A League Of Ordinary
Gentleman (Documentary/Bowling)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C+ Documentary: B
Bowling is one of the great games that people used to
celebrate, embrace and love. By the
late 1970s, this game (also referred to with at least some validity as a sport)
was in decline, but it was not that long ago that it was the #1 sports/game
event on TV and across the country, it was the hottest thing in many a
town. Early on in Chris Browne’s 2005
documentary A League Of Ordinary Gentleman, one of the people
interviewed about bowling’s past compares their decline in a profound moment to
the decline of another great American institution that we here at the site know
and love: the motion picture drive-in.
The one strong common denominator between the two is the
amount of extra space you need for both.
Needless to say with the urban and suburban sprawl of endless malls and
cut-rate (and often cut-throat) discount stores, drive-ins disappeared faster,
but bowling alleys have survived better and in some greater number. This program starts by being a tribute to
the glory days of bowling, how it was a heart & soul family thing, as well
as “guys” thing and something so many people enjoyed. Is it any surprise that its decline began as the industrial age
was eclipsed by the information age and as the working class began to get the
short shrift in the 1980s?
Either way, what is fun eventually becomes a big business,
so what was a big business and big fun to begin with has to have some way of
coming back. After fine coverage about
those glory days, the project uncovers the dark decline including ABC ending
their highly profitable and successful association with the PBA (Professional
Bowling Association) as they “moved on” into that information age. One thing the program misses is that ABC
started as the #3 network and was that way until the 1970s, when someone
finally overtook CBS. The PBA contracts
helped make them a great survivor and not another short-lived DuMont Network.
The darker side of the tale continues as a few rich men
buy the PBA and try to rebuild it. Can
they do it? Will it be the same? Can it be profitable? Well, bowling itself never totally died and
is as fun as ever. Besides teens
getting together at midnight places, malls (some of which host these late
hours) have even added half-sized versions of such places and The Coen
Brothers’ have made it a relatively recent hit comedy with The Big Lebowski
(reviewed elsewhere on this site) that reflects the new era for better or worse.
Yes, there are new great bowlers and the game has a heart
and soul (like the drive-in or cinema itself) that cannot be completely killed
off, but whether it will have a new national, phenomenal peak has yet to be
scene. A League Of Ordinary
Gentleman shows us as much of it as it can in 93 involving minutes and
except for the un-sportsmanship addition of some sexual obscenity that would
have ended any respectable career, has nothing to do with the greatness of
bowling and is still questionable, the sport may be on the rise. Let’s just hope the obscenity does not limit
bowling to a “mere game” and not let that stop it.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is pretty good,
originating in digital High Definition, including all kinds of older film and
NTSC analog professional videotape footage from the ABC –TV network heyday
where it was a huge rating bonanza. It
is funny how the 1.33 X 1 old TV frame is cut to fit the 1.78 X 1 image, but it
is also funny. The Dolby Digital 5.1
mix is not bad considering this is a documentary, with sometimes-ironic uses of
music and decent location audio. Extras
include trailers for this and six other Magnolia Films, deleted scenes, “skills
challenge highlights” clip, “Dexter Approach” bowling tips, PBA Event Clips and
TV Spots. This all adds up to another
fun winner from Magnolia Home Video.
- Nicholas Sheffo
