User reviews

OK, I know that The Game Plan was very cheesy and extremely predictable, but who cares? What were people expecting? It's Disney, it's supposed to be this kind of a film. I saw The Game Plan with my friend yesterday and we both liked it, we got a few laughs from it and it was over all a well made movie. We were both very impressed with the little actress, Madison Pettis, who played The Rock's daughter, she was incredibly believable and didn't over do her role or was too cute that it made you sick. The script may not be Oscar material, but it was perfect for a family film and the story while it may not be the most original, still had it's funny and touching moments.

Joe is a quarterback on Boston's football team and they are about to go to the championships. His personal life is usual the same each night, party all night with his buds and party all night with the good looking women. But all that changes when there's a stranger at the door, a little girl who claims to be his daughter, her name is Peyton and that she's his daughter from a short marriage he had. With his expensive home and party life style, Joe may need to make some changes to his life, as hard as that may be. But he ends up gaining something more in the end, a loving daughter to call him "daddy".

Like I said, this is a Disney film, don't expect Oscar worthy material, it's just a fun little family flick. No one will ever get sick of the "big guy with muscles" trying to relate to the little one's, just look at Kindergarten Cop or The Pacifier, both films were good and have a lot of fans. Besides if someone can tell me the honest truth that they were not laughing at The Rock's allergic reaction to cinnamon and started speaking like Daffy Duck, they really must not have a funny bone in their body. The Game Plan is the perfect family film for the season, it's a cute film.

7/10

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays a professional football player who's a selfish, self-centered macho man that changes his ways when he finds out he's a father.

Dwayne Johnson isn't the greatest actor, but let that pass and instead enjoy Madison Pettis who acts very well. The story works, and the way it plays out works. This is a family movie and does what it's supposed to do; entertain the whole family.

I'd say you basically get what you expect, nothing more nothing less. It's a cute movie, predictable and sentimental, but sometimes that's perfectly OK!

American football team Boston Rebels' star quarterback Joe Kingman (The Rock) has only two loves in his life - Football and Elvis Presley. Like all successful sports superstars at the top of their game, he's living the good life, with his swanky penthouse apartment fitted with the latest luxuries, a sportster that screams "Mo Jo(e)", and endless parties with beautiful women. But alas one fine day he finds little Peyton Kelly (Madison Pettis) at his doorstep, claiming to be his daughter, and thus putting the brakes in his fast life.

It's convenient to start weaving woeful family drama and comedy about the complete opposites being struck by Fate to live under the same roof. As the trailers would have suggested, everything comes off quite predictably, and at times you feel that such scenes where the young girl tosses Kingman's life upside down, to be a little too contrived, and mostly having fall flat at its attempts to be funny. When funny doesn't work, it switches gears to cute.

However, The Game Plan possesses a certain charm, helped in loads without a doubt by the charisma of Dwayne The Rock Johnson. WWE entertainers perform their craft perfectly in the wrestling ring, but extremely few have made the transition to the big screen almost seamlessly. Dwayne Johnson happens to be one of the lucky few, with his megawatt smile and very personable demeanour, bringing him across as the big buddy you would like to hang out with. And while we know he can do action - The Scorpion King, Rundown, Walking Tall and Doom, he has shown a range of his ability through dramas like Gridiron Gang, and comedy, with his extremely hilarious turn in Be Cool. In The Game Plan, he rolls all those into one without breaking a sweat, and this movie is almost single-handedly saved from the doldrums by resting itself on his broad muscular shoulders.

Gridiron Gang had American Football elements in it, though The Rock now crosses from being the coach to the star player. He's the action sports hero with trademark moves (every respectable star would have one of those), the arrogant himbo who let success go into his head, and through the movie, we see a transformation to sensitive dad. What you don't see The Rock do, is best kept under wraps as probably THE BEST SCENE in this movie, which you have to watch to bear witness. Talk about extreme flexibility! Some credit of course has to go to his co-stars in making the movie more palatable to a wider audience outside the fan base, though most of them, like Kyra Sedgwick as the bimbo, and Roselyn Sanchez as the hot latino instructor, are more caricatures without much personality injected, as expected. Madison Pettis shines in her role as the precocious kid, but sometimes she pouts too much and comes across more irritating than cute, though still managing to hold her own opposite Johnson. There are some heartwarming scenes between her and The Rock, and you'll probably be trying to hold back that teardrop.

