The movie is really about how a father will do whatever it takes to be a good parent…
More than likely the movie Playing For Keeps isn’t how soccer parents really act. The movie shows the side of how out of control suburban parents can be. The movie really is about how a father will do whatever it takes to be a good parent to his son as well as how important family is.
The movie is directed by Gabriele Muccino, who’s done excellent films such as Seven Pounds and Pursuit of Happyness. It stars Gerard Butler as George, Jessica Biel as Stacie, Noah Lomaxa as Lewis, Uma Thurman as Patti, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Denise, Dennis Quaid as Carl, Judy Greer as Barb, Iqbal Theba as Param. Other than Lomax, this is a cast comprised of seasoned actors.
For the ex-professional soccer player George Dryer, living the regular life isn’t easy. He isn’t famous or flush with endorsements anymore but worst of all; he has a very rocky relationship with his family. He has a son named Lewis who, most of the time, lives with George’s ex-wife, Stacie.
As George is new to town, he is trying to get his life together to see more of his son so that means a new apartment, new life and new problems. He rents from a man named Param in a guest house that he’s trying to make a home so his son can visit. What he really wants to do is become a sports caster and is trying to make a good audition tape. He tried to reach out to some of his old friends but no one is taking him seriously. On top of everything else, he has to deal with the frustration of being on the sidelines for his kid’s soccer games. The coach is too busy on his cell phone to work with the team until George steps in and really gets hands on showing them how to kick goals. The parents are Patti and Carl, Barb, and Denise. Carl and Patti have a, well, weird marriage and Carl is almost obsessed with wanting to be George’s best friend. Barb is a divorced single mother and just a complete mess, and Denise is also a single mother and an ex-sportscaster. The parents don’t really give George an option to be the coach, they decide for him. He instantly pops up on the parent’s radar.
The movie does get credit for trying when it decided to do the transfer in 1080p AVC. Unfortunately from the jump, the CGI is poorly done where they superimpose Gerard Butler into old soccer films for the opening. The movie could have done without it but it was something to show how good of a soccer player he used to be. With the movie being mostly outdoors, the picture looks a little over processed and washed out. It’s almost like the brightness is turned up but only during outdoor scenes. The indoor and night scenes have normal tones with natural coloring. I checked this on two different TVs just to be sure it wasn’t a problem with my set.
Encoded in DTS-HD Master Audio, the audio is probably the best part of the release. The music is very clean and is set at a uniformed volume level throughout the film. It’s a good thing too because the soundtrack is relied on heavily for atmosphere. Sadly, the audio has some flaws as well. The voices, regardless of the emotion in the conversation, are a little loud. It’s almost as if the music track was louder than expected and the only way to counterbalance was to boost the voice track. This creates an over-driven sound that knocks that balance of sound off of its feet.
The reason this is getting the average rating is that the extras were for the movie. They include a deleted scene, a making of featurette and a talk with the cast of the film.
Supplements
Deleted Scenes- This is the list of the deleted scenes from the movie. It was a good choice to leave these out for pacing.
Stacie Lectures George
Carl asks about Patti
Dryers on the dock
Patti’s leaving Carl
Stacie and Lewis talk in the bedroom
George and Lewis talk in the bedroom
George borrows Carl’s Ferrari
The Playbook- The Making of Playing For Keeps- This 8 minute segment of how the movie went from concept to screen.
Creating An All-Star Team: The Cast of Playing For Keeps- This is a 6 minute featurette finding the perfect cast for the movie.
Edition Ratings
Rated PG-13
Region A Locked
Disc Details
Single disc including UltraViolet Digital Copy
Video Resolution
1080p
MPEG-4 AVC
Audio
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles
English SDH
Bottom line
Aside from the issues with the Blu-ray, the movie itself is entertaining and some parts are pretty funny but it fell just a little short. It’s a cute story and I’m sure this is a complete exaggeration of soccer parents. If not, I understand how coaches can become so stressed. My recommendation is rent it and check it out for yourself but I will also note that this isn’t a romantic comedy. Yes there is a “love story” but, remember, it’s about the dynamic of a single father getting direction.
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