Walking with Herb

Director: Ross Kagan Marks
Starring: Edward James Olmos, George Lopez, Kathleen Quinlan, Jessica Medoff, Johnathan McClain, Billy Boyd, Christopher McDonald, Tammy Lee Santimyer
Distributor: Other
Runtime: 110 mins. Reviewed in Sep 2022
Reviewer: Fr Peter Malone msc

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Rating notes: Mild themes

After a family tragedy, 65-year-old Joe embarks on a spiritual journey with God’s personal messenger and motorcyclist, Herb.

Although there are comic moments, this is a film with far more serious intentions. In fact, it is a faith film.

In recent years, faith films seem to have been moving beyond particular churches, many of them without any reference to the church scenes or scenes in a church. This is one of those films. However, it is a film where characters believe in God, some with great devotion, others experiencing sudden deaths and anguish, railing angrily against God.

And, even more, this is one of those films (and we remember that back in the ’40s there were a number of movie angels coming to earth, especially Clarence in It’s a Wonderful Life) where God actively intervenes in someone’s life, sending a guardian angel to challenge and accompany.

A word of warning: this is very much a golf film, spending a great deal of running time on golf links, close-ups of shots, success and failures, the accompanying crowd, the media. Which means that if you are not a golf fan, you might have to make a serious act of the will to persevere in watching all the golf. The title refers to walking on golf links as well as the spiritual accompaniment in life.

The focus is on Joe, a successful banker, happily married to Sheila for many decades, and with a daughter, when the family is confronted with tragedy. For Joe, God is to blame. For Sheila, there is a confident faith in God. The couple is played by veterans Olmos and Quinlan. The screenplay was written by Mark Medoff, writer, director, responsible for such films as Children of a Lesser God.

And, the important question, who is Herb? Well, he is in middle age, perhaps a touch later, dressed in outlandish relaxing clothes, riding his bike, a divine emissary, with more than a word to the wise. His played by Lopez.

His way of drawing Joe out of himself is through golf. There are some local challenges with Herb giving technical advice, and, if this is not miracle enough, urging Joe to go into a national championship.

And, so we go on the various links, shot by shot, Joe playing off against the champion and winning, further teeing off, and, finally, a play-off against Scottish Archie Borthwick (Boyd), friendly negotiations with his caddie-coach, Christopher McDonald, and the question of whether Joe and Herb will reach their objective. And some renewed faith in God.

For those who accept the basic premise of God’s Providence, a faith entertainment. For those who do not accept it, they may be caught up in the humanity of the characters – and, of course, the golf.

https://wonder.watch/walking-with-herb