Customer Reviews

A League of Ordinary Gentlemen

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a story of four very different men, channeled though the scope of profession bowling. It's a story of how the PBA (Professional Bowling Association) was rescued by a group of former computer executives looking for a new challenge. But more than all that, it's a story of a sport that many of us grew up with, how that was almost lost, and is being found again, one person at a time.

League of Ordinary Gentlemen is a well done, interesting documentary that mostly follows Walter Ray Williams, Jr., Pete Weber, Chris Barnes and Wayne Webb. The film takes us inside their lives and occasionally inside their mind, showing that it's not just one type of man that chooses to make his living bowling, nor is their one specific path to the PBA. Each and everyone is different. There's conflict, camaraderie, and an exciting ending.

Whether you like bowling, or even just remember your parents doing it when you were a kid, this is a great remembrance of that time. If you're just into watching documentaries, it's a fun one to view. If you're like me and you have both of those components, than check this film out.

Recommended.

Well folks, It's finally out on DVD, and I have been waiting for its DVD release since it came out in limited runs in theatres nationwide back in May 2005, predominantly in markets in which the Professional Bowlers' Association (www.PBA.com) hosts Denny's PBA Tour events.

It is the official movie of professional bowling, as endorsed by the PBA, filmed during the 2002-03 PBA Tour Season, A League Of Ordinary Gentlemen (www.BowlingMovie.com), which features four of the PBA's brightest stars:

41-time titlist and PBA/USBC (United States Bowling Congress, www.bowl.com) Hall Of Famer and 6-time world horseshoe pitching champion, Walter Ray Williams Jr.,

2005 U.S. Open champion and rising star and former Team USA great and All-American at Wichita State University, which has a tremendous collegiate bowling program led by their legendary coach Gordon Vatican, 6-time PBA champion, Chris Barnes,

"The Bad Boy of The PBA Tour", as shown by his track record of previous suspensions for misconduct, and son of the late great 26-time PBA champion, Dick Weber, and 32-time PBA titlist, "PDW" Pete Weber,

And finally, but not to be outdone, former 20-time champion, with 3 of those titles coming in events at Landmark Lanes in Peoria, Illinois (1989, 96, 97), PBA Hall Of Famer, Wayne Webb.

Anybody out there who wants to take a cheap shot at our great sport of bowling, in which my wife Alice Yantz and I enjoy very much (Alice and I are both league bowlers and proud USBC members who bowl at All-Star lanes in Silverdale, Washington, just 40 miles away from our home and BIGHMW.com headquarters here in Port Townsend), thanks mostly in part due to the negative image of it as portrayed by sham movies like Kingpin and The Big Lebowski will be awfully surprised when they see the REAL PBA Tour as well as the diametrically different roads that these four great professional bowlers take, week-in-and-week-out.

This movie is highly recommended by yours truly, as it ALSO features actual footage straight from ABC Sports of their legendary Professional Bowlers Tour series which featured broadcasting great, the late great Chris Schenkel, and that aired on Saturday Afternoons during January though July from 1962-1997 as part of "The ABC Sports one-two Punch", which was followed by ABC's Wide World Of Sports.

You might think that a movie about pro bowling would be about as boring as well Bowling but nothing could be more off the mark. This doc is wonderfully done and has a wondeful mix of humor and heart leading to an exciting finale that ranks up there with Spellbound and Murderball. The mix of characters ranging from a burned out Karaoke singing bowler to a Hamlet-esque Bowling prodigy to a crazed Alpha male Bowling CEO leaves the viewer fully engaged. If you are a Doc fan or sports buff you need to see this movie.

This is probably the best bowling themed movie ever. That may not be saying much given the history of bowling and bowling themed movies (Dreamer, Greedy, The Big Lebowski and Kingpin), but this is really a very compelling film. The choice of the four athletes followed is excellent as they are a diverse lot. Watching a bitter former great like Wayne Webb alternatively rail at the "new" PBA and then step back and realize that the new owners' vision it is what is allowing the Professional Bowlers Assn. to survive is very interesting. The movie is quick, about an hour and a half, and it easily could have been longer and still enjoyable. There's a great deal of focus (as there should be) on Walter Ray Williams, the current reigning great of the tour and Pete Weber, himself an all time great and perhaps the most compelling figue of the last 25 years. The movie misses an opportunity to focus on Walter Ray's obvious disgust with Weber's showboating, although it is obvious they both respect each other as players. Watching Steve Miller, the commissioner and a non-bowler, as he tries to build the tour "brand" is fascinating. It's obvious he really favors Weber, perhaps to the detriment of other pros. The film zips along and the "extras" are pretty good.

Wow. That is all I can say. This is one of those movies that you talk about for days after you see it. I am not one to be sucked into dishing out superlatives to every movie that hits the screen. But in the case of A League of Ordinary Gentlemen,
I have to give 5 stars to this "slice of life" backstage look at bowling. This is a great picture about a group of talented individuals who go about doing their best to make their mark on bowling and America. This is a movie that hits home with every single person who has ever wondered where the next paycheck is going to come from. Watch as Pete Weber, Chris Barnes and Walter Ray Williams show you what hard work and perseverance can accomplish.

This film is all about what each and every person in America today faces as they try to scratch out a living and make their mark on society at large.

You think that there are no heroes anymore? Take a look at this film and you will see plenty of heroes.

Be warned, I like watching bowling. As someone who used to bowled but could never break into the 200 average class, I am fascinated to watch the pros in action.

This tells the story of how a marketing guru tries to recreate the pba tour together with sponsorship and television coverage. There are no punches pulled when it comes to the difficulties of resurrecting a sport that has fallen on bad times. And it is interesting to see how, from a business angle, they went about doing this.

