Independent Films, Film Profiles

The Game Plan (film)

The Game Plan is a 2007 family comedy film directed by Andy Fickman and starring Dwayne Johnson.This is the last movie in which Johnson uses his ring name "The Rock."The last game of the regular football season between the Boston Rebels and the New York Dukes ends in a touchdown by Rebels quarterback Joe Kingman after he runs it into the end zone, ignoring a throw from wide receiver Sanders. The next morning, Kingman gets a surprise when an eight year-old girl named Peyton Kelly shows up at his doorstep saying that she is his daughter and that her mother sent her here to meet him. Kingman's agent, Stella Peck thinks this will be bad for his image, and distracts him with the upcoming playoffs.At the opening of Kingman's restaurant, he leaves without Peyton, and the next morning is on cover of a tabloid in a magazine article. As a result, Peck decides Kingman needs a new fatherly image. While at a press conference, the reporters attempt to make Kingman look miserable, until Peyton starts speaking and says that he is new to this and is trying the best he can, and that she thinks he is the best father in the world. To pay her back for clearing his image at the press conference, Peyton has Kingman take her to a ballet academy run by Monique Vasquez. Vasquez has Kingman join their ballet performance to show him that ballet takes just as much athletic ability as football. Kingman and Peyton begin their relationship after Peyton calls his arrogant and selfish behavior to his attention. Kingman takes Peyton and her friends to the mall where he begins to get along with Vasquez.The Rebels eventually make it to the championship game and Stella tells Kingman that if he wins, he will be offered a $25 million endorsement with Fanny's Burgers, a successful fast food restaurant run by Samuel Blake Jr. While at lunch with Peyton and Vasquez, Peyton accidentally tells Kingman that her mother does not know that she is with him, and that she was supposed to go to a ballet school program this month, but she ran away to be with him. He gets upset at her, and she has an allergic reaction to the nuts in the dessert, causing Kingman to rush her to the hospital for treatment. The doctors tell Kingman that she is going to be fine, while his former sister-in-law and Peyton's legal guardian, Karen Kelly, arrives. Kingman comes to realize that it was actually Sara, Kingman's ex-wife and Peyton's mother, who had died in a car accident six months ago. After overhearing Peck explaining that Peyton would be a distraction to Kingman, Karen and Peyton return home, leaving a miserable Kingman behind. As the championship game begins, Kingman's thoughts keep drifting back to Peyton and he is distracted from performing well and he is injured near the end of the second quarter, causing him to be rushed to the locker room as a result.However, he is surprised to discover that Peyton has arrived with Karen. Peyton tells him to never give up. Near the end of the fourth quarter, Kingman passes the ball to the running back, Webber, who runs far in the field. Kingman runs with the ball, but gets hit just short of the end zone and passes the ball to Sanders in the end zone in the final seconds, allowing the Rebels to win the championship. Kingman turns down his endorsement with Fanny's Burgers, saying that he would rather stay with Peyton. The film ends with Kingman, Peyton, and Vasquez dancing together in Kingman's apartment.