Blackball (2003) Reviews

• utterly inspired

  Dominix2004-09-11

  I hired this film from my local library having run out of decent films to watch and absolutely loved it! Yes, it's stupid, no, we don't know what she sees in him, of course bowls is the most boring game in the world. However the one liners (I'm sorry but the moment before the matrix mention is inspired) the marching band and the leopard print bra speak for themselves. The amazing talent that kept popping up was fabulous and the tension build at the end incredible (especially given the subject). It's a fantastic feel-good movie with romance, champagne, porn, cheerleaders, decorators, rebels and, of course, bowls. I'm going to go and watch it again whilst you all sulk!

• Nice surprise

  james-rand2005-01-17

  Well I was looking in my video shop for a 7 day rental (ie all those old films people don't want to watch any more), and was feeling quite hungover, so I didn't want to waste too much time. I grabbed this because I've always liked Paul Kaye, and can honestly say its one of the funniest films I've seen in years. I'm not usually a fan of British comedies, they tend to be a bit cheesy I think, but this was top class, I'm really surprised that no-one I know has mentioned it before. If your a fan of bowls, then this might not be for you, as it does take the mickey out of this age old sport. I was surprised to learn that it was (loosely) based on a true story. Some excellent cameos in it as well. If you've not seen it, see it. If you've seen it, good.

• I'd give 10 Hollywood blockbuster movies for 1 Blackball.

  cody_imdb2003-09-11

  One of the funniest movies I've seen for a long time. Proof that you don't need mega bucks to make a good movie, just a good script and the right cast selection. The plot is farcial and the cameos keep popping in when you least expect them, unless you've seen the cast list. One more thing in it's favour, there is no hope of a "Blackball 2, the grude match" to detract from the original.

• Unless You Are Interested In Bowls, There Is No Reason To Even Think About This

  JimD732005-05-22

  Lawn bowling. Chances are you may have never heard of it. I, on the other hand, happen to know a lot about it, thanks to my father being the two-time Canadian champion. I've been bowling a few times before, and even though I suck, it isn't all that bad a sport. When I heard about National Lampoon doing a spoof on lawn bowling, it was something I was pretty much obligated to see. Then again, National Lampoon hasn't made a really good movie since Christmas Vacation, so my expectations weren't very high. So, how well does Blackball roll? PLOT: 17/25: Cliff Starkley (Kaye) is a young punk in England who has taken a liking to the sport of lawn bowling, despite his over-the-top attitude. In fact, he is one of the best the sport has seen in a long time, aside from maybe current club professional Ray Speight (Cromwell). After winning the title from Speight, he is given a 15-year ban from tournament games because of writing an offensive message on the scorecard. After this, however, he develops a romance with Speight's daughter Kerry (Evans), who is tired of her father's obsession with bowls. He is also picked up by super agent Rick Schwartz (Vaughn), who finds loopholes in the ban and turns Starkley's wild approach to lawn bowling into a national phenomenon. The old club promoters, realizing how much they could get for bringing Starkley back, try to convince Speight to drop the ban. Meanwhile, celebrity status starts to get to Starkley's head, who begins to alienate himself from his grandfather (Cribbins), his best friend Trevor (Vegas) and Kerry. If you can say anything about the plot, it is original. The subject of lawn bowling isn't your general cannon fodder for comedies. Granted, the same type of plot has been done many times before, but this puts a new twist on it. Originality counts for a lot in comedies, so I'll be generous here. COMEDY: 4/25: I remember laughing maybe five times in the whole movie, and nothing really too funny. Most of the humour is derived from the general perception of the sport, such as the old age of the players (50 year olds are frequently called young) and the general etiquette of the lawn bowlers. However, the perception is off. As someone who has been to these places before, I can vouch that the players are mostly old, and my near-50 year old dad seems young by comparison. There are some young bowlers, but for the most part it is rare. But that is in Canada. In England, bowling is much bigger there and still draws a younger audience. Also, they only concentrate on the country club, saying that the others could never get a good green. Around the England area, there are plenty of other greens that are not for country clubs, but for the public. Just that the facts don't agree isn't a good reason to say the comedy sucks. The whole point is it is not a funny movie. I would be the type to laugh at this stuff, because I can identify with some of it, but it just isn't funny. ACTING: 11/25: The acting is pretty mediocre. Kaye may be the protagonist, but his acting ruins the movie. He tries to hard to be funny, but is such an jerk no one sympathises with him, which is necessary for the audience to like the movie. The fact he never gets his comeuppance annoyed me to no end. Vaughn (Old School) is just about as good for the role of Rick as anyone else in the universe. While he did a great job, I still can't help but think the script should have been better for him. The one standout good performance is from James Cromwell (Babe), who fits right into the deck shoes of a lawn bowler and keeps a professional look the whole way through. Even his bowling stance is good. The script isn't all there for him either, but he manages to make it work for the most part. The acting could have been better, but partly Vaughn and mostly Cromwell saved it from total disaster. ENTERTAINMENT: 6/25: If you don't know bowls, there is no reason at all to see this. If you do know bowls, I would only recommend it if you are really bored and have nothing better to do. Then again, most people who are into bowls aren't into National Lampoon, so this movie ends up being a major waste. TOTAL: 38%: This movie is a waste of time and money. It has few laughs, unrealistic bowling and a real jerk of a lead. Just avoid this movie unless you really need time to kill and are interested in bowls.

• Gentle comedy that we Brits do so well

  wrenster2003-09-05

  Ok, so this isn't going to be hailed the new The Full Monty, and doesn't have the romantic edge of Four Weddings And A Funeral, and it may not even have the charm of Bend It Like Beckham, but Blackball is an amusing, sometimes laugh-out-loud tale of the underdog winning through in the end. Paul Kaye (more famous for his role of Dennis Pennis) plays Cliff, a guy living on a run-down estate but who has a talent for Crown Green Bowls, a sport more recognised for the older generation. But when a team from Australia are storming in the bowls arena, Cliff decides that his only way of getting to play them, is to win a bowls contest for the County Championship, a competition won 23 times in a row by Roy (James Cromwell). Of course he wins, but loses the championship and the chance to bowl for 15 years in professional competition due to a rule that Cliff broke. The rise to fame is helped by a sleazy sports agent (Vince Vaughn) and Cliff becomes the bad boy of bowls. He also falls for Roy's daughter (Alice Evan s) and in his rise to the big time, almost loses everything that he holds dear to him, from his Grandad (Bernard Cribbins), his best friend (Johnny Vegas) and his girl. This isn't going to win any major awards and may be forgotten about six months down the road, but it's an undemanding piece of comedy cinema that will have you chuckling all the way through. Nice performances from all involved, and a great soundtrack too.