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Parents' Guide to

Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Bobby Jones deserves a better movie than this one.

Movie PG 2004 128 minutes
Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 1 parent review

Robert W.
Robert W. Adult
April 8, 2018
age 12+

Golf, Slow to Watch on TV, but the most challenging game there is!

This is mild in profanity compared to Spectrum's TV listings which now contain hard core pornographic titles to shows. This movie shows the price Jones payed for his greatness. The movie is another, and just as good, Chariots of Fire. The relationships are excellent: Malcolm McDowell, a sports reporter, and Bobby Jones, Bobby Jones and his Father, Jones' father and his father, Jones' Grandfather. There are confrontations with Bobby's Father and his Grandfather. The mother is supportive and his wife, Claire Florani as Mary, is lovely, but suffers under Bobby's bad health and his continuous tournament play. She holds out through all this until Bobby finally retires from tournament golf. He starts the Augusta Golf Course. Through his fame and golf competitions, he also completed a master's degree in Literature as well as passing the Bar the first time to become a lawyer, his retiring trade. The basic message is that money will ruin sports. A timely message and somewhat prescient conclusion.
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

BOBBY JONES: STROKE OF GENIUS chronicles the remarkable early years of golf legend Bobby Jones. Jim Caviezel stars as the adult Jones, who became the only golfer to win all four of the sport's top titles in the same year, refused to be paid for playing golf, turned down millions of dollars in endorsements and awards, and retired at the age of 28. The film begins with Jones as a sickly child, growing up next door to a golf course, imitating the swings of the men who play and attracting the attention of the Scottish golf pro. Eventually, he enters his first big tournament as a teenager. Skeptical journalist O.B. Keeler (Malcolm McDowell) becomes an awestruck fan. Meanwhile, Jones struggles to control his temper and faces family problems as his grandfather disapproves of his playing golf, his mother wants him to study literature, and his wife Mary (Claire Forlani) wants him to spend more time with their family. Plagued by an ongoing, mysterious ailment, he won't give up until he's won the grand slam of the four top titles.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

A great man and a great golfer like Bobby Jones deserves a better movie than this one, which is as clumsy as its title. Clearly, this movie was made for love of the game and for love of Jones, but it tells us rather than shows us, and then tells us again, and it takes a very long time doing it, too. Like the game it depicts, it moves very, very slowly. There are lots of long, loving shots of the sun-dappled greens, slow-mo swings and swelling strings, glimpses of golden light accompanied by hooting panpipes, and quotes from Kipling, Will Rogers, Tennyson, and then Kipling again.

The film is nice to look at, and actor Jeremy Northam's turn as the dissolute but resolute golf pro Walter Hagen adds some flavor to the story. But the other performances are as flat as the dialogue.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the comment by one character that "money is going to ruin sports." Was he right? They could also talk about the question asked of Jones at the end of the movie, "What are you going to do for yourself?" What did he do for himself, and why?

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