The Chaperone

I watched this on Amazon streaming movies. I was attracted to it mainly because it is set and filmed in places I used to live, I am always curious to see how the moviemakers handle that.

It is a theme used many times, a man gets out of prison after 7 years and has to try to get back in the good graces of his family. In this case it is mostly the young daughter who is about 12 years old. Paul Levesque is an imposing man, playing the ex-con Ray Bradstone who his old robbery mates called "Ray-Ray." In prison he has become a changed man and just wants to go by Ray. And get his family back.

Ray's daughter is in school in Lafayette (where I went to college some years back) and her class is taking an overnight trip to New Orleans. Ray quite accidentally gets to be a chaperone, much to the chagrin of his daughter. While the kids are trying to enjoy the field trip Ray is being hounded by his former partners who think he has the money from a botched robbery of the bank in Lafayette the day before.

The arc of the story is pretty predictable but I found it interesting to see how they got there. The movie overall is entertaining enough. Interestingly the daughter is played by Ariel Winter who probably was 12 during filming but doesn't seem to be in the cast credits. She was so small, it was quite a sight to see her standing or walking next to Levesque.

Plus the Lafayette scenes were filmed in Algiers near the bridge, not far from where my wife grew up and went to school, just across the river from downtown New orleans while the New Orleans scenes were filmed in and near downtown and the French Quarter.

Not a bad movie at all, just lightweight.

Now I can probably guess what most of the people would think when hearing about this film for the first time. We have a WWE produced family comedy/light drama with wrestler Triple H in the title role. He doesn't quite look like the guy for this kinda role but then again we shouldn't judge the book by its cover. In truth Triple H can actually act. I found myself believing his acting and liking his character. I gotta say I enjoyed this movie more than some of Steve Austins action bloodbaths. If I was to give you some advice itd be go see this without prejudice. Leave expectations at the door and just go with the flow - the ride ain't half bad.

6/10

Though I'm no wrestling fan, I am very familiar with the media presence of "Triple H" (Paul Levesque). Who says (former) wrestlers can't make the big screen? The Rock, Mr. T (before he switched to pro boxing), The Hulkster, Andre the Giant, etc.

Levesque is actually well-fitted in this role, and very convincing; for his first actual big screen debut. He certainly can act; no doubt about that. The on-screen chemistry he shares with costar, veteran actress Annabeth Gish, is the most surprising. They play brilliantly off each other. Gish is even more gorgeous today, especially in this film, than during her 80's 'Mystic Pizza' days where she portrayed mostly straight-laced, virginal school girl roles. And with more than 30 films to her credit, including a few television appearances, she certainly has earned icon status.

This film does NOT disappoint. I originally streamed it off Netflix, curious - seeing that "Triple H" was in the title. Again, very impressive. A must-see indeed.

Well this movie was somewhat of a surprise. Who knew that WWE could come up with something straight out of the Disney family movie production drawer?

The story is pretty simple and straight forward. Ray Bradstone (played by Paul Levesque) comes out from prison after 7 years of incarceration, and wants to reacquaint himself with his estranged daughter Sally (played by Ariel Winter). But friends from his old criminal past manage to convince Ray to do one more job. Then things get mixed up and turn complicated.

The cast in the movie did a good job with their roles, and I must admit that despite his wrestling career, then Paul Levesque actually did a good job with that role. And of course this movie, being a family movie, have lots of stereotypical characters in it.

"The Chaperone" is good entertainment for kids and adults alike.

(Plot) A con filled with regrets is on the run to hide from his troubled past as a criminal. He decides to shield himself by sneaking into his field trip to be The Chaperone.

This wasn't exactly good, but it managed to be a hell of a lot better than I expected. It's fairly genuine in its approach, and Triple H (Paul Levesque) is actually non pretentious and likable, something I can hardly say about him in the WWE. The plot is nothing special and is something we've all seen quite a few times before done in different way. This is the type of family affair that most families will most likely groove to. It has just enough action to do an adequate job for adults, and its innocuous storyline will be just perfect for kids. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's really not that bad of a film. It's well made for the most part, and the cast is rather solid as well. Triple H proves he can be likable after all. He gets lots of digs taken at him for this, but he wasn't too bad at all. Ariel Winter is as cute as a button and she and Triple H play off one another well as Father & Daughter. Winter got on my nerves a couple times with her snotty attitude, but considering the circumstances, it was understandable.

Final Thoughts: It's not something I'm going to watch again. I don't care for Triple H at all, but I give credit where credit is due when it is deserved. It pains me to say this, but it's really not as horrible as you've been lead to believe.

5/10