This is still a star vehicle for Dwayne Johnson, and I hope that he will not ditch his action roles for drama or comedy, given a distinct lack of action movie stars that I humbly think he can fill. We all know how Arnie fared when he dabbled with comedy before going back to his Terminator roots, or Vin Diesel for that matter when he traded stunts for the milk bottle in The Pacifier. Filled with plenty of Elvis songs (director Andy Fickman is reportedly a fan) that you can hear Johnson serenade with, there are enjoyable moments in The Game Plan, and its predictable Zacherie sweet messages on family, determination and the likes, will no doubt make this movie achieve a decent box office success here.

As a fan, I can't wait for his debut in Get Smart, and crossing my fingers he'll be casted in the much rumored production of Shazam! as The Big Red Cheese!

Joe Kingman is a talented but pompous pro quarterback and dedicated bachelor who has yet to win a championship throughout the course of his illustrious career. That's the least of his worries however when he's united with the precocious eight-year-old daughter he never knew he had, and is abruptly forced to embrace fatherhood. Will he see the error of his ways and learn to be a responsible parent? The Rock, showing a softer side here, is likable and engaging and the film is sure to attract its target audience, but there's too much formula and too few laughs for it to really set itself apart from the standard genre. Watchable, and easy to take, but obvious and undistinguished. **

When I first saw the preview of The Rock in this formula Disney movie meant to attract families, I sorta cringed. My friend, on the other hand, who loves wrestlers and Disney stuff was very excited to see this one. So it was that we both decided to see this one after playing for several weeks. While watching during many parts of the first hour, I did feel a little wincing during many of the cutesy scenes between the lead character and the little girl who reveals herself as his daughter and thought many of the slapstick scenes were so obvious. But as the story went on and many entertaining set pieces like The Rock and the girl doing ballet in front of nearly all of his teammates, his singing his idol Elvis' "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" to her, or his teammates with the little girl playing super soaker with him were coming on, I was thoroughly enjoying myself to the point that I was thinking, "Hey, this is not so bad at all!" So on that note, for anyone with families or who just want a good clean comedy, I highly recommended The Game Plan! With sportscaster Marv Albert and Kyra Sedgwick who's a little amusing as The Rock's agent.

It's never going to win Oscars, and Dwayne Johnson looks (surprisingly) weak in the emotional acting department at times but this is still an OK kids movie.

Nothing to worry about here: no unexpected nasties, just good clean silly fun.

It manages to be a nice father-daughter movie, and as we have three daughters that's appreciated. It is silly, funny, highly sentimental and you need to check your brain at the door - but if you're in the right mood and have the little people to enjoy this with then it works.

The first 20 minutes were so-so but the rest rocked. A little sentimental in places but overall it's Disney pure and simple.

Good support roles and lots of good understanding of what girls want, plus good energy, and a good message mean that this can be viewed by everyone. The boys and dads will love the football, and the mums and daughters will like this too. But it really is a bonding film for daughters and dads at its best.

Fun and moving stuff.

Is a cute family movie. Has some funny parts. Rock does hold his own part in his acting. Is a safe bet, that doesn't take many risk, pretty formulatic, but if you go in expecting more than this, you should be knock in the head for having no common sense. It was more like a 6.5, though I gave it 6 in here. Rock plays Joe a pretty conceited quaterback, that out of nowhere his daughter, that he had no idea about, shows up. And of course he doesn't know anything about how to treat a young girl that is already 8 years old, so they have a couple sets up, that are okay for some laughs. This movie is recommended for a families, it does't take many risk, but is a descent time. Some little kids in the theater were laughing like hyenas that was kind of annoying though. Though this movie didn't grow on me, because it was a lil bit corny, it still doesn't take away that it was a success.

