By LINDSAY ALEXANDER
Romantic comedies are typically predictable and unrealistic, but they at least make audiences laugh; Playing for Keeps fails to even get a giggle from viewers.
Playing for Keeps directed by Gabriele Muccino stars Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Noah Lomax and Dennis Quaid.
A down on his luck, former Scottish soccer star George Drier (Butler, The Bounty Hunter) returns to Virginia, the home of his ex-wife Stacey (Biel, New Year’s Eve) who is raising their elementary school-aged son, Lewis (Lomax, The Walking Dead), with her soon to be husband, Matt (James Tupper, Revenge).
George appears to be in town to rekindle his lost father-son bond with Lewis, but it soon becomes clear his relationship with Lewis is not the only relationship he wants to rekindle. Before he can begin re-pursuing Stacey, he is hoodwinked into coaching Lewis’s soccer team where desperate soccer moms begin throwing themselves at him.
After two one night stands and a close third, George finally resists the scandalous soccer mom’s invitations and begins pursuing Stacey, who is now two weeks from her wedding. Of course, Stacey cannot resist his Scottish accent filled advances, and she admits to Matt that she never stopped loving George and calls off the wedding.
Meanwhile, Lewis is trapped in his parents/ soccer friend’s moms/ almost step dad’s love polygon. Playing for Keeps fails to acknowledge that George’s actions are immature and selfish. It merely glosses over them with a happy ending. The movie completely disregards the feelings of Stacey’s fiancé Matt after she cancels their wedding, and it also does not acknowledge how Lewis feels about losing Matt who has been in his life for the past three years.
Playing for Keeps is neither romantic nor comical. Its attempts at romance are shallow, and its trys at humor are underdeveloped. The plot lacks purpose.
However, one would hope a romantic comedy would leave audiences with a feel-good ending. Instead, it leaves them wondering how naive screenwriters think they are. Playing for Keeps is not a keeper.
The 411
Movie Title: Playing for Keeps
Release date: 12/07/2012
Rating: 1 out of 5 stars