But the best part of this dvd is the insight into the lives of a few pro bowlers who were very frank about their lives and about their hopes and thoughts about the new venture. At the end of the dvd there is some interplay between two rivals (Walter Ray Williams Jnr and Peter Weber) and a showdown on the lanes to provide a fitting end to the film, but it is also fascinating to see into their lives, how they live, how their families cope or in most cases do not cope with their spouses on tour most of the time.

There are some good clips of past experts - not enough for my liking - but better than nothing.

I miss the old tournaments like the Firestone of Champions and I am not sure that the current pba has got the formula right to make the sport attractive to sponsors and advertisers. But if you like bowling and like to watch the pros in action and also want to see how it feels to be a pro bowler away from the limelight and the final day, then get this dvd; some very human stories here. One bowler describes how from a very young age he decided to make his living at bowling and how bowling seemed to be a permanent fixture in the sports arena. Now he feels cheated as this 'permanent' fixture has disappeared and his life to date seems completely wasted. A familiar story, not only in sport, but one told here with some honesty and openness.

A League Of Ordinary Gentlemen (2006) is an outstanding documentary about the rise, fall, and rise once again of the PBA Tour (at least the PBA was healthy back in 2003, when this documentary was filmed. In 2011, it's in bad shape), and the ups and downs of some of its past and current stars. Many opinions are expressed by some players regarding the direction the "new" revamped PBA was going in after it was purchased for $5 million back in 2000 by some ex-Microsoft executives. The documentary is filmed with a sort of "behind-the-scenes" and "up close and personal" approach to it. You'll see the inside of Walter Ray Williams, Jr.'s mobile home, his house, and his horseshoe pitching court. I agree with a lot of what Walter Ray Williams says throughout the documentary. You'll see a lot of interesting stuff on Pete Weber as well. Chris Barnes, also. But, in my opinion, the most interesting person in the whole documentary is Hall-of-Famer Wayne Webb. Webb talks very honestly and candidly about the ups and downs of his career, the mistakes he's made, and his life in general. This documentary really shows not only the grind of the Tour and the ups and downs the players experience week to week, but the personal lives of the players. In Webb's case, the cold, harsh reality of his struggles really shows in his commentary and even on his face. I agree with a lot of what he has to say as well.

I must say that I'm really disgusted with the fact that the CEO of the PBA is so foul-mouthed. Either he was doing that just for show, knowing he's on camera, or he's like this in his everyday life. This is not a good image to project when you're in a documentary that's going to be watched by millions of bowling fans and many potential corporate sponsors of PBA tournaments. Even if he was doing it just for show, it shows bad judgement on his part, knowing that the documentary is going to be seen by a large audience. The PBA pros also swear a lot throughout the documentary, so I find it funny that they decided to call this "A League Of Ordinary Gentlemen". It easily could have been named something else, thus excusing the foul language by all involved.

Myself, I've really been into the PBA Tour most of my life, watching the old shows on ABC with Chris Schenkel and Nelson Burton, Jr. announcing, as well as on NBC with Jay Randolph and Earl Anthony in the booth, and also on ESPN with Denny Schreiner and Mike Durbin. I've attended countless tournaments in person whenever there's a Tour stop near my hometown. I've bowled in three pro-ams (winning one of them). I've attended two TV finals, including the one featured in this documentary, the 2003 World Championship (I see myself in the crowd). Even with all this exposure to the PBA Tour over the years, I still find this a fascinating documentary. I think you will, too. I highly recommend it.

The League of Ordinary Gentleman is a documentary that focuses on pro bowling's attempts to become more popular. The film offers reasons for the decline of bowling - negative perceptions, competition from other sports, and the increasing involvement of American men with their children. But the film is most interesting as a study of the men who live on the road while trying to make a living bowling.

The film shows the Pro Bowlers Association (PBA) attempts to change bowling's declining fortunes. The PBA's owners brought in a sports marketing guru (Jeff Miller) from Nike. Miller is a profane blowhard who runs roughshod over all opposition and encourages the bowlers to be more demonstrative while competing.

Four pro bowlers are focus of the film:
Walter Ray Williams is the top bowler in the world. Quiet and cerebral, Williams represents the sport's past and has reservations about the changes in bowling.
Pete Weber is the opposite of Williams. He is brash, profane, and egotistical. His signature "move" is the "crotch chop" - a gesture he makes after bowling strikes.
Wayne Webb is a fading bowler who was a big star in the 1980s. He's spent all of his money and appears to deeply depressed.
Chris Barnes is a young man trying "make it" on the tour. He tries to balance bowling with the demands of being a father to infant twins.

In the end, the film holds the viewer's attention. There are no firm conclusions on bowling's future, but viewers learn a lot about the temptations of celebrity and life on the road.

An honest & often sarcastic peek into the oddball world of the professional bowler. This is a must see for anyone who loves the game, and laments the decline of the sport. Having attended a couple of PBA tour events, I can testify to the fact that these "Ordinary" gentlemen work extremely hard, for what often times accounts for only gas money. These guys are a special breed, and, are really no less than extraordinary.

I've been a huge bowling enthusiast for a long time now and I think this is was one of the more enjoyable documentaries I have seen in a long time. Watching the PBA on both ABC and now ESPN, it can appear to seem much more glamorous (yes I realize for most people to use "glamorous" to describe bowling might be inappropriate)but the reality is that it is very, very lonely.

As of current, Walter Ray Williams, Jr, Pete Weber, and Chris Barnes are all professional superstars and I believe all in the legitmate running for the Player of the Year. It was so interesting to see the behind the scenes struggles for each.

And then there is Wayne Webb, a very tragic story of a man who felt like he was owed more from bowling. I felt the movie captured perfectly his disdain for the new evolution of the sport.

Anyway an excellent insight into the business of the PBA and its champions.