Seven Days in Utopia (2011)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

This movie was great! It really had everything. It was funny, it had romance, it had action and sports, it had suspense, and had a great message. No matter what you do in life it is important, and God is always there.

Robert Duvall was 80-years-old when this movie was made. The mutli-award winner shows that he still has what it takes to give a sterling performance. In "Seven Days in Utopia," Duvall plays Johnny Crawford, a somewhat quirky character with a colored past. The semi-retired Johnny has been around. He has seen and done a lot, as he says to Luke Chisholm, played by relative newcomer Lucas Black. Johnny once was on the pro-golf circuit and is a recovering alcoholic. He's acquired a lot of wisdom over the years, and now in his old age he's happy to help Luke discover his game. The movie is supposed to be about Luke, who just blew a one-stroke lead in the Texas open and fell apart with a last hole that took him 14 strokes to finish. The young athlete has issues and struggles with anger at his father, a temper and lack of confidence. If he'll just give Johnny a week in Utopia, the old hand will help him discover his game. The film is based on a novel by David Cook, who also helped write the screenplay. It is set in Utopia, Texas, a small town not too far west of San Antonio. The entire cast give very good performances. Most are relative young actors and newcomers. However, two accomplished award- winning actresses, Melissa Leo and Kathy Baker have very good smaller roles as Lily and Mabel. Most of the movie is about the quirky ways Johnny has of training Luke. Fly fishing, painting, coin pitching, piloting an airplane and other oddities all have some connection to what Luke needs to learn about golf (and life). Without critiquing Johnny's unusual methods, or their likely effectiveness, I'll just say that this all adds up to an enjoyable and often amusing film. The film has clear moral and spiritual overtones, but it doesn't present them in a preachy way. Johnny's unusual methods help to teach Luke by their practical results. It's not just about golf – it's about life and what really counts. Without saying it directly, Johnny's message from his example and life's experience is that faith and trust in God are the common sense guideposts that enable one to focus, relax, choose what is right and have peace and calm. In other words, to focus on what's really important and not be distracted by other things. This is a movie as much for the future as it is for the present. Today there are many more types of addictions than existed in the past or were easily accessible. Electronic games, cell phone texting, Internet pornography, and other social media tools are among the things that may lead to addictions. Psychologists have identified the harmful effects of obsessive use and additions in these areas. All addictions enslave a person and don't enable one to focus on what's really important in life, to one's family, in one's relationships, and for one's personal wellbeing. So, we have ever-increasing social problems today.In a nutshell, this movie might be summed up as having two messages. A person will find peace and happiness in life through love. (Not romance, but love of family, friends and other people). And we get that – and stay there – by listening to the voice of conscience. (We follow it to focus so that we make the right choices). As the movie opens, we see a quotation from scripture, Isaiah 30:21. It reads, "And your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' when you turn to the right or you turn to the left."(RSV) The next verse tells the result of doing so. Paraphrased it means one defies the idols of the world that would enslave one.I think the setting is a nice slice of real life found in many places yet today. It's a nice family film, especially for the older kids and adults.

Trite, clichéd, predictable and dull, here's "Seven Days in Utopia". Stop me if you've heard this before- a down on his luck golfer becomes stranded in a small town where he just so happens to meet an elderly man (Robert Duvall) who just so happens to be an ex golfer. What are the odds of that? The old man becomes a mentor of sorts and reteaches him how to play the game, readying him for the next Texas Open. The golfer also finds love in a girl who just recently lost her father and has to contend with a few town bullies. Sound familiar? This movie borrows from virtually every single sports movie ever made ,but refuses to add anything new to the mix. You don't really need to even pay attention to it, as you know exactly what is happening the entire time.While not technically a poorly made film, the performances are, for the most part, lifeless, as the actors portray characters who are flat and simply uninteresting. I bought this mainly because Robert Duvall was in it, and even he didn't do much for this film. "Major Predictable Spoilers ahead!" Anyway, up to the very end, I was planning on giving this a 3 or 4. It was bad, but at least it seemed to be able to tell a decent, if thoroughly covered ,story. However, this is what happened. The movie actually ends before you see if he made the last hole or not! Okay, leaving it up in the air is okay, but here's what sealed the "One Star" deal for me. Before the credits role, a note crawls up saying "To see if he made the last putt, visit blahblahwhatever.com...." are you kidding me? The film makers can't even tell the complete story within their entire freakin' movie? They're advertising a website to go to see if he won or not! That really ticked me off!So, all in all, avoid this one. Entirely predictable, with an infuriating ending.Anyway

this film obviously was written by a screenplay writer who really knows the golf, one of the sports heavily commercialized by necessary must-have sponsorship. the screenplay writer had subtly purify the commercial odor and turned it into a philosophy of life.what a great casting job! every role was nicely picked for the right actor to play it. r.d. simply did another great job in this movie. he delivered those great words so naturally like originating from his heart. the young actor who played that conflicting young golfer was pretty awesome too. that young actress was also such a nice cast, pure, slender, kind and gentle, a typical American country girl in our dream.this is a great film, a film about 99.99% without any commercial purpose but was ruined in the last 0.01% when the movie ended with a stupid arrangement by asking viewers an inevitable question: 'did he make the putt?" and ask you to visit a website URL: www.didhemaketheputt.com. when you typed and clicked the enter, it brought you to a 100% commercial site, selling lot of bi-products of this movie. it not only ruined my good impression cast by this movie, it actually made me sneer uncontrollably. well, after all, golf movies are still carrying lot of commercial-wise purposes.