Aarcflick

A technically polished, but mostly unshakeable, example of a genre (the documentary about kids doing something difficult) that is presumed to be inherently charming, Josh Greenbaum's The Short Game introduces us to eight children who travel to Pinehurst, North Carolina, to compete in the World Junior Golf Championship. Lacking drama for those who aren't passionate fans of the sport, and with barely interesting characters compared to some we've met in similar films, the documentary has little commercial appeal and completely lacks the sociopolitical content that has led festival audiences to support some less compelling children's documentaries. Filmgoers inclined to believe that the documentary world has relied too heavily on this "kids plus dreams equals crowd-pleasing" formula will find further evidence of exploitation here, as several of the film's subjects have fathers insistent enough to be honorary members of the sorority of theater moms. One father ...