Taking a hard-boiled action movie star out of his element has long been a favorite premise of Hollywood. This is usually accomplished by taking said star, and then teaming them up with either a cute child or animal. The Game Plan has learned its lessons well, as it teams up its star, wrestler turned actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, with both a cute child and an animal. What the movie has not learned is how to present any ideas or anything new to go with it. This isn't just by the book film-making, this is a Frankenstein's Monster built of the clichés handed down over the years.

As is usually the case in these kind of films, the lead character begins the film as a self-obsessed material neat freak. The Rock's character, Joe "The King" Kingman lives up to our expectations. He's the star quarterback on a fictional football team called the Boston Rebels. Joe's world of fast living and material possessions is turned upside down with the arrival of an overly precocious 8-year-old girl named Peyton (Madison Pettis). She looks like the child acting agency just dropped her off at his doorstep, as her line delivery and manner of speaking are just too cute and scripted, but she claims to be Joe's daughter from a previous brief relationship with a woman almost 10 years ago. An illegitimate daughter is never a good thing for a celebrity, especially since his hard-nosed agent (Kyra Sedgwick) is trying to get him endorsement deals to help boost his career. With Peyton's mom away in Africa, Joe has to learn how to be a father for the first time in his life.

The Game Plan is total film-making by numbers that plays entirely by our expectations. There's no build up or pay off, it just keeps on doing what it knows it's supposed to. We know that eventually little Peyton is going to make a mess in the bathtub when she tries to make a bubble bath, and puts too much of the liquid in. We get the required shot of Joe jumping into the overflowing bubble bath, and having him come out covered with the soapy substance head-to-foot, but it doesn't go anywhere. Another example - Peyton is a ballerina, and starts to attend a local school. The class is taught by a lovely young woman named Monique (Roselyn Sanchez), whom Joe is instantly smitten with. He starts hanging around the class to be close to her, and sooner or later, he's being talked into dancing with the rest of the girls. This leads to the inevitable sequence where we will see him dressed in tights, and performing in front of an audience. And yet, we do not laugh, because the movie does not do anything beyond that simple idea.

The film plays takes a switch for mawkish sentimentality in its final half hour. This leads to one of the most curious scenes in the movie. While Joe, Peyton, and Monique are eating at a restaurant, Peyton suddenly grows ill. She has a food allergy to nuts, and Joe must rush to the hospital. What's odd about this moment is that it treats her allergy with the utmost seriousness. And yet, earlier in the film, it plays up Joe's food allergy to cinnamon for laughs. What are we to make of this? Some food allergies are a crisis, while others are hilarious? This movie doesn't understand allergies, just like it doesn't understand a lot of things. Joe's football team doesn't even seem like a real team. Heck, they don't even seem to have a coach for most of the film, until he suddenly appears on the sidelines during the big game climax.

There have been a lot of professional wrestlers trying their hand at movies these days, John Cena and Steve Austin being two recent examples. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is so far the only one who actually seems to be attempting a real acting career, instead of playing it safe. I've always found him to be surprisingly charismatic as an actor, and he's no different here. He's just trapped in an unworthy character and screenplay. He goes through the usual character arc of selfish millionaire to caring dad, but the movie gives him no motivation to do so. Young Madison Pettis makes her big screen debut after a couple years acting on various children's programs, and she doesn't quite seem ready for the big time yet. She's too calculating and perfect in her performance, almost like she's trying too hard. I'm not writing her off, as she at least shows some signs she knows what she's doing. I just think she needs to not come across so artificial in her performance.

The Game Plan is what I like to call "a vanilla movie". It doesn't offend, but it's so plain and ordinary that you have to wonder why anyone bothered in the first place. The movie is so afraid to step out of the line of expectations, almost as if it thinks our heads will explode if it goes the slightest bit off course, or gives us something to care or (Heaven forbid) think about. How predictable is this movie? When the final scene faded out, I stayed in my seat, because I just had a feeling there was going to be a sequence with the characters singing along to the closing music during the end credits. Sure enough, as soon as the credits started to roll, there was The Rock (and eventually the entire cast and even the crew) singing along to an Elvis song.

