Playing for Keeps

George Dryer (Gerard Butler) has a legendary past on the soccer field, but not so great a one when it comes to being a husband and father. Being a divorced man, he only gets to spend a limited amount of time with his son Lewis (Noah Lomax). But that all changes when he gets to step back onto the soccer field and coach his son’s soccer team. Through the challenges of trying to keep a strong relationship with his son and renewing a relationship with his ex-wife Stacie (Jessica Biel), George learns some lessons about the value of family, even if there are a lot of rough patches down the road.

“Playing for Keeps” is pretty much a typical romantic comedy. Only this time, the story revolves around a soccer coach being chased by soccer moms while trying to win back the affections of his ex-wife. The script is weak, the acting is sub-par, and the direction is quite sloppy at times, as well. However, if you are really into predictable romantic comedies “Playing for Keeps” may be the film for you (despite the sexual content and language that I’ll discuss in the next section).

I’ll have to give the screenwriters credit, considering that part of the story including a man being chased by soccer moms, the audience doesn’t really see much (which is quite a relief). The film is limited to three sexual trysts between George and three different women, but two of the three scenes implied sex, with the couple’s beginning to kiss before the scene cuts away (we see George in bed alone half-covered with a sheet in one scene). The third scene, however, involves a woman stripping down to her underwear, trying to seduce George. However, he resists and kicks her out of his house. We also briefly see a man in his boxers, and there are moments of sexual dialog scattered throughout the film, as well.

The script is marred with close to a dozen s-words and a handful of other profanities including d*mn, h*ll, b*tch, a**, and the British profanity “bloody.” The derogatory term “w*nker” is used a few times, as well. God’s name is abused only once or twice. As for violence, two men get in a brief scuffle, a child pushes another on a soccer field, and we get a brief glimpse of a bloody/intense moment from a sci-fi movie that a couple of characters are watching. Alcohol is consumed in a few scenes, and some characters appear to be drunk. There is also a little bribery from a character, lying, and some disrespect shown towards characters.

For a romantic comedy in this day and age, “Playing for Keeps” is actually one of the safer movies in its genre, in terms of content. However, it still has its issues in terms of vulgar language and sends messages of sexual immorality and adultery being completely acceptable.

“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18—ESV).

Despite the content issues, “Playing for Keeps” still displays some great messages about the importance of family and the sacrifices that one has to make to keep a strong bond with loved ones.

“But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8).

Although George is a divorced man and lives on his own, he still makes sure that his son is a big part of his life by spending as much time with him as possible. Even along the road of coaching a kid’s soccer team, being chased by soccer moms, and handling the complications of sharing his son with his ex-wife Stacie, George learns to appreciate the value of family and even discovers that true love comes straight from the heart.

The positive messages in “Playing for Keeps” are light and simplistic, but may be blurred for today’s moviegoer. However, covered up in these positive messages are moments of sexual content and vulgar language which the screenwriters could have easily avoided. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend “Playing for Keeps,” even for a DVD rental night. Instead, if you’re looking for a simple/predictable romantic comedy, you may be safe watching it edited on broadcast television. Its positive messages may be outweighed by its moral issues, but we can always remember that “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Violence: Mild / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

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