The Game Plan (2007)
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A professional football quarterback must navigate the challenges of unexpected fatherhood while pursuing a championship.
The story
Rebels quarterback Joe Kingman discovers that an eight-year-old girl named Peyton Kelly is his biological daughter from a previous relationship. His agent, Stella Peck, fears the news will damage Joe's public image and distract him from the upcoming playoffs. After a public mishap leaves Joe on the cover of a tabloid, Stella attempts to manage his new fatherly image. To help Joe bond with Peyton, she arranges for him to join a ballet academy, where Joe must learn to balance his athletic prowess with the demands of being a father.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
During the final game of the regular season, Rebels quarterback Joe Kingman scores a touchdown but is later surprised by eight-year-old Peyton Kelly, who claims to be his daughter. His agent, Stella, tries to mitigate the PR damage by having Joe participate in a ballet performance to show his dedication to Peyton. As the Rebels progress through the playoffs, Joe begins to bond with Peyton and develops feelings for Monique Vasquez, the ballet academy's director. Joe is offered a lucrative sponsorship by Fanny's Burgers if he wins the championship and promotes the brand. However, Joe learns that Peyton's mother, Sara, died in a car accident and had kept Peyton away to protect Joe's career. At the championship game in Arizona, Joe chooses to prioritize his relationship with Peyton over the sponsorship. After a tense final play where Joe throws a lob pass to Travis Sanders for the winning touchdown, Joe officially chooses to remain in Peyton's life.
- First release year
- 2007
- Runtime (minutes)
- 110
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Andy Fickman
- Writers
- Nichole Millard · screenplay; Kathryn Price · screenplay; Nichole Millard · story; Kathryn Price · story; Audrey Wells · story
- Cast and characters
- Dwayne Johnson · Joe Kingman; Madison Pettis · Peyton; Kyra Sedgwick · Stella Peck; Morris Chestnut · Travis Sanders; Roselyn Sanchez · Monique Vasquez; Gordon Clapp · Coach Mark Maddox; Paige Turco · Karen Kelly; Brian J. White · Jamal Webber
- Genres
- sports; family; comedy
- Themes
- fatherhood; balancing career and family; athletic dedication
- Tone and mood
- comedy; family-friendly
- Premise and plot tags
- sports; comedy; family; father-daughter
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews but was a commercial success, grossing over $146 million worldwide.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 29% · review count: 103; Metacritic · score: 44 · scale: 100 · review count: 23; CinemaScore · score: A · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- This is the final film where Dwayne Johnson is credited with his ring name.; Johnson's character taking ballet lessons is an indirect nod to Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Lynn Swann.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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