Dennis Quaid coaches caddies to out-golf the racist country clubs that rejected them in The Long Game
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When Dennis Quaid signed on to star in The Long Game, a movie about a group of Mexican American teen caddies who go on to out-golf the all-white country clubs that rejected them, he couldn't believe it was a real story.
"When I was reading the script, I was going, this absolutely cannot be true, but yet it is," Quaid tells EW. "I love underdog stories and aspirational stories. I don't think people go to see movies; they go to feel movies. And this one really got me in the right way."
Mucho Mas Media, Fifth Season, and Bonniedale Jay Hernandez and Dennis Quaid in 'The Long Game.'
The Long Game tells the story of JB Peña, who, in 1956, moved with his wife to the small town of Del Rio, Tex., partly for a job as a school superintendent but mainly to fulfill his dream of joining the prestigious, all-white Del Rio Country Club. But when he's rejected from the club due to his skin color, he connects with a group of young caddies who work there: Felipe Romero, Guadalupe Felan, Joe Treviño, Mario Lomas, and Gene Vasquez. Inspired by the handmade course the teens had built in the country to teach themselves golf, Peña convinces them to start their own high school team. With help from his old war buddy Frank Mitchell (Quaid), Peña coaches the teens, who dub themselves the Del Rio Mustangs. Despite their limited resources and experience, the former caddies take the racist country clubs by storm when they face off at the 1957 Texas State High School Golf Championship.
Vasquez, now 83, spoke with EW about how it feels to see his story come to life on the big screen. "It's a dream come true, only in America, really," says the former Mustang. "We were fighting brutal poverty and brutal discrimination. Our parents were migrants, they were illiterate, and we were very poor. So to us, this was very exciting because we could enjoy caddying, making a little money, and learning how to play golf by mimicking the golfers. And then we got an idea, let's make our golf course. We started gathering all the equipment, and we started swinging."
Mucho Mas Media, Fifth Season, and Bonniedale The real Del Rio Mustangs in 1957 (L) and 'The Long Game' actors (R).
In one stand-out scene that illustrates the racism Vasquez and his friends faced, the group is denied service at a diner where they had gone to celebrate playing in their first local tournament. "They're not gonna serve you; they're just gonna ignore you 'till you leave," one patron tells the teens.
"That was the last day of shooting, and I think we worked 36 hours in a 24-hour day to get that scene done," Quaid says of filming. "We worked all night, but it was a great crew for that. That's where movies actually get great for me. Everybody's tired, but nobody wants to go home; they want to get it as good as they can."
The Long Game is the first film from Quaid's new production company, Bonniedale, and while the story revolves around golf, the actor promises that audiences not interested in the game will still enjoy the movie. "Julio Quintana, the director, kept saying this throughout," Quaid says. "This movie's not about golf. It's about building character and doing the tough thing sometimes; I think that's the appeal of it."
The movie also stars Cheech Marin, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Oscar Nuñez, Paulina Chávez, and Gregory Diaz IV, who plays Vasquez. In 2012, the Mustangs were inducted into the Latino International Sports Hall of Fame. "After so many years, over 50 years, we finally had gotten a little recognition," Vasquez says of the honor. "It was very gratifying."
Mucho Mas Media, Fifth Season, and Bonniedale Dennis Quaid in 'The Long Game.'
He no longer plays golf due to a health condition but says he enjoys watching others play. "Golf is very addicting. Once you start playing, you don't wanna stop."
Based on the book Mustang Miracle by Humberto G. Garcia, The Long Game is set to premiere at SXSW on March 12.
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