The Game Plan

PLOT:

The film begins as the Boston Rebels are playing their last game of the regular season and their last chance for playoff berth against their rival, the New York Dukes. At the end of the game, the Rebels’ quarterback Joe Kingman (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) is looking to score the winning touchdown, with wide receiver Sanders (played by Morris Chestnut) wide open in the end zone, but instead runs it into the end zone himself.

The next morning, Joe gets a surprise when an eight year-old girl named Peyton (Madison Pettis) shows up at his doorstep saying that she is his daughter and that her mom sent her here to meet him. Joe’s agent, Stella (Kyra Sedgwick) thinks this will be bad for Joe’s image, and distracts him with the playoffs coming up.

At the opening of Joe’s restaurant, he leaves without Peyton, and the next morning is on cover of a tabloid in an article titled “BAD DAD”. Stella then decides Joe needs a new fatherly image, and trades his expensive car in for a Station Wagon (Note that the wagon is a Mercedes-Benz). At a press conference held to explain Joe leaving Peyton at the restaurant, the reporters seem to be making Joe look bad, until Peyton starts speaking and says that Joe is new to this and is trying the best he can, and that she thinks he is the best father in the world. To pay her back for clearing his image at the press conference, Peyton has Joe take her to a ballet academy run by Monique Vasquez (Roselyn Sanchez).

Monique has Joe join their ballet performance to show him that ballet takes just as much athletic ability as football. Joe and Peyton really start to bond after Peyton calls his arrogant and selfish behavior to his attention. Joe takes Peyton and her friends to the mall where he begins to get along with Monique.

The Rebels make it to the Championship Game and Stella tells Joe that if he wins, he gets a $25 million endorsement with a successful fast food restaurant run by Samuel Blake Jr. (Robert Torti). While at lunch with Peyton and Monique, Peyton accidentally tells Joe that her mother does not know that she is with him, and that she was supposed to go to a ballet school program this month, but she ran away from the school to come meet him. He gets upset at her, and she has an allergic reaction to the nuts in the dessert she was eating. She starts coughing, sweating, and can’t breathe, and her lips begin swelling. Joe runs her to the hospital for treatment.

At the hospital, the doctors tell Joe that she is going to be fine. To Joe’s surprise, his former sister-in-law and Peyton’s legal guardian, Karen (Paige Turco) arrives; Peyton had told him that she was dead. Karen tells him that it is actually Sara, Joe’s ex-wife and Peyton’s mother. Sara had died in a car accident six months ago.

After overhearing Stella explaining that Peyton would be a distraction to Joe, Peyton tearfully tells Joe she wants to go home with Karen. This saddens Joe and he watches her leave without saying goodbye.

On the day of the championship, Joe is not playing well. With less than a minute left in the first half, New York’s linebacker hits Joe hard in the shoulder and starts taunting him. Joe isn’t able to get back up, so he is carried off the field on a gurney. At halftime, Joe tells Coach Maddox (Gordon Clapp) to put the second string quarterback, Danville, in the game, believing it is what’s best for the team.

Later, Peyton comes into the locker room and jokingly asks Joe if he has money on New York. Karen tells Joe that she was wrong and that Peyton needs to be with her father, and Peyton convinces him to go back into the game. Joe tells her that she is the best thing that has ever happened to him and goes back out.

With a minute and three seconds left in the game, and the Rebels losing 7-3, Joe passes the ball to the running back, Webber (Brian J. White), who runs far in the field. Joe then runs the ball himself to the red zone and gets hit hard, but is able to get back up. Next, with four seconds left in the game, Joe passes the ball to Sanders in the end zone and the Rebels win 9-7. Joe turns down the endorsement with the fast food restaurant and says that he is taking Peyton home with him.

The movie ends with Joe, Peyton, and Monique dancing together in Joe’s apartment.

REVIEW:

I don’t really know what to say about this film. There was nothing new about it. It’s very formulaic.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (apparently this is the last time he uses the name “The Rock”) is believable as a quarterback, even though he played lineman in college. You can feel the sexual tension between he and Roselyn Sanchez in a role that could have gone to anyone off the street in my opinion.

Madison Pettis and Morris Chestnutt are pretty good in their respective roles. I hold firmly to the belief that Chestnutt doesn’t get enough roles and that little miss Madison will be around Hollywood for some time to come.

I wonder what made Kyra Sedgewick take this role. She’s not bad in it, but I just think that someone else would have done better in it. Kyra seems above it, and it came across in her portrayal of the agent.

As far as the film itself goes, well, if you’ve seen one family comedy involving a father and an illegitimatechild who shows up on his doorstep, than you’ve seen them all. 

The only surprise might be the ballet, but even that you could see coming from a mile away.

Even though this is a very predictable film, it isn’t bad as far as family films go. This is one to sit down and watch with the entire family, but otherwise I can’t give it a high rating or ringing endorsement.

2 1/2 out of 5 stars

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