The Game Plan [Blu-Ray/DVD]

Overview

Gridiron Gang star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson picks up the pigskin once again for this sports-themed family comedy concerning a football superstar who abandons the gridiron to answer the call of fatherhood. Joe Kingman (Johnson) was a star quarterback destined for greatness; not only is the Boston-based team he plays for well on their way to the championships, but he's got all the money and fame that a man could want out of life. A perpetual bachelor whose one brief marriage ended many moons ago, Kingman is stunned to learn that a long-forgotten youthful fling had more permanent consequences than he ever anticipated. Now, just as his career is set to blow up bigger than ever, this perpetual bachelor learns that he has a seven-year-old daughter named Peyton (Madison Pettis). So how does a lifelong jock who's used to partying all night and dropping 20-yard bombs all day adjust to a life of ballet classes, Barbie dolls, and afternoon play dates? Whatever road he chooses to take, it certainly won't be easy, especially since his ruthless, goal-oriented agent, Stella (Kyra Sedgwick), would rather see her client scoring touchdowns than cementing familial bonds.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/29/2011
UPC:	0786936813784
Original Release:	2007
Rating:	PG
Source:	Walt Disney Video
Region Code:	1
Language:	English
Time:	1:50:00

Special Features

Chalk Talk; Bloopers with Marc Albert; Deleted scenes; ESPN's Sports Center exclusive; Drafting the game plan behind-the-scenes featurette; Peyton's makeover madness

Editorial Reviews

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.