in both he was grating, but redeems himself as Ouimet. Dillane's seasoned champion plays a convincing middle-aged mirror to society outcast Ouimet. A rotund little Josh Flitter provides humor as the protagonist's elementary-aged caddy, and Elias Koteas is solid as his blue collar immigrant father who warns him to "give up this fool's game and learn a real trade or you're out of the house." \nAnd incidentally, that's where the conflict comes in: apparently, classism was rampant in turn of the century American society. Who knew? \nA pre-movie guess would have most going with Vardon as the bad guy, but that's not the case here. Paxton and company spend quite some time showing he's the victim of the same rigid caste system as Ouimet, and it doesn't take much for the audience to identify with him. \nAnd while the bourgeois gentlemen's club overlords who serve as the film's ultimate villains do get a little heavy-handed -- it is a Disney film, after all -- they probably won't lean too much on most audiences. Through their arrogance, the point is made: golf isn't about exclusivity; it's a sport everyone should enjoy. Even when it's being played on three different sports channels on a Saturday afternoon and there's nothing else on.