Bob Geldof may be many things, but he isn’t much of an actor. Yet his charisma carries him through much of Les Blair’s typically caustic tale of a snooker hustler who is lured into playing in a major championship, only to discover that the system is rotten from the top down.
Alison Steadman and Mel Smith are more comfortable as, respectively, Saint Bob’s tart-with-a-heart girlfriend and the shyster promoter who sells him the big time. But, as with too many sports movies, the green-baize action leaves so much to be desired that it undercuts the authenticity that is Blair’s trademark.