Finnegan's Foursome

by Mike McGranaghan

Film fandom is a lot like high school. There’s a core group of “cool” directors who are idolized by their fans. Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, and Wes Anderson are all in that club. And then there are the outsiders, the directors who don’t have the dazzling visual flair or the innovative storytelling style. They simply try to make solid movies that are about relatable people and situations. Edward Burns is one of them. I’ve always liked his work, from The Brothers McMullen to Millers in Marriage, for that reason. You won’t find people fawning over him on social media or standing in the lobby of a cinema dissecting the themes of his pictures, but what he does, frankly, I don’t think Tarantino or Anderson could pull off.

Take his latest, Finnegan’s Foursome. It’s a truthful and funny meditation on what it means to grapple with loss. Siblings Freddy (Burns) and Teddy Finnegan (Brian d’Arcy James) have recently lost their father Jack (Ian McElhinney), a golf instructor who spent more time on the links than he did with his family. They make a pact to honor his dying wish, traveling to his native Ireland to spread his ashes at four different spots, each with some personal meaning to him. Accompanying them are Freddy’s adult son Frankie (Brian Muller) and Teddy’s adult daughter Marie (Erica Hernandez). While there, the group continues a Finnegan family tradition of holding a yearly golf tournament. During this process, the brothers come to terms with their very differing views of their dad.

Plotwise, the movie addresses many of the ideas that have run throughout Burns’ filmography: Irish Catholicism, sibling rivalry, strained father/son relationships. The difference this time is that he explores those themes through the prism of grief. Freddy resented Jack’s frequent absence and believes Teddy to be the “favorite son.” Over the course of the story, he’s forced to grapple with his ambivalence regarding the passing. Teddy, meanwhile, looked up to Jack despite his flaws, so he has trouble accepting his sibling’s less emotional response. If you’ve endured the death of a parent – as I have – the journeys of these two men will ring a bell or two.

Finnegan’s Foursome has moments of sincerity paired with Burns’ trademark sense of Irish humor. The characters engage in hilarious, non-stop ball-busting as they tee off. Their frustration over poor swings and sand traps are played for comedy, too. Burns has always had a great deadpan delivery as an actor, and he’s well-matched by James, who allows Teddy to give as good as he gets. Hernandez and Muller nicely compliment the rapport their more seasoned co-stars work up.

What’s most touching about the movie is how it uses golf as a way of exorcising grief. The brothers’ love of the sport comes directly from their dad. It is the one thing he has undeniably given them. Holding the tournament is a way to honor Jack but also to start the process of figuring out what life will be like without him. An engraved cup goes to the winner, although we can easily see that the true prize for Freddy and Teddy will come from inside.

At two hours, Finnegan’s Foursome contains perhaps a bit too much golf footage. Burns and cinematographer Jeff Muhlstock try to keep it lively via different camera techniques, but non-golfers may nevertheless balk at how much time is spent watching the family play. I didn’t mind that too much because there’s plenty here to identify with. That’s the quality that makes Edward Burns films special – they feel like real life.

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