Smith, cast drop ball in 'Legend of Bagger Vance'

By Leslie Boxer

Daily Arts Writer

I hate watching golf on TV. All of that quiet clapping and whispering by the announcers makes me long for WWF wrestling tournaments. Robert Redford's new movie, "The Legend of Baggar Vance" is essentially two hours of golf with a hackneyed plot to loosely support Redford's own dreams of grandeur.

"The Legend of Baggar Vance" is based on the novel of the same name by Steven Pressfield. It mixes elements of myth and fantasy with the world of golf at the time of the Depression. The film is told as a frame story from the perspective of Hardy Graves (J. Michael Moncrief - no, not related to Sidney Moncreif) a young boy who earnestly believes that golf is the greatest game on earth. The film's hero, Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon), is the pride of Savannah in the early 1900s - he is an exquisite golfer, a handsome young man and seems to be lucky in every aspect of his life. When Junuh is sent away to war, he seems to lose his soul and doubts his place in society which is built upon his successes. Upon his return to Savannah, Junuh becomes a recluse - he wants nothing to do with his old life, he feels he does not deserve the benevolence that Savannah has lavished upon him.

In order to save her family golf resort, Adele Invergordon (Charlize Theron), Junuh's ex-girlfriend, masterminds a golf tournament in which she pits the two most talented golfers of the day, Bobby Jones (Joel Gretsch) and Walter Hagen (Bruce McGill), against one another. The town of Savannah wants a local player to enter into the fray so as to tie the tournament to its surroundings. The only logical choice is Junuh. Junuh's initial refusal to play in the tournament is based on his belief that he has "lost his authentic swing." Enter Baggar Vance (Will Smith) the spiritual guide who helps Junuh return to the game of golf and his life in Savannah. All of that, and Will Smith does not even carry a gun in this movie.

It is at this early stage in the film that the entire plot has been neatly arranged for the audience. From this point on, the film becomes predictable and contrived and simply a means for Robert Redford to show that he, like "National Geographic," likes to present the audience with sweeping landscapes. In "A River Runs Through It" there was lapping water and beautiful surroundings, in "The Horse Whisperer" there were purple mountain's majesty, and now in his third installment of the scenic movie, "The Legend of Bagger Vance," there are ample shots of a well-manicured Southern golf course and the weather. Although sometimes cinematography can be enticing and aid a movie's development ("The Thin Red Line" or "Snow Falling on Cedars") it cannot replace the benefit of a decent plot. In "Bagger Vance" it was simply comical: During one of the sequences in the film the entire audience laughed at Redford's "artsy directing."

What seems to be the major downfall of this film is that it is not fun to watch. The storyline is poorly manufactured: Will Smith as a mysterious caddy that helps Matt Damon find his soul (in the form of a perfect golf swing) and restores him to his life as a proper gentleman - please. Unfortunately it seems to be a poor attempt to legitimize two hours of pure golf. Regardless, don't see this movie - Tiger Woods has a much prettier swing than Matt Damon and it doesn't cost $8.00 to watch.

Courtesy of Dreamworks

As the title character, Will Smith lives out Spike Lee's "Bamboozled" fantasy in "The Legend of Bagger Vance."