MOVIE REVIEW - Playing For Keeps

Let's line up the big stars and make a romantic comedy, and call it Playing For Keeps.   Oh, and let's bring in Gerard Butler to star in it.

That's the new movie of the weekend, and this could be a very interesting bell weather moment for romantic comedies.   They have all been tanking lately at the movies, so they have pulled out all stops here.  This stars Butler, Jessica Biel, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Uma Thurman, Dennis Quaid and Judy Greer.  Someone for everyone.   And let's make the content about soccer moms, and mild family dysfunction.  AND, let's make sure that it's friendly for everyone.   If this tanks, the genre for the time being may be dead.

Butler stars as a former soccer great (George)  who has a 9-year old son with his ex-wife Stacy (Biel).   He's kind of bouncing around looking for work, and being sort of a dad-beat dad.   He becomes by accident the coach of his son's soccer team.  Of course the kids love him because he's a great coach and player.  And the single soccer moms love him because he's single, good with kids, and looks like Gerard Butler.  So they all are trying to get his attention one way or another.  George is trying to get a job at ESPN, and he also is trying to grow up and be a good dad to his son. 

But the moms are getting in the way.  There is Barb, (Greer) who is the insecure, but looking single mom who is after him.  There is  Denise (Zeta-Jones) who is trying to get him in at ESPN in exchange for his favors.   There is Patti (Thurman) who is married to Carl (Quaid)  but would rather sleep with George.   Then there is Stacy, who George still loves and wants back, but his blunders keep getting in the way.   Will the end up back together?  Well, of course they will.  Is this fun?  At times.

No lack of effort here, they have all the right people in place, and for the most part this is a good story.  Butler is pretty fun,  and so are the rest of our stars.   The story is friendly and deals with highly topical events in young parents lives.  It's not anywhere near perfect, but there's nothing really wrong here except one thing.   It does not have mass appeal to the people who drive the box office at all.  There's no action, no chase scenes, no bad language, and no subject matter that is edgy and borderline offensive.   Those comedies are the ones making the real waves today, not this.  And it's sad that there is not room for more styles of comedies that are successful.

More than likely this will be a mild hit, and move on.   Hopefully this will find a niche following that still like sort of silly, everything works out comedies that are not targeted to 16 year old locker room humor.   This is fun at times, and some of this does not work, but overall it's hard to rip into this.   Butler kind of does one thing, but he's good at it. Biel is over-casted in in her small role, as is Zeta-Jones but they need the possible draw.  Judy Greer is very funny in her silly little role as Barb. She is usually pretty good in her small movie roles, and I like her.   And the story is completely fine.

Playing For Keeps.   Fun.