TV Pick of the Week: A Course Called Ireland - review by Yvette Huddleston
A Course Called Ireland BBCiPlayer, review by Yvette Huddleston
Ostensibly this delightfully offbeat six-part trip around Ireland is about Hollywood star Bill Murray and his good friend Tom Coyne, both Americans of Irish heritage, travelling through the Emerald Isle visiting a number of picturesquely located golf courses along the way. Their journey is loosely based on Coyne’s 2009 bestselling golfing travelogue book of the same name. While the voiceover keeps insisting that this is not a series about golf, nor is it a series about Bill Murray, it sort of is about both those things, and about so much more besides.
In the opening episode Murray and Coyne are exploring County Cork, sampling the golf courses but also meeting the locals. It is inevitable that wherever they go, someone will recognise Murray, remembered by most for his role in Ghostbusters although he has appeared in many, many other films, including several acclaimed movies directed by indie favourite Wes Anderson. He is constantly asked for his autograph or to pose for a photograph, which he takes in his stride, accepting with good grace. That’s not to say that he doesn’t occasionally get grumpy - but that is usually to do with some of what he is asked to do by the director and production team, such as repeating sequences for the camera. Murray is an off-the-cuff kind of guy and doing anything that feels unnatural or forced is clearly anathema to him.
Different narrators are recruited to tell the story - in the opening episode it is Margaret, a twinkly-eyed elderly lady who Murray meets outside a sweet shop in Cobh, others include a junior runner/caddy and the owner of a tweed shop. Murray’s occasional forays off-piste must have been a bit stressful and frustrating for the crew at times but as a viewing experience it is hard to beat. Richly textured and refreshingly off-message, it is a mercurial ragtag of vignettes and encounters, including with some celebrity friends such as charming, funny and charismatic Chris O’Dowd that constantly upturn expectations. There are some genuinely moving moments especially when Murray talks about his own family’s migration to America in the 19th century and the profound, soulful connection he feels for Ireland - ‘it feels like home’. The series also touches on the downside of fame, the transformative power of music and storytelling and is a lovely celebration of Ireland, its creative spirit and its people. Unfettered, chaotic and uplifting, this is an absolute joy.