In the spirit of the last-minute holiday scramble, here’s a father-son heart-tugger wrapped around a mushy reconciliation rom-com sprinkled with the tinsel of shiny Hollywood supporting stars acting like they’re in another movie entirely.
In “Playing For Keeps,” Gerard Butler plays a retired Scottish soccer superstar, “King George” Dryer, now 56 and well past his prime, out of work and living in the Virginia hometown of his ex-wife (Jessica Biel) to be closer to their young son. Seeing his son’s youth soccer team struggling, he reluctantly agrees to become their new coach.
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