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The Legend of Bagger Vance | bagger_l
GREEN LANTERNS Smith and Damon are beacons of ''Bagger'' power
The Legend of Bagger Vance: David James

Credits

Release Date: Nov 03, 2000; Rated: PG-13; Video Release Date: Apr 03, 2001; Genres: Drama, Sports; With: Matt Damon, Will Smith and Charlize Theron; Distributor: Dreamworks Distribution L.L.C.
C+
By Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Ty Burr is a writer at large for EW and is no relation to Raymond or Aaron

The retrograde novelty of a post-Tiger Woods film featuring a heaven sent black caddy was chewed to death when The Legend of Bagger Vance was released in late 2000. But golf has always been about shutting out the real world -- for millions of duffers, that's its essence and attraction -- and Robert Redford's film is nothing if not true to the potted Zen that sells how-to videos about finding your inner swing.

Those who love the game, then, will adore the movie: The exquisitely moral period sense that Redford demonstrated in the superior ''A River Runs Through It'' functions here as nostalgia for a world where local Savannah boy Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon) can recover his soul on the links. It's only in the title character -- Junuh's shambling Jesus caddy -- that ''Bagger Vance'' devolves into clubhouse hooey; even Will Smith can't underplay a line like ''There's only one shot that's in perfect harmony with the field,'' and not sound like a screenwriter with a decent weekend game. And, yes, it's impossible to swallow the film's dreamy contention that race was not an issue on the golf courses of 1931 Georgia. That's a lie of the green, and it's not the only one.


Posted Apr 03, 2001
 

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