Finnegan’s Foursome (dir. Edward Burns)

By: Adam Freed

There's a rather bitter saying that the only thing worse than hearing about someone’s fantasy football team is listening to them talk about their golf game.  With Finnegan’s Foursome, director and star Edward Burns (Saving Private Ryan, The Brothers McMullen) has crafted the painfully bloated two hour equivalent of that very statement.  As the title would suggest, the film’s narrative follows the Finnegan family, two brothers Freddy (Burns) and Teddy (Brian d’Arcy James), sons of former PGA professional golfer and first generation Irish immigrant Jack Finnegan, as they attempt to honor their recently deceased father’s final wishes by continuing the family tradition of holding “The Finnegan Cup” golf tournament in Ireland while spreading his ashes in a few select locations along the way.  Joining their fathers are children Frankie and Marie, adult cousins who seem to have followed in line with that family legacy of loving the links, without the hard feelings and long standing resentment shared by their fathers.

To its credit, Finnegan’s Foursome looks fantastic, filmed in Ireland across a number of gorgeously captured golf courses. The problem that Edward Burns’ comedic drama runs into is that once the view has worn off, its plot amounts to witnessing four amateur golfers take part in a competition for whom there is no clear rooting interest.  The “family bonding” that takes place between the quartet of golfers ranges from good-natured ribbing to repetitive and eye-roll inducing golf-speak which makes its point within the first five minutes and yet is verbally beaten into submission.  One must question how many montages of golf swings with subsequent reaction shots informing as to its result are necessary?  Although the familial foursome do make stops along their journey to honor their fallen patriarch, by the time Finnegan’s Foursome attempts to make a sentimental push, audiences have been anesthetised by golf so as to dull its dramatic impact.

Brian d’Arcy James (Spotlight, West Side Story) is a performance highlight of the film, who as Teddy, the firstborn and more emotionally balanced of the Finnegan brothers, acts a moral compass of sorts, encouraging his younger brother Freddy to make peace with the memory of his deceased father rather than carrying grudges in perpetuity.  Another highlight comes from Erica Hernandez (Jury Duty Presents Company Retreat) who as Teddy’s daughter Marie, offers a much needed departure from “bro energy” emanating from Burns’ film.  Finnegan’s Foursome ultimately feels more like an excuse for the production team to spend a month playing golf in Ireland rather than the execution of a fully formed narrative attempt. Playing golf is certainly a great way to enjoy nature and get some exercise, but watching amateurs do the same for 120 minutes borders on insanity.  

Target Score 4/10 - Director Edward Burns’ comedic drama about a pair of brothers living out the final wish of their father by playing a golf tournament in Ireland reads much better on paper than it watches on screen.  While Finnegan’s Foursome offers some beautiful images of the Emerald Isle, its story is in desperate need to request a Mulligan. 

Finnegan's Foursome was reviewed as part of Movie Archer's coverage of the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival.