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

2 nominations.

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 [Japan]

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

Referenced in Chelsea Lately: Episode #7.43 (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Synthesizers"
Written by Jake Sinclair and Michael Trent
Performed by Butch Walker and the Black Widows
Courtesy of Dangerbird Records
By arrangement with Hidden Track Music

User Reviews

A waste of talent all around

I was very much looking forward to seeing this movie because of the stars and supporting roles, as well. I was heartily disappointed. I like Gerard Butler, and enjoyed him in the movie, but the movie was incredibly slow even for me, someone who is not into action movies. But there was too little here. Too many talented women making fools of themselves, and Dennis Quaid was thoroughly wasted as a philandering husband jealous of his wife. Outside of the main characters, all of the roles were flat and without much personality. Butler isn't the only actor who made a mistake to accept this script. Butler and Biel were the only ones with anything to work with, and they did their best, but the script was simply a failure. This was not even good enough for TV, let alone a motion picture. Save your time and money and watch something else! This is one case in which the critics were right. No wonder this was a box office flop.