Introduction
This text is about the 2010 American comedy film “Hole in One,” directed by Drew Ann Rosenberg. The plot centers around the cruise of a college student, Eric Keller (Steve Talley), who is a skilled golfer but lives a reckless life full of drinking, partying, and gambling. Despite showing potential to excel in multiple areas, Eric’s inability to set long term goals and lack of motivation makes his life stagnant. In fact, Eric’s best friend, Tyler Hayden (David Ellison), is a budding entrepreneur who aims to promote his golfing apparel company PAHR Fairway-Essentials, but sees Eric as the ideal advertisement. Yet, instead of working towards achieving his life goals, Eric remains indifferent.
This lifestyle lands Eric in a troubling bet with two conniving plastic surgeons, Clayton (Dean Cameron) and Hamilton (Christopher Showerman). Upon losing the wager, Eric realizes that he has accidentally undergone a humiliating, unauthorized surgical procedure on himself — breast implants. This ludicrous event becomes the center of comedy within the movie and sets the stage for Eric to undertake a quest to restore his dignity.
The road to redemption can be paved with embarrassment, but it is also a fable in maturity and growth. Eric, with help from Tyler and their peculiar band of friends, intends to settle the score with the fraudulent surgeons by inviting them for one last duel which will take place on the golf course. This climactic golf battle, ‘the best-ball’ duel, becomes a contest for more than just physical impasse, it becomes a contest of character and forcens Eirc to prove how and if he can take life (and himself) seriously, even for one round of golf.
Cast & Crew
Director: Drew Ann Rosenberg
Writers: Charlie Adams and Stephen Langford
David Ellison
Music: Stephen Edwards
Cinematography: Marco Fargnoli
Main Cast:
Steve Talley as Eric Keller- The irresponsible but talented golfer who must learn that there’s more to life than hustling and partying.
David Ellison as Tyler Hayden- Eric’s best friend with a made up image of a supportive and aspiring businessman who intends to do great things for both golf and fashion.
Dean Cameron as Carlton- One of the unscrupulous plastic surgeons who shamefully deceives Eric, and is too rather uncaring, leading his third rate surgery.
Christopher Showerman as Hamilton- Partner of Carlton who lack the morals of the other dirty stitched up antagonists of the film and adds to the comical villain pairing.
Sandy Modic as Mandy Hayden- Mature and levelheaded, Tyler’s sister offer’s perception of the world to Eric who is trying to come out of his self imposed stupor and dive into one of opportunity.
K.T. Tatara as Mark Zbeitnefski – Comic relief from the friend group with an awkward charm.
Jerad Anderson as Jason Jones – Another friend who’s always causing trouble, making Eric’s life more complicated than it already is.
Jossara Jinaro as Joslyn Whitmore – A character who gets caught up in the crazy things that Eric does.
Dean Cain as Repo Man – Hilarious cameo as a repossessor who adds to the chaos as a no-nonsense attention-grabber.
Themes and Analysis
Set within the sports world, particularly golf, Hole in One outlines a coming-of-age story in a comical manner. Much like life, golf serves as the metaphor for life’s challenges. The film tackles a primary message about growing up and acknowledges the necessity of responsibility, even though it relies heavily on juvenile and slapstick humor.
Eric Keller is your go-to man child — brimming with talent yet bouncing around life without growing up. Recklessly waking up with breast implants, him getting them serves as the most absurd lesson in the consequences for him – accountability. The complete and utter destruction he faces as a result of his poor choices coupled with the transformation throughout the film from an egoistic prankster roguishly to caring for self-respect, friendship, and integrity, is what makes the movie so captivating.
The inclusion of a climactic, sports-style showdown at the end of the film where the protagonist faces off against the antagonistic surgeons in a golf match adds another layer of depth to the overall message of the film: the underdog not only proving himself in life, but on the course as well. While these ideas are typical in sports comedies, the film attempts to differentiate itself through absurd scenarios and the use of physical humor.
Likewise, the bond shared by Eric and Tyler operates as a secondary source of pathos. The very fact that Tyler supports Eric, regardless of how many flaws he posseses, highlights the ideas of loyalty and forgiveness.
Visual Style & Music
The film is shot with a vibrant and colorful aesthetically, and is often silly in nature, which compliments the overall tone of the film. The golf course locations are stunning and beautifully detailed, offering a warm setting for Tyler’s chaotic adventures.
The soundtrack within the film already matches Edwards’ score beautifully as it is filled with carefree, upbeat melodies and humor that brings out the silly slapstick comedy. The music further contains more modern, pop-rock songs that appeal to the youthful and carefree nature of the film.
Critical Reception
At first, Hole in One was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews. The satirical film was criticized for its lack of a unique story, unoriginal clichés, and the heavy use of lowbrow, juvenile humor. It was widely believed that the movie would try to capture the American Pie raunchy comedy spirit, but somehow missed the cleverness and emotional appeal of that franchise altogether.
Unlike other reviewers, Steve Talley’s performance was cited as underwhelming and one-dimensional as It was expected from him after the American Pie break-offs. Critics of the film suggested that, as the viewers expected, he offered nothing more than a loose interpretation of a reckless character archetype.
Audience reactions were not very different from the critics with many trashing the film for using a paint by numbers method to create a ‘story.’ Once again viewers were left unsatisfied by the overly used body jokes and cringe humor. Many thought the premise was too outlandish, and the characters too one dimensional to care about their story arcs.
Unlike other reviewers, pure lovers of low quality humor found solace in this dated piece. Many suggested it was a brilliant distraction from the harsh realities of life with no serious stakes, making it a perfect mindless viewing experience.
Conclusion
With a mix of everything from cliched stories to poor juvenile jokes, Hole in One (2010) is yet another attempt to create a sports comedy movie alongside inadequate humor. Even though the premise could offer thrilling lunacy, a lack of creativity combined with the overly done format ruins the essence of the storyline.
Apart from the well executed final showdown on the golf course and a few displays of charming comedy, the film lacks any impressive height generated from depth and character, humor and innovation. For more casual audiences, the outrageous plots of the film might be funny and serve their purpose. For audiences with an appreciation for intelligent writing, impressive character building, creative witty humor, this film is yet another suffering failure.
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