This film was very good. A great family movie with the only purpose of entertaining people with that unique touch that only Disney can give. It has a very simple yet enjoyable story about a famous football player who's life is all about football, parties, women and his dog apparently a very good life but also a very lonely one when someday a girl appears at his door telling that he is her dad and there's where he must learn how to be a parent and at the same time to live. The cast is good. The Rock proves that he is more than an action hero, he also can do comedy in a very good way, the little girl Madison Pettis is so cute and his acting is great, she looks very natural. Roselyn Sanchez delivers a good supporting role as the girl's ballet teacher and Kyra Sedgwick although it was a short performance it was also very convincing. In conclusion, a very good family that you will enjoy

Dwayne Johnson is "The Rock" in this movie being selfish and absolutely absorbed by himself till he find that he is a father. He a very successfully American football player who thinks he rocks and has everything he needs in his life but something will change that dramatically. Madison Pettis plays little Peyton the eight year old daughter of Joe Kingman the football player, she is a cute kid who sparks the movie. A very nice family movie that you should watch, Johnson does his play pretty well i really like him as a actor because he can be funny and action remind me of Arnold somehow. The spice is added by the a school teacher ballerina played by Roselyn Sanchez that lecture Kingman how to be a real father. The movie is about a father that doesn't know that he had a daughter but he doesn't know also that he likes it and can be a very good and loving father. Johnson show that can be emotional when a little drama drops in the movie but well is well when ends with a happy end. I recommend this movie because is entertaining and have a nice feeling about it so if you want to be a away from those bad crimes, horror and action movie this is the perfect escape.

The Game Plan is formulaic, predictable, amiable and and only succeeds with Dwayne Johnson's charm and charisma. Without it that film would be a messy Disney Original movie.

Joe Kingman (Johnson) is a star quarterback who has fame and fortune. However a long lost 7 years old daughter, Peyton enters his life, a product from a brief marriage some years ago.

Now the the fun loving and partying Kingman has to adjust to life going to plays, ballet classes and kids tea parties.

Its an undoubtedly feel good family film as even his teammates who are seemingly unmarried or without children enjoy Peyton's company and like to poke fun at Kingman wrestling with fatherhood.

There are enough stunts in the film such as The Rock doing ballet, having water fights, singing Elvis songs which does enough to raise it from immense cheesiness.

We saw this tonight. It was wonderful. My husband took one look at all the little girls seated in the theater and said, "Did you choose the right movie?" But he laughed from start to finish, as did all the other men in the theater.

The story is about a selfish star quarterback who plays for the Boston Rebels NFL team. (Ah, if only it were so). He has a fabulous bachelor pad and a bulldog. He adores Elvis and has adopted his nickname, calling himself Joe "The King" Kingman. A wee eight year-old girl shows up on his doorstep and says she is his daughter. This throws him off balance to say the least.

The Rock plays the part very well. I heard a LOT of sniffles during emotional parts. The little girl who plays his daughter is adorable.

I highly recommend.

The Game Plan is a very predictable cute and funny movie with The Rock. Honestly since The Scorpion King I think this is the best acting he has done yet. I honestly thought the little girl was too cute. Like I said very predictable from one scene to the next but funny when you pin an extra larger then life character like The Rock with this cute little girl. The Rock has a sweet car, pimped out house and the dog is also cute and get's some laughs. Like any Disney Movie I was not let down. Disney's movies are always stylish in the way they are set apart form other production company's. There films always have good morals for kids and that is that never give up and try hard. It has that nice family feel that makes this an all around good movie for everyone in the family. In this movie you won't smell what The Rock is cookin' because he has to behave like an adult for the first time in his life and his character learns he can't be so selfish if he has a responsibility like a kid in his life. This movie did not let me down. It is not the greatest movie ever but it doesn't have to because it is what it is, just a good movie.

For even the most pumped-up action movie superstar, there's nothing like appearing in a family-friendly vehicle opposite a scene-stealing tyke to bring a touch of humanity to one's image. Indeed, such a career choice has become a virtual right-of-passage for these bodybuilder-turned-actor-types as they endeavor to diversify their portfolios and pad their resumes. We've already had Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vin Diesel doing the daddy-day-care bit - in "Kindergarten Cop" and "The Pacifier," respectively - and now we have Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson making like a wet-nurse in "The Game Plan," a warm-and-fuzzy piece of generic fluff designed to be enjoyed and disposed of in roughly equal measure.

Joe Kingman is a professional quarterback with an ego and a paycheck as massive as his ginormous biceps. His free-swinging bachelor lifestyle consists of a swanky penthouse pad, endless parties, a stable of gorgeous women, and a Mercedes SLR McLaren worth a cool half a mill or so, give or take a few thou. The problem is that Joe doesn't seem to realize just how lonely and empty his life really is until one fine day when an 8-year-old bundle-of-joy named Peyton shows up quite literally on his doorstep to inform him that she is the long-lost daughter he never knew he had. Suddenly, this international playboy is thrust into the wholly alien world of ballet recitals, bubble baths and parental responsibility.

Like the aforementioned movies that preceded it, "The Game Plan" is based on the premise that there is nothing quite so hilarious and aww-evoking as the sight of a steroid-pumped behemoth getting in touch with his nurturing nature. Indeed, it's the incongruity between the macho façade and the tenderhearted actions that provides the comic tension necessary to make such stories work. And "The Game Plan" certainly milks the formula for all it's worth. The predictable storyline is made up of equal parts lowbrow slapstick and push-button sentimentality, as Joe ultimately sees the errors of his ways and becomes a much better man for his experience.

Though no great shakes as an actor, Johnson has always displayed a certain self-deprecating charm on screen and he uses it to good effect here. As the precocious moppet, Madison Pettis manages to keep the bathos and saccharine down to an acceptable minimum - which is more than can be said for the movie itself, actually, which ladles the syrup on pretty darn thick in the closing stretches.

Nevertheless, this is, I suppose, a tolerable time-waster - provided you're part of the right audience demographic for this sort of thing, that is.

This movie is not brilliant, nor is it terrible.

It's just one of many decent family movies: Entertaining and fun for all ages.

The storyline is pretty easy to predict and the movie has all standard elements for a 'buddy'-movie, but watching the though and cool Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson humiliate himself is very funny :) I liked this movie for what it was (a decent, but standard family movie) and I'd recommend it to everyone who wants to view a nice movie with the whole family or grab some popcorn and watch the movie with your partner to forget the everyday stress.

A man who is on top of the world,,, the Rock,, is a Quarterback in New England,, good at what he does, one of the best,, living the playboy lifestyle.. then one day a little girl shows up on his doorstep and claims to be his daughter,,, at first he thinks this is a joke or a Public Relations stunt,, at first he doesn't want anything to do with her because he realizes that his current lifestyle is a thing of the past if her accustations are true, and she really is his dad,, so they talk for awhile,, and through some interrogation,, he finds out that indeed she is his daughter from a previous daughter,, so he has to learn all about the daughter that he didn't know he had,, and he ends up teaching her football , and getting her on the local team.. excellent feel good movie,, even if you don't like sports or the Rock.

Now first of all I like the Rock and think that he will have a long career ahead of him. I wouldn't recommend this to any adult, unless they have a bunch of children and would watch it with them. There is nothing about this film that is original or clever. It has all the same clichés that all sorts of these truly dumb films have. As someone else had said this isn't meant to be "Schindlers List." Fair enough, but this isn't even a competent film in it's own right. The script is really stupid, the acting is atrocious, and all of the Rocks buddies are completely unbelievable and pointless. I was not only embarrassed of how bad this was, but embarrassed for anyone involved in this garbage. Now I'm sure my niece would enjoy this to a certain extent, but even she wouldn't stay very entertained through this whole mess. Stay away unless you want to laugh at, (NOT WITH) a bunch of people embarrass themselves. This goes to show that families are desperate to see something they can take their kids to, even though the parents are at a loss for words as to why this is funny to them.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable family movie. Saw it with my wife and 10 year old son and we all had a great time. The Rock is improving as an actor and was quite funny, especially in the Ballet... The little girl was very cute. The humor was squeaky clean and the message was clear and sweet. Loved it. Kyra Sedwick was funny in places which I'm not used to seeing. The supporting cast of football players was well done. There isn't much football in the movie so it won't turn off non-athletes. I think the Rock's charm will continue to drive his career as he is able to always bring the charm while pulling off the tough male ego.

