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THE GAME PLAN

 ABOUT THE MOVIE

Genre: Comedy/Family
Starring: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Roselyn Sanchez, Kyra Sedgwick, Morris Chestnut, Madison Pettis, Gordon Clapp, Kate Nauta, Paige Turco
Director: Andy Fickman
Rating: PG
Year Made: 2007

 

 


 SPECIAL FEATURES

- Bloopers with Marv Albert
- Deleted Scenes
- ESPN's SPORTSCENTER Exclusive: The King In Search Of A Ring Stuart Scott of ESPN hosts a look at Joe Kingman's Fictitious Biography
- Drafting THE GAME PLAN Behind-The-Scenes Featurette

 

 


 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Languages: English/Thai/Spanish/
Portuguese
Subtitles: English/Thai/Spanish/
Portuguese/Traditional Chinese/
Hindi/Bahasa/Malay/Korean
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Presentation Size: 16x9 Widescreen
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Running Time: 1 hr 50 mins
Region Code: 3
Distributor: Scorpio East

 

 

SYNOPSIS: 

In this hilarious and heartwarming family comedy, one of the sport's toughest players ever takes on his biggest challenge yet -- fatherhood! A superstar with an ego bigger than a football field, Joe Kingman (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) is getting ready for a run at the big championship game when the 8-year-old daughter he never knew existed shows up at his not-so-family-friendly bachelor pad. As the big game gets closer, he begins to realize the most meaningful win he can achieve is the heart of the one little fan who counts the most.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Someone says in the movie to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: You are a freakish large man. And we couldn’t agree more. The 1.93m giant, who is also a seven time WWE World Champion is so huge, he almost looks scary on our small and humble computer screen which we played this DVD on. After brewing sandstorms as The Scorpion King (2002) and Walking Tall (2004), the Californian leaves his wrestler persona at home and returns to the celluloid as a, gasp, family man in a, double gasp, family friendly Andy Fickman-directed Disney flick.

Johnson plays Joe “The King” Kingman (expect lots of soundtrack tunes from Elvis Presley himself), a self absorbed football player who loves himself more than anybody else. Living the bachelor lifestyle any married man would envy, the tough player’s life gets turned upside down when an eight-year-old daughter from a previous relationship literally shows up at his door one fine morning. And like all Disney flicks with a wholesome family theme, the egoistic protagonist learns that family is more important than anything else in the world.

Yes, we know the thought of Johnson being a true actor will only bring guffaws and giggles to the self-proclaimed movie critic. But the man delivers a pleasantly surprising warm performance in this movie. We are thinking that his recent venture into more Hollywood movies is the reason for this engaging performance. Despite the clichés and predictability in plot, Johnson shows some competency for us to like and care for his character. Physical comedy tactics aside (the eye-twitching and chest muscle jolting are unnecessary but amusing), there are some truly sweet scenes between the giant and his young co-star Madison Pettis, who plays his daughter who has a thing for ballet.

Which also makes the filmmakers realize how amusing it is to see Johnson in a tutu, prancing around on stage and dancing to classical music.

The watch-able cast also includes the underused Kyra Sedgwick (The Woodsman) and the lovely Roselyn Sanchez (Venus and Vegas). The two women complement Johnson’s testosterone-filled performance without overshadowing him (both literally and figuratively).

For a family comedy like that, do not expect any intelligent writing. The main draw is Johnson and his out of this world physique and how it translates to screen well enough for us not to diss the movie. Although we still cannot help feeling amused by how Johnson uses this trait to milk laughs out of viewers of low expectations, we are guessing that the wrestler may be leaving the ring very soon, and go full force into taking leading roles in Hollywood.

SPECIAL FEATURES :

This Code 3 DVD contains the three-minute “Bloopers with Marv Albert”, where we see the cast making mistakes in the most hilarious ways. Watch how Johnson has great chemistry with the bulldog in the movie. There are nine “Deleted Scenes” running a total of 21 minutes, where you see the ballet scene in it full entertaining glory. Director Fickman provides an optional introduction before each deleted scene. The five-minute “The King in Search for a Ring” is a DVD/Blu-Ray exclusive fictionalized segment hosted by ESPN. The character Joe Kingsman is presented as an arrogant sportsperson with lots of accolades and recognition. We can’t help but enjoy this entertaining clip. In the 20-minute “Drafting The Game Plan”, the filmmakers talk about the making the movie, and how Johnson was the one who had the initial idea of making an inspirational sports movie starring himself, after being impressed by other Disney movies like The Rookie (2002) and Miracle (2004). An interesting “Easter Egg” option allows you to change the ambience of the menu page modeled after Joe Kingman’s room and decorate the items displayed in his luxurious suite. There are also “Sneak Peeks” of DVDs like 101 Dalmatians and Underdog.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The disc’s visual transfer is pristine and clear while the movie’s audio soundtrack is available in 5.1 Dolby English, Spanish, Thai and Portuguese.

MOVIE RATING:


DVD RATING :

Review by John Li

 
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. The Santa Claus 3: The Escape Claus

. High School Musical 2: Extended Edition

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. Pixar Short Films Volume One

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. Who Slept With Her?

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. Goal II: Living the Dream

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. Wild Hogs

. Breaking And Entering

. Jump In

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. Forest of Death

. The Fox and the Hound 2

. The Fox and the Hound

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. One Last Dance

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. A Battle Of Wits

. Rain Dogs

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. The World's Fastest Indian

. Dragon Tiger Gate


. Unarmed Combat

. Crazy Stone


. Election 2


. We Are Family

. I Not Stupid Too


. The Shoe Fairy

. 2 Becomes 1

. 49 Days

. REAL

. Dragon Eye Congee

. A Chinese Tall Story

. Perhaps Love

. SPL

. Election


. The Myth


. Wait 'Til You're Older


. The Maid

 


This review is made possible with the kind support from Scorpio East

 



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