Flat, unfunny “Playing for Keeps” is not a keeper
 |
| Gerard Butler |
The tiresome new rom com “Playing for Keeps” is a mediocre,
thin Gerard Butler vehicle only good to cash in on Butler’s charm. Butler is a
former professional soccer player named George Dryer now down on his luck and
trying to redeem himself by coaching his son’s soccer team. However, he finds
himself in more trouble when he’s unable to resist some of the soccer moms
(Judy Greer, Uma Thurman and Catherine Zeta-Jones), even though he still has
feelings for his ex (Jessica Biel). The
vapid, unmemorable “Playing for Keeps” has handful of mildly amusing moments
can’t overcome the flat script, direction and predictable plotting, in spite of
an admittedly charming cast. Of the soccer moms, character actress Greer (“The
Descendants”) is the most fun, but the lovely Thurman and Zeta-Jones, not to
mention Dennis Quaid, seem woefully misdirected by Gabrielle Muchino (“The
Pursuit of Happyness”), and Biel seems to be in another movie entirely. If they
had better material and a better director, the charming, lovely actors might be
able to make it work, but the large majority of it falls flat and unfunny, then
a sentimental subplot involving sons and dads doesn’t help things either. “Playing
for Keeps” comes in time for the holiday season but is far from being the
perfect gift. This is for the charming Butler’s fan base only, who may be
growing weary of seeing him in these cookie-cutter films.
Wes’s Grade: C- 
No comments:
Post a Comment