Movie: 'Playing The Moldovans At Tennis' (2012)

Now that was much better. This second film version of a Tony Hawks book is much better than the first, 'Round Ireland With A Fridge', and that must partly be down to it being a straighter adaptation and far less fictionalised. It seems a bit strange to write that about films where Tony first hitchhikes round Ireland with a fridge in tow, and then plays and defeats all the members of the Moldovan national football team at tennis one by one, but it is true. This is a film based on a true story. This film sticks far closer to the book and is better for it, while 'Round Ireland With A Fride' feels more like a forced romantic comedy. No more shall now be said about the fridge film, as it was disappointing and this is a positive blog, and we shall talk about the tennis film.

In the book, which I haven't read recently enough for a detailed comparison, Tony Hawks is challenged to play the Moldovans by friend Arthur Smith, on the grounds that he had asserted that being good at football wasn't a sure sign of athleticism or enough skill to play tennis well. There then followed the ensuing adventure in Moldova, Northern Ireland and Israel. It's the same in the film, except Stephen Frost substitutes for Arthur Smith, who I thought was dead but is actually still alive according to Wikipedia, and of course everyone is replaced by actors except for Tony as it all happened a long time ago. Incidentally, there's a long list of people who I have thought were already dead but were actually alive for decades after; It's called the 'Nosferatu Index' and it's kept under sacred lock and key.

'Playing The Moldovans At Tennis' is best described as being gentle, thought provoking and warm. By recreating the original true story a lot of virtues are built into the film, not the least of which is restoring Tony Hawks to his real role as true life protagonist and mildly obsessed wager taker, instead of that of an actor. He was the guy who did these things for real the first time, after all! The real core of the movie is not so much about the bet, which is lightweight in nature, but his discovery of the country of Moldova and the lifestyles of the people there when he made his first journey. The comparative poverty and the attitudes and different lifestyles of his hosts and friends enliven the adventure, and enrich it, making the book and the movie both very special. On the other hand, if you have no liking for gentle narratives, you might consider it to be a lightweight piece of dull and ignorable fluff. If so, how have you managed to last so long reading the Quirky Muffin? Did you not notice that there's even a redemptive reading of 'Supergirl'??? Begone, heretic!

The overriding impression you get from this film is that Tony Hawks is a nice man. A 'jolly good egg', as they used to say, and one of the rare ones when you consider how many scandals have plagued our celebrities of late. Half the proceeds of the book and all the profits from the film go to the care centre for sick children in Moldova that he started. It's a good and solid film, and one that anyone can watch. If you liked the first two Tony Hawks books, you will like the film 'Playing The Moldovans At Tennis'.

O.