Playing For Keeps MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +3 Content: -3

Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dennis Quaid, Noah Lomax, Judy Greer. Romantic comedy. Written by Robbie Fox. Directed by Gabriele Muccino.

FILM SYNOPSIS: A charming, down-on-his luck former soccer star (Butler) returns home to put his life back together. Looking for a way to rebuild his relationship with his son and former wife (Biel), he gets roped into coaching the boy’s soccer team. But his attempts to finally become an “adult” are met with challenges from the attractive “soccer moms” who pursue him at every turn.

PREVIEW REVIEW: A pleasant, lite-weight rom/com, Playing For Keeps is a nice way to spend a Friday night. That said, I must warn about the content. Though it is in the PG-13 range, there is some suggestive sexuality and the s-word is further cemented into the vocabulary of both movie screenwriters and their stars. This obscenity is used so often in the movies that it is barely acknowledged by movie critics or moviegoers, anymore. Still, it’s kind of gross, don’t you think? Though it has no more resonance to some than saying “darn it,” when I hear it, I think of our bodily mud. And who wants to think about bodily mud, especially while you’re eating a Clark bar and watching a family comedy?

DVD Alternatives: The Awful Truth. This classic screwball comedy has Cary Grant and Irene Dunne as a divorced couple sabotaging each other’s new relationships. Grant reveals his expert touch with physical and verbal comic timing. Forget its age, it’s a perfect comedy.

Enchanted April. A delightful fable about four women in 1920s London escaping inattentive husbands and repressed lifestyles by renting a castle in Portofino. There they discover the estate has a magical effect on all sojourners. Witty dialogue, dreamy cinematography, and savory performances from Joan Plowright, Polly Walker and the rest of the cast.

Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor: Film District