Gerard Butler has done a wide variety for roles from Dracula to the Phantom of the Opera, but nothing more so than his turn in 300. For some reason after he set himself up as the next action star, he just as quickly dived into romantic comedies. Ever since he has been doing a wide variety of roles, but never really getting the credit he deserved. His latest film Playing For Keeps heads into the more comedy drama world, but will it be one that works or another of the dreadful comedies he has delivered previously.
Playing For Keeps follows a former sports star that has fallen on hard times. Struggling to put his life together both professionally and personally he takes on coaching his son’s soccer team in hopes to bring them closer. But coaching this kid’s team could be the biggest challenge of his life. On the surface this film looks to be just another forgettable family drama, but thanks to a great cast most notable Butler it stands out a bit more. It’s not breaking any boundaries in storytelling or anything, but it does work pretty well. The rest of the cast does a good job and features Dennis Quaid in a bit of a slimy jerk who means well character that he looks to be having a great time with, Jessica Biehl as the ex-wife who wants the best but also to move on, Catherine Zeta-Jones as the milf who lusts after to Butler, and a few others that did a great job rounding everything out. The most important thing for this movie to work is the chemistry between the father and son, which works really well here giving the film that depth between them that it needs.
While this is a pretty average film, its cast steps it up and delivers a pretty entertaining film. Butler has once again given another great performance just proving his constant diversity. This is a great addition to his filmography, but obviously not the action star we had hoped for, but that may all change with is upcoming Olympus Has Fallen.
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