Madeline
What do I remember about this movie when it came out? That I saw it. That is it. Well, given the name, I knew it was about a child prodigy, who is a chess genius, just like Bobby Fischer.
Watching this as an adult, the first thing that comes to mind what a great cast! Everyone from the kid’s park street buddy (Laurence Fishburne) to his teacher (Laura Linney) to the tuna fish dad (William H. Macey). It’s 90s star after 90s star.
Searching for Bobby Fischer a cutesy movie. It’s very troupy without having any troupes. It rides the line of eye rolling and “hmmmm”. Every time the next line, or the next shot, or the next fill in the blank is obvious, it stops.
One of the times it rides this line is during the first two games Josh plays with his dad. In the scene, he is trying to humor his father who doesn’t realize he knows how to play chess. And not just play but play well. Very well. When Josh actually plays the game well, his dad taking his time to make his move. All the while Josh is doing something else. Once it is his turn he runs to the board, makes his move, and it’s his dad’s turn now to take a long time to make a decision.
It’s cutesy when they remove the parents from the children’s chess tournament. And at the end of this part William H Massey screams out “who won?” while they are still locked up.
From what I heard, the kids in the movie were given direction but for the most part were able to be kids. Call it good acting or good editing but the actor that plays Josh acts with his eyes and his pout. The kids all act like kids in this movie, not like a kid written by an adult.