rock is good.his acting is good and he's a popular guy too.i went to this movie due to the rock and Disney combination,but before that read a lot of negative reviews.so when i saw it i had low expectations.however i was pleasantly surprised by the movie.it was not only not as bad as people says but was pretty cool too....i mean come on...in the age of sex comedies a family light-hearted comedy is a welcome surprise.rock gives a nice performance,but it really surprises me that he is still not a big star.i mean he's equally good at both action and comedy....

well coming to the movie,it was good,but i found that some scenes and situations were unnecessary in the movie.but overall a nice feel-good movie...

Joe Kingman (Dwayne Johnson) is big star quarterback, and unabashed bachelor. One day, little girl Peyton Kelly (Madison Pettis) comes and tells him that she's his daughter. His world is immediately turned upside down.

It's a sit-com with sit-com level acting. It's desperate to get the sit-com laughs. All that's missing is the sit-com laugh track. The little girl has the charisma and the big personality. And it helps that she has a passing resemblance to The Rock. But neither she nor The Rock is terribly lovable in this movie.

The idea that the little girl is so casually left to her own devices is very far fetched. It seems that all the adults are relatively nonchalant with checking the girl's story. Joe should be moving heaven and earth to track down the mother. And Paige Turco's character must have some adult supervision when the little girl gets to her destination. The whole thing is too flimsy.

The final drive in the football game is wrong. It makes no sense. It's just a quick and dirty way to finish the movie. Sense has long gone from the movie. It's a weak sit-com premise. The leads are charming by themselves but none of the jokes work. It's a harmless family movie that'll be quickly forgotten.

Well, I got to see this tonight as a sneak preview. I went in excited because the trailer cracked me up and wasn't disappointed. It was cute. Some of the lines are corny but some of it was serious stuff. You get to see some emotion from Johnson. The beginning cracks you up, you see this guy basically in love with himself trying to make it to the big one of his football career when he has a little girl thrust upon him. He doesn't know what to do, how to handle her. I think that the background relationship with his father could have been fleshed out a little better,you only get a hint of it, but otherwise it was a good movie. Some of the parts are HILARIOUS!! The little girl in the movie has got definite attitude and it cracked me up. Overall it was a decent movie, a good one to see.

I saw this movie this evening in a second run house on discount nite, so the theater was more full than it would have been on another day. This is important to note because there were a fair number of parents with children in the audience who seemed to enjoy the movie; one patron gave a solo standing ovation at the end. The movie was not side splitting funny, but it had a lot of nice chuckle moments, a few laugh out loud moments, and several really touching moments. Overall, I found it enjoyable, especially the impressive comedic range of Madison and Dwayne Johnson. The tension between Joe and the dance teacher was nice. I was kind of confused by Morris Chestnut's character. The football scenes were a little stiff, jerky, and seemed over processed with CGI. I will probably add this to my family video collection. I think my grandson will like it because he likes the Sophie character that Madison plays on Disney's Cory in the House series. Nice!

The Movie was good, I like Disney Movies. I thought that Dwayne"the Rock"Johnston acted so differently as to being a wrestler as Im not a wrestling fan. Or am not American football. Was funny some bits like when the girl came his door and the other bit was things she did like when his team were watching the basketball she changed the channel on the remote screen he had for all the different activities in the house like open doors, changing channels and that he could sort out for how he would be doing the add on the TV. I liked the movie, just when it came to getting the DVD of it some is different he changes the channel when the team watching basketball, and a lot of things that when at cinema she was doing "the Rock"is doing in the film on DVD version of it.