Finnegan’s Foursome (2026) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Edward Burns and starring Edward Burns, Brian d’Arcy James, Erica Hernandez, Brian Muller, Ian McElhinney, Naoimh Whelton, Tricia Alexandro, Derek Carroll, Stuart Graham, John Hewson, Brigid Leahy, Callum Maxwell, Monica McCarthy, Yoshua Petit-Frere, Owen Roe and Tom Delahunty.
Filmmaker Edward Burns is back on familiar turf with the family-themed dramedy, Finnegan’s Foursome, which adds golf to the typical dynamics showcased in the new movie. Burns stars as Freddy Finnegan, and he’s done a role like this before no matter how much that ponytail he wears in the movie tries to make this character seem distinct from the others he’s previously played. In The Family McMullen, Burns’s character had a son who needed a good job and in this picture, the same situation is going on. Much of Finnegan’s Foursome seems like the characters of The Brothers McMullen have all grown up, but they’re playing golf and dealing with death instead of searching for their paths in life.
Finnegan’s Foursome is, for all intents and purposes, a golf movie disguised as a family-themed movie. Brian d’Arcy James plays Teddy, Freddy’s writer brother, who must try to compete with Freddy to get his own bed in the hotel that the main characters are staying at in Ireland. How do they decide who will get their own bed? They go out and putt, of course. Meanwhile, the son of Freddy, Frankie (Brian Muller), is along for the ride in Ireland with his cousin, Marie (Erica Hernandez) intact as well.
This movie features Burns’s famous neglectful father stereotype as the main topic of conversation. In The Brothers McMullen, we heard constantly about a dad who failed to live up to expectations and we get the same types of conversations in Finnegan’s Foursome. The father in Finnegan’s Foursome passes away, so the ashes must be properly scattered in order for the family to pay their respects to him. The ashes are the catalyst to drive the plot, but they exist mostly so that the characters can get to play golf.
Frankie has artistic musical ambitions, but his dad wants him to be more level-headed. Burns is good as a dad, but he lacks depth in his characterization here. It is the writing that is the most problematic aspect of Finnegan’s Foursome. While the concept of his leads loving golf at his helm, Burns uses the golf card way too often to navigate the characterizations he presents to the viewer. For example, the deceased dad neglected his family to chase his golfing ambitions. While there’s some plausibility in some of this, the film meanders too frequently, leaving most of the characters seeming like they’re friends hanging out. Though the conversations can often be smart, they don’t advance the plot all that much.
One of the more improbable scenes in this movie has a hotel employee telling Teddy how much he loves his books. Burns means well with these types of scenes, but they often lack clarity and feel forced. The saving grace of the movie is the pair of performances given by James and the central female, Hernandez, who navigate their characters with passion and integrity. Hernandez doesn’t hit a false note in her performance and Burns has cast a real winner there – she’s a natural. James is always fantastic and his role in this movie is no exception as he adds a significant amount of complexity to a character who feels like he could have initially been a bit flat on the page.
Finnegan’s Foursome has enjoyable enough cinematography and golf lovers will certainly enjoy it more than the typical layman. Burns feels like he’s played this character before, though, and at the end, we’re left with James’s character making the more distinct choices within the storyline, which leaves Freddy feeling like a secondary character more than the lead. James steals the show and the bond between his and Burns’ characters is only believable because of James’ fine work.
Golf is a tricky topic for a movie like this which relies on conversations to advance the plot. Tin Cup was a golf movie that had a hook in 1996 with a love story anchoring the golfing action so audiences were more open to it than they’ll be with this new movie. Talky scenes can only hook the viewer for so long in a two-hour format and the golfing action is more interesting to the characters than the audience, making the film a mixed bag, at best.
Finnegan’s Foursome proves Burns can still write smart dialogue, but he should sit the next one out and not act in it. He needs to focus more on making his story line more appealing and less blubbery. Some conversations here feel like they could have been left on the cutting room floor. Still, the cast tries hard and even Muller as the son has his memorable moments. Cut 20 minutes and this movie could have flowed a bit better. As it is, it’s passable for golf fans, but could disappoint die-hard Burns movie aficionados.
Rating: 6/10
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