Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
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Doug Wright Reporting
Dwayne-The Rock-Johnson stars as Joe Kingman, a self absorbed NFL Quarterback who is at the peak of his career. A championship season is in the making, huge endorsement deals are pending and then, out of the blue, a little 7 year-old girl, Peyton-played by Madison Pettis- shows up at his front door announcing that she is his daughter…and she has the documentation to prove it.
So where's mom? A pretty lame story emerges that nobody in their right mind…especially someone in a high profile position…would take at face value. What's a jock to do?
Joe is advised by his handlers to take the girl in and try to be the ideal dad so he won't get killed by bad publicity. Suffice it to say that his world is…I can't resist…rocked.
At first it's all about the inconvenience but the relationship evolves and a real bond and affection develops. Ah, but the nagging issue of where's mom and what's really going on has to be dealt with and this is where an otherwise lightweight, kind of dumb yet well intended story really runs amuck.
There are some cute moments and some appealing sub-plots, but none of it can completely overcome "The Game Plan's" deficits.
"The Game Plan" has the feel of a high budget after school movie…too bad, I had higher hopes still, a mild recommendation, 2 ½ stars and it's rated PG.
