From the Kansas City Star
Play the Game (PG-13, 2008, Phase 4 Films)
The trajectory of a cute romantic comedy is like that of a bullet train rounding a corner: A little too much gas, and we're off the track with no hope of getting back on. "Playing the Game," which follows the separate-but-connected romantic misadventures of car salesman David Mitchell (Paul Campbell) and his grandfather (Andy Griffith as Joe), would seem to be begging for derailment - if not with its sometimes childish summarizations of dating logic, then certainly with grandpa's wacky return to the singles scene after decades of marriage and a few years of grieving. Occasionally, "Game" scrapes the edge of reason, and there really isn't a point where it just nails its subject matter or changes the genre in any meaningful way. The twist at the end, while clever, also takes that oversimplification of dating psychology entirely beyond the cusp of believability. But even with all that said, "Game" never completely succumbs to its shortcomings, and Griffith in particular avoids some early cutesy turbulence en route to a funny and thoughtful (if never necessarily fresh) look at retirement home dating.
It isn't enough to make "Game" the best or even 15th best romantic comedy you can see this year, but it's more than enough to push it past the pack of also-rans that initially look like its peers. Doris Roberts and Marla Sokoloff also star.
Extras: Deleted scenes, outtakes.
(Billy O'Keefe writes video game and DVD reviews for McClatchy-Tribune News Service.)
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/05/11/1938975/reviews-of-recent-and-upcoming.html#ixzz0oIJryaUv
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
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