Guest Blogger: Matt F2

The movie Game Plan begins with Joe Kingman, quarterback of the Boston Rebels, winning his final regular season game with one of his trademark touchdown scrambles. Following the game, Kingman (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) attends a party. In this and the following scenes, the audience learns that Kingman is single and definitely rich. He lives in a very fancy apartment, with every kind of electronic gadget that you could imagine. His home is decorated with pictures of himself during great moments of his sports career. Kingman seems to care about nothing, except for himself. The next morning, the doorbell rings and 8-year old Peyton Kelly (Madison Pettis) is standing outside the door. Figuring she wants an autograph or is selling Girl Scout cookies, Kingman tries to quickly get rid of her. But Peyton starts to display persistence, one of her major character traits. She manages to get inside the house by chasing after the dog, Spike. She announces to Kingman that she is his daughter. He does not believe her, even though she claims to have proof. She pretends that her mother is away and he has to watch her for a month. This begins a series of funny episodes where Kingman learns that taking care of someone else is not easy. The audience wonders if he will accept her as his daughter, and if she will survive the process. Dwayne Johnson does a great job playing the self-centered quarterback. Matt Zoller Seitz of the New York Times says Johnson’s acting is “committed to every moment.” Johnson’s character undergoes a change from a football player to caring father and he does a good job portraying this. The other main character, Peyton, is a typical cute girl in the movie. Madison Pettis plays her convincingly. Seitz says the movie is “likable”, despite “its many plot holes.” I would agree with him because I really like the movie, even though it is unbelievable at times. EW critic Scott Brown says the movie’s lesson is you can “have it all”, but I think the movie is really about the relationship that grows between a father and a daughter. I think Game Plan is worth your time and money if you just want to laugh and be entertained for a couple of hours.