The Game Plan Review
The story of an athlete's playbook for adjusting to the arrival of a daughter he didn't know he had, The Game Plan might also refer to Disney's strategy for branching out in a world where its animation wing is now in the hands of Pixar. In other words, transplant the "child seeking parent" milieu familiar from its animated classics, but make it a bit hipper with a crossover star like Dwayne_Johnson calling out the plays and making the passes. While it certainly is a tight commercial package, The Game Plan offers a bit more than that because of the lightness on his feet of The Wrestler Formerly Known as The_Rock. Johnson has proven his legitimate chiseled charm on numerous occasions, and here he adds to a growing comedy resumé with a performance that contains no small amount of self-mockery. Ever image-conscious in real life, Johnson plays a megastar quarterback living in a house filled with oversized pictures of his face -- but isn't so self-absorbed that he's not lovable. He and child actress Madison_Pettis have plenty of crackle as they size each other up for the first time. Pettis displays the seemingly contradictory traits of kewpie-doll cuteness and searing intelligence, which sets up a "lure you in, take you down a peg" dynamic to her character. It's the little touches that linger in The Game Plan, like the fact that Joe Kingman must do real parent duty in his daughter's dance recital -- a scene that simply sings, due both to the loving way Andy_Fickman films it, and Johnson's un-self-conscious commitment to the rigors of ballet. The cast is rounded out with smile-inducing characters, and The Game Plan basically coasts on good vibes. It's formula with a sweet aftertaste. Derek Armstrong, Rovi
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