I have a confession: I used to watch the World Wrestling Federation. It's now more appropriately known as World Wrestling Entertainment; I say appropriately because it's as much an acting showcase as it is an athletic one, using every narrative device associated with the common soap opera. This is why Dwayne Johnson, formerly known as 'The Rock', is perhaps more at home in the movie world than one would think. His latest film, this flimsy story of an arrogant football player who, when a girl turns up at his door announcing that she is his daughter (original, huh?), must learn to tolerate and eventually warm to her presence in his life. Unsurprisingly, The Game Plan is distinctly the wrong side of the 'it's cute enough to get away with it' line, although is no more predictable than the shenanigans of the wrestling were, and I suspect still are. One thing the WWE has done for the U-rated film is to give Johnson a platform to exercise his incredible natural charisma; a charisma that is perfectly suited to his role here. It's too early to tell whether Johnson's talent is a limited one -- two of his roles so far (Gridiron Gang being the other) have been American Football players (handy as prior to his wrestling days he once was pretty handy at football), appearances in The Scorpion King and Doom have seen him slip into badass action mode, and Be Cool allowed him to try his hand at being a (gay!) bouncer. That's diverse enough for me, but whatever the range of 'The Rock', his bright smile and irresistible charm is as mighty a weapon as his bulky physique.
1 comment:
I thought he was excellent in the underseen (and badly titled) The Rundown. It's a well-made action movie, and Mr. Johnson brings it off really well.
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