Film
The Short Game
The Short Game follows eight seven-year-old golfers competing at the World Junior Golf Championships in Pinehurst. It's a warm, funny documentary about obsession at an age when most kids are learning to ride bikes. For anyone fascinated by childhood ambition, parental pressure, and the strange beautiful absurdity of elite competition, it's utterly compelling.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you enjoy observing small, earnest ambitions up close, the way a good sports documentary lets you sit with a kid's hope and the adults hovering around it.
Skip it if you want a tight narrative with clear stakes and a steady build; this is a loose, observational portrait, and its warmth can feel repetitive if you need constant momentum.
What it asks of you: Around a hundred minutes of patient watching, with no narrator pushing you along; it moves at the pace of practice rounds and waiting rooms, and lets the mood gather slowly.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Hoop Dreams1994
A landmark documentary following two basketball players from childhood through college, examining class, race, and American dreams with unflinching honesty. It set the standard for sports docs that look beyond the game.
But Nearly three and a half hours long, and the pacing is deliberate rather than zippy. It demands patience and emotional investment.
Senna2010
A visceral biography of F1 driver Ayrton Senna using archival footage and interviews to capture obsession, rivalry, and the drive to be the best. Gripping even if you don't care about racing.
But Dense with technical racing jargon and assumes some familiarity with F1 history. The ending is a known tragedy, which can feel heavy-handed.
Pumping Iron1977
Arnold Schwarzenegger and other bodybuilders before they became famous, revealing the psychology of competitive athletics and the performers behind the physiques. Fascinatingly weird and still funny.
But The sexual politics are 1970s-level uncomfortable. Some scenes drag and it feels more like a curiosity piece than urgent cinema.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Short Game
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Waiting for "Superman"2010
Both examine the machinery of ambition applied to children and ask difficult questions about what we owe them versus what we want for them.
A documentary about education reform and parental desperation that operates on the same emotional frequency as The Short Game: how do we push our children toward excellence without crushing them? Same stakes, same heartbreak, completely different arena.
But Heavily politicized; education debates get contentious and this film takes clear positions that not everyone shares. Can feel preachy.
More like this (8)
The Two Escobars2010
A 30 for 30 documentary interweaving a soccer player and a drug lord who shared the same surname in Colombia. Tense, beautifully constructed, and far more than a sports story.
But Heavy subject matter involving cartel violence. The connection between the two narratives can feel forced if you're not fully engaged.
Last Chance U2016
A series following college football players chasing NFL dreams, exposing the exploitation behind amateur sports. Compelling character studies with genuine stakes and real consequences.
But Requires multi-episode commitment. Some episodes feel repetitive and the tone can be quite bleak.
Free Solo2018
A climber attempts to scale El Capitan without ropes or safety equipment. Pure visual spectacle paired with genuine psychological insight into obsession and mortality.
But The cinematography is so stunning it can overshadow the ethics of filming someone in mortal danger. Some find the risk-taking reckless rather than inspiring.
Murderball2005
Wheelchair rugby players prepare for the Paralympics, dispensing with inspiration-porn clichés in favor of competitive grit, humor, and real personalities. Genuinely surprising and energizing.
But The title is inflammatory by modern standards. Some scenes feel gratuitously edgy in ways that haven't aged well.
The Dawn Wall2017
Two climbers attempt an impossible vertical rock face, captured with stunning cinematography and intimate character moments. A meditation on partnership and perseverance.
But Slow-paced and contemplative; if you want plot momentum, you'll be frustrated. The stakes are personal rather than dramatic.
Man on Wire2008
Philippe Petit's 1974 tightrope walk between the Twin Towers is reconstructed with archive footage, animation, and interviews. A heist film where the heist is art and madness.
But Stylized to the point of distraction; some find the whimsy undermines the genuine danger and audacity of what actually happened.
My Kid Could Paint That2007
Both expose how adult ambitions get projected onto children and how hard it is to separate genuine talent from projection and commercial machinery.
A documentary about a four-year-old artist selling abstract paintings for thousands of dollars—then questions emerge about who's really creating. It's about childhood, art, authenticity, and parental complicity in a system nobody quite understands.
But Deliberately uncertain; it won't give you a comfortable conclusion. The ambiguity is the point, and that frustrates some viewers.
Tickled2016
Like The Short Game, it's about an obscure, specialized world that seems innocent until you look closer at the psychology driving the people inside it—but where The Short Game is warm, Tickled is menacing.
Starts as a curiosity about competitive tickling, becomes a nightmare rabbit-hole through harassment, obsession, and the internet's dark corners. A proper thriller that happens to be a documentary.
But Genuinely disturbing in ways that blindside you. If you watch it expecting a lighthearted doc about a weird competition, it will upset you.
People
Cast
Jennifer Van HornParade MC
Directing
- Josh GreenbaumDirector
Production
- Josh GreenbaumProducer