![]() With talents like these, you would have hoped for more. Melissa Leo, a fine actress, is completely wasted in a minor role that has absolutely no meaning or purpose. His character is a hybrid Cowboy-Yoda, infused with the soul of Mr. Robert Duvall mails in a performance as the mentor golfer that is so lazy, he doesn’t even bother to keep his eyes from occasionally wandering directly into the camera. Hmmm, I wonder if Luke will end up golfing in that big tournament everybody keeps talking about…and I wonder how he’ll do…we’ll get to that in a bit. There’s even the prick redneck bad-guy, who just is mean for the sake of it at first. He meets a gal, gets advice from a wise old-timer who has been in his shoes. But it does rely on every single movie cliché in the world, doing none of them justice. “Seven Days in Utopia” is not so horrible in that you’ll hate yourself for watching it…it’s actually too soft and harmless to warrant any kind of emotional response. In his days spent in Utopia, he regains a grip on his life, and his game, through his encounters with the village locals. He winds up in Utopia, where he is stranded for a week. Down and out, Luke is at a crossroads, quite literally. Instead, he had a complete melt-down on the 18th hole, spurred by his caddie and controlling father (Joseph Lyle Taylor), who has been pushing him his entire life. Click for reprint information.Lucas Black plays the central character Luke Chisholm, an amateur-turned-professional golfer who was on the verge of winning his first pro event. The film is otherwise very wholesome.Ĭopyright © 2011 Christianity Today. Also, Luke suffers a head injury from his auto accident that leaves his forehead a little bloody. Seven Days in Utopia is rated G, though it does have light profanity ("hell") in a couple scenes. The Family Corner For parents to consider Johnny instructs Luke to write his own epitaph: "What do you want people to say about you when you're gone?" What would you write for yourself? Would it include personal success? Your family? Your faith? What's most important to you?.How are these two messages intertwined? Why is golf an effective metaphor for life? What sets it apart from other sports in explaining life lessons? Luke is told that there's more to life than winning, as well as more to life than living right.Characters refer to everything being "all part of God's plan." Is that accurate? Do you believe sin and death are part of God's plan? Discuss.See, feel, trust." Is that how faith works? Is there a role for thinking in everyday life, or are we simply meant to SFT? At one point he tells Luke, "Don't think. Johnny preaches the motto of SFT: See, feel, trust.Before it can call itself an inspirational movie, it has to inspire. It's not that Seven Days lacks meaning, but that such a hackneyed and clumsy movie fails to provide enough reasons to care. Mostly, the movie breaks the cardinal rule of "show, don't tell." It would have done just as well with Johnny simply reading generic platitudes to Luke out of Life's Little Instruction Book, Chicken Soup for the Golfer's Soul, or other such pabulum from the Hallmark store. Johnny dispenses wisdom, one point at a time Oscar winner Melissa Leo has a bit role as Sarah's mother. And there's a villain, Jake (Brian Geraghty), a jealous cowboy who also likes Sarah and has it out for Luke from day one. Luke also befriends Sarah (Deborah Ann Woll), the local town beauty who wants to become a horse whisperer. ![]() Luke learns that there's more to golf than winning, thanks to Johnny's series of unorthodox exercises a la Karate Kid-writing, painting, fly-fishing, metal washer tossing, and flying. At the town festival that evening, Luke wonders if he should take Johnny up on his offer-and the film immediately responds with fireworks in answer to his question.Īnd so it predictably goes. ![]() (Yet another Cars comparison: hotshot mentored by a wise local who happens to be a retired legend.) He promises to improve Luke's game if he'll just stay in town for the week. ![]() Thus Luke finds himself in the conveniently named Utopia, where it just so happens that Johnny is a retired golf pro who also battled his own personal demons. Lucas Black as Luke, Robert Duvall as Johnny ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |