The Squeeze – Golfers will be pleased with this movie!

Interesting:

Jeremy Sumpter, who plays the principal character Augie, hits every balls on the golf course in the movie.

Should I see it?

If you are a golf player, you will like the moments on the golf course.

War of the Movies: 6.0/10

Metascore: 27/100
RottenTomatoes: 20%

Directed by Terry Jastrow
Released on April 17, 2015
Running Time: 95 minutes
Starring: Jeremy Sumpter, Christopher McDonald, Jillian Murray, Michael Nouri

Based on a true story, The Squeeze is about Augie, a 20 years old boy with a great golf talent that gets him into trouble when he uses that talent for illegal gambling.

Augie is a 20 years old boy living in a small country town where he is known as a hotshot golfer. All he wants his to spoil his girlfriend Natalie, and give his family a better life; they don’t have much money, and on top of that his father is a drunk and abusive man. One day, a wealthy man nicknamed Riverboat, hears of Augie talent and propose to the young man that he plays for him for his illegal gambling, in exchange of a large amount of money. Temping by the money that could give his family a better life, against the advice from his girlfriend that he has a noble thought but not the best solutions, Augie agrees to play for Riverboat. Only when the stakes get higher, Augie’s life his on the line and he becomes the squeeze, if he wins, he’s dead, if he loses, he’s dead.

When I first learned about The Squeeze, I wanted to see it for two reasons. The first one, because I’m a golf player during my free time and it captivate my attention, and lastly, because of the one and only Christopher McDonald! Let’s be honest, after his role of Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore, we wanted nothing more than to see him again on a golf course!

My favorite thing about the movie? The fact that Jeremy Sumpter is one hell of a golfer and it shows! When you know how to play golf, and you watch a golf movie, it’s disappointing to see they took an actor or actress as the lead role and you can clearly see that they probably never hold a golf club in their hands before shooting the movie. The fact that they took an actor to play the lead that knew what he was doing is a major thumps up for me. Every shoots was hit by Jeremy himself and it adds a lot to the credibility of every games he plays. The camera shots were phenomenal, the angle the director filmed was just like if you are watching a golf tournament on TV.

The downside of the movie? The script was uneven, sometimes it was good, other times it leaves us wanting more. Where the story captivate our attention on screen when the characters are on a golf course, it gets damage when we see Augie’s personal life. We understand very quickly Augie’s problems at home, and how he can’t give his girlfriend everything she wants but too much time is spend by the director focusing on that part. Also, the chemistry between Jeremy Sumpter and Jillian Murray, playing his girlfriend Natalie, isn’t present on screen. Sumpter’s acting is way better when he’s in the presence of his family or Riverboat, played by Christopher McDonald. When we see him with Murray, his character seems unlike himself, unsure of himself. However, on a brighter note, his character’s cockiness is more present when his talking about golf, and he isn’t afraid to show he’s great golfer. Nothing bad to say about Christopher McDonald, another great choice from the director. His character and way of acting brings a lot to the credibility of the gambling side of the movie. Because let’s not forget, Augie is winning money with illegal gambling, if McDonald wouldn’t have seemed like a credible shark looking for any way to make money out of someone’s talent, the film would have fallen flat really quickly!

The ending doesn’t only seemed rush, but also embellished. I still can’t seem to keep my head around the fact that Augie, a simple country boy who dreamed big without really knowing where to go with his life to give his family a better life, suddenly has an idea really well plan on how get himself out of the mess of being between two sharks, one who wants him dead if he loses, one who wants him dead if he wins. If the director took more time to explain that part, it wouldn’t have given us the impression that the lead character did something out of his usual way of living and thinking.

The Squeeze may not be the greatest story ever told, it has some unnecessary long parts of Augie’s personal life, mostly with his girlfriend, but it did achieve to make me want to take out my golf clubs and go hit the greens!

The film is in selected theaters and available on Itunes.

Personal Commentary

If you’ve been waiting for a golf movie with games that look credible, you will be pleased with this one.