Film Review: THE LONG GAME (2023): An Enjoyable Story About Overcoming Prejudices and Triumphing Against the Odds

The Long Game Review

The Long Game (2023) Film Review, a movie directed by Julio Quintana, written by Paco Farias, Humberto G. Garcia and Julio Quintana and starring Dennis Quaid, Jay Hernandez, Julian Works, Cheech Marin, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Paulina Chavez, Miguel Angel Garcia, Gillian Vigman, Gregory Diaz IV, Christian Gallegos, Chet Grissom, Oscar Nunez, Jose Julian, Michael Southworth, Morgana Shaw, Heather Kafka, Brett Cullen and Jimmy Gonzales.

The Long Game is filmmaker Julio Quintana’s mid-1950’s set South Texas golf movie. It’s a true story about several Mexican-American high school guys who rose above expectations against the odds and proved they could play with the big boys. Though the movie doesn’t sounds like it’s different from your average sports movie, Quintana’s film is quite special and has a unique quality about it that makes it feel like just the type of movie we need in America right now to restore faith in humanity. Dennis Quaid and Jay Hernandez are the lead actors in the picture and both turn in admirable performances but it is some of the supporting cast that actually surprises with solid turns in a heartfelt movie full of sincerity that is accessible to all audiences whether one loves golf or not.

Quaid plays Frank Mitchell, an aging man whose friend (from their days in the Marines), JB Pena (Hernandez), works at a school and has aspirations to join Frank’s country club. On his way to an interview, JB gets hit on the head thanks to a flying golf ball that is accidentally sent his way by a student. With a nasty bruise on his head, JB has no real chance of impressing the country club interviewer but JB, who works in a high school, has high aspirations and just may find his way into the world he so yearns to be a part of. JB initially seems to be judged on the basis of his race but he’s just as American as anyone else in town with a loving wife named Lucy, beautifully portrayed by Jaina Lee Ortiz who creates a very plausible and caring character.

The teenage group of guys that the movie focuses on is headed by Joe (Julian Works), a young man who is a bit rebellious but is also earnest in his own aspirations in life. It takes a girl in his school named Daniela (Paulina Chavez) to make him understand what’s important in life but not before he ends up playing some mean games of golf that will eventually give the competitors a run for their money.

Sure, we’ve seen similar movies to this one but it’s a winning formula and the cast is absolutely likable. Dennis Quaid is always exceptional and, this time, his friendship with Hernandez’s character is well-conveyed and the two actors create a very believable bond as Frank goes out of his way to ensure that JB gets what is rightfully his and that the boys JB takes under his wing get their moment to shine.

There is a scene set in a diner where discrimination against the teens takes center stage and it’s a reminder of the prejudices that ran rampant during the time period the film is set in. Besides that, though, Joe and Daniela have tremendously appealing chemistry on-screen together in a romance that could remind viewers of the love story from Good Will Hunting a bit. Joe seems to be a guy who has a rebellious streak while Daniela is an academic who wants to pursue her writing out of town at a college. Joe will have to make a decision by the film’s end if he will stay in his local area and settle or go see about a girl like Will Hunting did. The scenes between Works and Chavez are magical.

Then, Cheech Marin pops up from time to time as an overseer behind the scenes named Pollo. Marin is known for appearing in another golf movie from 1996, Tin Cup, and has a good time on screen as the know-it-all, wise, seen-it-all character who can dish out a word or two of wisdom every now and then. Oscar Nunez as Principal Guerra is also tremendously likable and the character actors (including the boys who play the high schoolers) are all top-notch. Christian Gallegos’s Mario is particularly memorable although there are character traits of all the young would-be golfers that make their characters very distinct.

The leads, Quaid and Hernandez, play off each other like two finely tuned violins. These actors are good as gold here and make the story line all that more enjoyable to behold. I am not the biggest golf fan but found the golf scenes immensely entertaining and they weren’t too lengthy which means that someone who isn’t a golf fan would get past these scenes to enjoy the rest of the story line.

The Long Game is a tried-and-true formula, to be sure. Before the end credits, we are informed that each of the young boys the movie portrays had gone on to achieve something to be proud of. One of them died right after seeing this movie I gather from what is said, and this is the type of film that would make its subjects feel dignified and respected for the difficulties they overcame which helped prove how important diversity is in America and in the world. The Long Game still remains significant even as many years have passed from the film’s time period. It is an important film about acceptance and perseverance and is a sure-fire crowd-pleaser.

Rating: 7.5/10

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