''Seven Days in Utopia'' is a 2011 American Christian

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Matt Russell, starring

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...

Lucas Black Lucas York Black (born November 29, 1982) is an American film and television actor. He is best known as the main character Sean Boswell in '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006), of which he would later reprise the character in '' Fur ...

, and

Melissa Leo Melissa Chessington Leo (born September 14, 1960) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Critics' Choice A ...

. The film is based on the book ''Golf's Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia'' by Dr. David Lamar Cook, a psychologist who received a Ph.D. in Sport and Performance Psychology from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

. It was filmed in Utopia, Texas, and

Fredericksburg, Texas Fredericksburg (german: Friedrichsberg) is the seat of Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 Census, this city had a population of 10,530. Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 and named after Prince Frederick of Prussia. ...

, and was released in the United States on September 2, 2011 to mixed reviews.

Plot summary

Lucas Black plays Luke Chisholm, a young professional golfer who has a meltdown during a tournament. After shooting 80 in the final round, Chisholm crashes his car into a fence and finds himself stuck in Utopia, Texas while his car is repaired. He gets wisdom from retired golfer Johnny Crawford (Robert Duvall). After some instruction and guidance, Chisholm reconciles with his overbearing father and enters the

Valero Texas Open The Texas Open, known as the Valero Texas Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played near San Antonio, Texas. It dates back years to 1922, when it was first called the Texas Open; San Antonio-based Val ...

. He ends up in a playoff with the world's top golfer, T.K. Oh (

K. J. Choi Choi Kyung-Ju ( ko, 최경주; born 19 May 1970), commonly known as K. J. Choi, is a South Korean professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. Since turning pro in 1994, he has won more than twenty p ...

Cast

as Johnny Crawford *

as Luke Chisholm *

as Lily *

as T.K. Oh * Kelly Tilghman as

Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply Golf) is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently based out of NBC S ...

Reporter / Analyst *

Brandel Chamblee } Brandel Eugene Chamblee (born July 2, 1962) is a former American professional golfer, commentator and writer. Chamblee was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Speech Communication and was a f ...

as Golf Channel Reporter / Analyst *

Deborah Ann Woll Deborah Ann Woll (born February 7, 1985) is an American actress and model. Woll played Jessica Hamby in the HBO drama series ''True Blood'' (2008–2014), which earned her a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She subsequently starred a ...

as Sarah *

Brian Geraghty Brian Timothy Geraghty (born May 13, 1975) is an American actor, known for his roles in the 2005 film '' Jarhead'', the 2008 film ''The Hurt Locker'', and in the 2012 film ''Flight'', along with his recurring role in the HBO drama series ''Board ...

as Jake * Rickie Fowler as himself * Stewart Cink as himself *

Rich Beem Richard Michael Beem (born August 24, 1970) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and is best known for his upset victory at the 2002 PGA Championship. Beem was born in Phoenix, Arizona, grew up in El Paso, Texas, and pla ...

as himself

Reception

The film earned mixed reviews from professional critics. The ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' gave the film two out of four stars and claimed that "it goes down more smoothly than you'd imagine" thanks to Duvall's performance and an "excellent supporting cast." ''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...

'' described ''Seven Days'' as "utterly predictable" and "bland," but also praised Duvall, who "has to be great here just to keep the movie afloat." Roger Ebert of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'' gave the film one star out of four, writing "I would rather eat a golf ball than see this movie again" and, of Duvall, "Only a great actor could give such a bad performance."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seven Days in Utopia 2011 films 2010s sports drama films American sports drama films Films about Christianity Films based on American novels Films set in Texas Films shot in Texas Golf films Films scored by Klaus Badelt 2011 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films

Plot summary

Cast

Reception

References

Further reading

Books

Articles

External links