The Long Game movie review

MOVIE TITLE: The Long Game

This inspiring and true underdog story is now playing in theaters and on Amazon Prime video.

RATING: PG

LENGTH:P 1 hour 52 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A

SPONSOR of Today’s movie review:

Mustang Miracle: https://amzn.to/3JIYpe9

IN A NUTSHELL:

This inspirational sports story is based on a true story. In 1955, five young Mexican-American caddies were determined to learn how to play, so they created their own golf course in the middle of the South Texas desert in a border town. When a high school coach saw their potential, he worked with them to compete in against wealthy white teams, winning the 1957 Texas State High School Golf Championship, breaking barrios for many Latino PGA golfers to follow.

The movie is based on the popular self-published book called “Mustang Miracle” by Author Humberto G. Garcia. The director is Cuban American, Julio Quintana, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jennifer C. Stetson and Paco Farias. Already, it has won the Audience Award at the SXSW Film Festival.

THINGS I LIKED:

The leading men in the film all do a great job: Jay Hernandez, Dennis Quaid, Julian Works, and Cheech Marin.
I loved seeing Jimmy Gonzales in the film, even though he has only a small role. I thought he was fantastic in the movie Blue Miracle.
I was also excited to see Gregory Diaz IV. He was completely adorable in the film In The Heights.
Fans of the popular TV show The Office will get a kick out of seeing Oscar Nunez in the cast.
The fun soundtrack quickly takes you back in time.
The film includes humor, drama, golf, and lots of heart.
I really like the title because the movie shows that the point wasn’t to just win a few golf tournaments but to truly win the respect and acceptance of everyone for Mexican Americans.
I’m not a golfer and I still enjoyed this. It’s simply the background of the deeper story of acceptance for Mexican Americans in the USA.
We hear about how Mexican-American soldiers served the USA in war next to white soldiers and were still not treated with the same respect as others. Stories like this are long overdue. Our country still has a way to go, but I am happy to say we have made a lot of progress since the time period of this movie.
I was an exchange student in Mexico when I was in high school and I loved my time there. Mexicans are lovely, warm, and kind people.
We get to see video clips of the real people this story is about at the end of the movie. I always love that.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

For people who think watching people play golf is the most boring thing ever, this is probably a movie they’ll want to skip, even though the real story is about so much more than just golf.
As far as underdog sports movies go, the film is extremely predictable and formulaic. That’s okay though because everyone loves underdog sports movies!

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Some violence
Bullying and racial slurs
We see some blood.
A young man pees on someone’s car to get revenge.
We hear some Spanish without subtitles. Later, we read subtitles on the screen.
Some profanity in English and Spanish

THEMES:

Respect
Acceptance
Revenge
Prejudice and discrimination
Racism
Dignity
Society norms
Determination

FUNNY LINES:

“I can understand when people are jealous when they look at me.” – Pollo (Cheech Marin) Cheech reliably provides most of the comic relief in the film, as well as a lot of the wisdom.

INTERESTING LINES:

“You love your golf game more than me.” – Lucy Pena (Jaina Lee Ortiz)
“The only opinion I care about is mine.” – Joe Trevino (Julian Works)
“When you break the rules, you get less opportunity.” – JB Pena (Jay Hernandez)
“We got to look and act like we belong here.” – JB Pena (Jay Hernandez)
“You don’t have to join the military to be somebody.” – Frank Mitchell (Dennis Mitchell)
“The only way these boys are going to advance in life is playing by the rules.” – JB Pena (Jay Hernandez)
“Life ain’t fair.” – Pollo (Cheech Marin)