Playing for Keeps (2012)

A former sports star who's fallen on hard times starts coaching his son's soccer team as a way to get his life together. His attempts to become an adult are met with challenges from the attractive soccer moms who pursue him at every turn.

Director:

Gabriele Muccino

Writer:

Robbie Fox

Stars:

Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Noah Lomax

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gerard Butler	...	George
Jessica Biel	...	Stacie
Noah Lomax	...	Lewis
Dennis Quaid	...	Carl
Uma Thurman	...	Patti
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Denise
James Tupper	...	Matt
Judy Greer	...	Barb
Abella Wyss	...	Ally
Grant Goodman	...	Billy
Grant Collins	...	Griffin
Aidan Potter	...	Hunter
Marlena Lerner	...	Samantha (as Marlena Rayne Lerner)
Iqbal Theba	...	Param
Sean O'Bryan	...	Assistant Coach Jacob

Storyline

George is a former professional soccer star who's moved to Virginia to be close to his ex-wife and son. He's broke, jobless, without a plan, and a constant source of disappointment to his son. When he takes over as his son's soccer coach, he has a new connection to the lad. He also gets the attention of three of the players' moms as well as the glad hand of a wealthy dad. His ex-wife's getting married, he has a lead on a sportscasting job, and he finds new ways to disappoint his son. Is there any way he can sort things out?

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Plot Keywords:

soccer | soccer mom | penalty kick | reference to david beckham | single dad | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual situations, language and a brief intense image

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Playing the Field

Filming Locations:

Millennium Studios- 300 Douglas Street, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$5,750,288 (USA) (7 December 2012)

Gross:

$13,101,142 (USA) (15 February 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eclectic Pictures, Evil Twins (I), Millennium Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The story that George tells at the party about meeting the queen in the locker room, is the real story about the Spanish soccer player Carles Puyol. He met the queen of Spain after winning the world championship semi-finals coming out of the shower

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Goofs

When Lewis shows a picture he has drawn of himself and his parents, his father is wearing a Celtic shirt with green and white vertical stripes. However, Celtic's shirts have horizontal stripes and Lewis would know this: he has a framed Celtic shirt on his wall, seen mere seconds before.

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Connections

Featured in Chelsea Lately: Episode #6.198 (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Tobacco Road"
Written by Johnny Douglas
Performed by Hailey and Johnny Douglas (as Johnny)
Published by Furysongs (SOCAN)
Courtesy of Imaginary Friends Music Partners

User Reviews

An honest movie.

An honest movie, well acted, well written and well directed. Somehow refreshing to see a comedy that could it go wrong easily and instead was delivered in a classy and delicate manner. Honesty is the best attribute to describe this movie; it is never over the top, and it doesn't pretend to be what is not. A classic comedy about becoming an adult with a good set of values. Gerard plays his role in a credible tone as all his co-stars, Jessica is fantastic and gives a very strong performance. How you know is a good performance? because you'll believe her. The young Noah performance holds next to the others. Special mention to all the secondary characters that played their best with the roles. I wish more movies like this one will get out there and be seeing. The Italian Helmer "Gabriele" did the best thing that a director can do: make the movie work as a whole with a seamless direction. Well done and highly recommended.