Don't let the headline of this article fool you: technically, there's nothing really wrong with The Game Plan, Disney's newest live-action kid-oriented flick. It's got a good heart, appealing actors, mainly clean comedy, and of course, lessons to be learned. I just needed to keep reminding myself that this is a Disney flick, and the rules kept within it don't necessarily correspond to those of the real world in any way, shape or form.
Our movie begins by introducing us to Joe Kingman(Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), the star quarterback for the Boston Rebels. The Rebels are thus far undefeated for the season, thanks in no small part to Kingman's extraordinary prowess in the game. He's a star, he's a winner, he's a model pitchman, and of course a ladies' man. He's also a self-centered unwitting jerk, who never throws the ball to any of his wide-open teammates, especially his best receiv-er, Sanders(Morris Chestnut). But his life is thrown a curve when Peyton(Madison Pettis), the daughter he never knew he had, shows up on his doorstep. From then on, it's all about Joe's ability
--or lack thereof--to cope with going from playboy to baby daddy overnight.
A quick word about the casting choices: As directed by Andy Fickman(Who's Your Daddy, the upcoming remakes of Fame and Witch Mountain), Dwayne "The Rock" is the perfect choice for the role of Kingman. He's affable when necessary, agressive and self-centered where indicated by the script, and a natural showman. It's also cool to see "The Rock" making fun of his tough-guy persona, and even having a moment to shed tears. The rest of the cast car-ries out their roles with assuredness, especially Roselyn Sanchez (Without A Trace, the short-lived Kojak tv remake) as ballet instructor Monique. However, there are two problems: one, that Gordon Clapp(formerly of N.Y.P.D. Blue) is almost completely wasted in the role of Boston Rebels coach Maddox. The second thing...
I never imagined a moment where I might have to negatively critique the talents of a child actress. To be sure, I don't even think the problem here arises from young Madison Pettis' performance as much as the writing(by Nichole Millard, Kathryn Price and Audrey Wells) and Fickman's direction. While the rest of the cast consists of veterans of varying years who know how to adequately flex their acting muscles in their roles, Pettis--a star of several recent Disney tv projects--can only perform what's on the page. And as written, her character of Peyton is one seriously unlikeable child. She's meant to be precocious and adorable...and while she is the latter, in limited doses...with her smart-alecky backtalk, seemingly "innocent" pranks and flat-out disrespectful attitude towards the man she's trying to get to know as her father, she comes off as a little female Damien in training. Perhaps Disney is trying to get with the times by having Peyton be more of a "mod-ern" child attitude-wise, but isn't Disney supposed to be the last safe refuge for children's entertainment(barring an Al-Qaida attack on the Sesame Street studios)? Shouldn't the most prominent kid featured in a children's movie be a little more innocent than what a "modern" child is supposed to be, especially given all the horrible things our kids are exposed to on a daily basis? Any parents taking their children to see this might find themselves consistently explaining that Peyton's behavior is not to be emulated at home, under any circumstances.
Another thing which parents should be cautioned about: for a Disney movie, there are some not-very-subtle sexual intonations. Yes, we all know that football players attract a lot of women--a lot of loose women--but said women should not be on such prominent display in a Disney film. The old Warner Brothers Bugs Bunny cartoons are classics partially because the writers were masters of hiding adult references in plain sight so that kids didn't understand what was being said, but we did. However, Disney doesn't quite have the handle on it yet; Kingman at one point reaches into a closet full of gift bags for at least a dozen women, while trying to find the proper one to give to the woman he's currently seeing. And while the intent was not sexual in the slightest, having "The Rock" play guitar while singing Elvis Presley's "Are You Lonesome Tonight" to his daughter is just kind of...creepy.
There is some moderate amount of fun to be had here, particu-larly in the relationships Kingman has with his fellow players. But this is supposed to be a kids' movie, not a buddy picture. As stated earlier, Sanchez gives great thesp as the ballet instructor with whom it's implied Kingman would like to get to know better, but this is one of the storylines that's never followed up on--as is the pro-posed paternity test he was supposed to take earlier on, to prove whether Peyton is his daughter or not. And it's a shame that for me, the best part of the film was a momentary interlude displaying a ballet performance Peyton and her father partake in with Monique. This section of the film was starkly darker than the rest of the film(not scary though, so don't worry, moms) and so well choreographed that I wish this had been what the movie was about.
But never mind these gripes. In spite of my reservations about certain aspects of this film, there is abrupt character growth for both Kingman and Peyton, as each is forced to confront the possi-bility that Peyton's affirmed guardian Karen(Paige Turco from Rescue Me) might have reason to separate them(and you'll be unable to guess what happens only if you've never seen a Disney film in your entire life). Although there are absolutely no surprises at all within this movie--if you've seen one recent live-action Disney flick, you've seen them all--remember that this is a kids' movie, and they're the ones who it's meant to entertain. Parents will probably be bored out their skulls, but if you're looking to take your kids to what is pretty much the safest movie you'll ever see, then The Game Plan is for you.
The Game Plan
(It's a schmaltz world, after all...!)
Rock?! Is that you? What the hell happened to you, man!
"Think about how I feel! Your career's just starting! This flick makes me feel like mine is just about over!"
"Don't worry, kid...one day, you'll understand exactly why the Rock's smiling at me like that!"
Before the game, no one told Peyton that she was going to be the ball.
"Why are all these people cheering, Rock?"
"It's the end of the film, kid. They finally get to go home!"
