6A - Monday, December 10, 2012 A

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com


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FILMDISTRICT
"So we're best friends now, right?"
No surprises in
lazy, tired 'Keeps'

McDreary.
Time for 'Grey's' to die

Butler, Biel star
in typical, cookie-
cutter rom-com
By CONRAD FOREMAN
For the Daily
If you absolutely need a date
movie or you just have an undying
love for romantic comedies, "Play-
ing For Keeps"
is exactly what (_
you need (and
just in time Playing for
for Hanuk- Keeps
kah!). For any-
one missing At Quality 16
"SportsCen- and Rave
ter" to see this
movie, there's FilmDistrict
the addedbonus
of an on-set Stan Verrett cameo
(But don't be afraid, American
sports fans: ESPN's expansion of
soccer coverage is completely fic-
tional).
"Playing" has a solid cast
infused with plenty of Hollywood:
beauty, but it's just another in a
never-ending string of products
from the industry's assembly line
for love stories.
George (Gerard Butler, "300")
and Stacie (Jessica Biel, "I Now

PronounceYouChuck and Larry")
were the loves of each others'
lives, but his past immaturity and
unfaithfulness drove them apart.
A retired soccer superstar fallen
on hard economic times, George
has moved to be closer to her and
their son, who desperately wants
to have fun with his dad.
When a movie like this is done
well enough to stand out, the con-
nection the audience feels to the
relationships on screen makes
it appealing. Unfortunately, this
isn't one of those stand-outs.
"Playing for Keeps" has too much
going on to allow for any one inti-
macy to develop into more than a
cliche.
Butler is somewhat charm-
ing (and shit, accents are sexy),
but he isn't quite able to capture
the heart of the audience (a little
"300"-style shirt-popping could
have helped here). Biel is convinc-
ing enough as a concerned moth-
er, but her character has little
more depth than being George's
"one that got away." Dennis Quaid
("Parent Trap") and Uma Thur-
man ("KilFlBill") are the best of
the supporting cast, turning in
charismatic performances as a
philandering and wealthy couple
that takes a special interest in
George. And only Dennis Quaid

can turn a group of soccer moms
and dads into a crowd hyped for
fttbol sharpshooting.
What makes "Playing For
Keeps" an underwhelming
film is lazy screenwriting. For
example, George, the coach of
his son's soccer team, is run-
ning along the sidelines engaged
in the game and he's suddenly
interrupted by a phone call
from a player's mom. Of course,
he answers his phone, missing
his son's first career goal. The
idea that any phone call must be
answered serves well in creat-
ing awkward, problematic and
sometimes humorous situations
on screen. However, it also takes
away from the film's realism,
adding drama to the story where
there would have been none in
real life. The film's few attempts
at one-liner comedy are giggle-
some, not hilarious.
That being said, "Playing For
Keeps" is exactly what viewers
should expect it to be - cute. Yes,
you've seen this movie before. Yes,
you know how it ends. But let's
be honest, that's why you would
want to see this movie in the first
place. Because just like a kayak
on Christmas mo-ning, you know
what you're getting before you
unwrap it.

By PAIGE PFLEGER
For the Daily
Humans seem to have a pretty
rocky history when it comes to
knowing when to call it quits,
and America's television indus-
try isn't exempt. Some excellent
TV shows have gotten the end
date just right: "Buffy the Vam-
pire Slayer" retired precisely
when it was about to exceed the
apocalypse quota for one televi-
sion show, and "The West Wing"
respectively retired Jed Bartlet
and left the presidential legacy in
the hands of the likable Matthew
Santos.
Then, on the opposite end of
the spectrum, there are those
shows that ended way too quick-
ly, existing as one-season gems
everyone regrets not paying more
attention to. "Freaks and Geeks" .
is almost a perfect '90s TV show
equivalent to "Breakfast Club,"
dealing with angst-ridden teens
and the relatively trivial difficul-
ties they face in high school. The
show, lasting only one season,
featured such notables as James
Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason
Segel in some of their first televi-
sion roles, and its disappearance is
a television travesty. Along those
lines, there is also the genius and
quirkily morbid show, "Pushing
Daisies," about a pie maker who

can bring dead people back to life tragic scene in which Izzie cries
to solve their murders. The show over the dead body of patient
had an almost Wes Anderson-like Denny ... mostly there was alot of
qualityto it - odd, but in the most dying, and a lot of crying. Howev-
endearing and likable way. er, slowly but surely these deaths
beganto compete with each other
for the most ridiculous, or the
most impactful. And the creators
ran out of people to kill and ways
youjustnee tokill them, resulting in a string of
yO ne ed.L to ridiculous season finales, such as
pull the plug. the shooting/massacre and then,
most recently, the plane crash.
Now, after watching the sea-
son finale of the last season, in
Last, and certainly least, are which the majority of the main
the shows that held on for dear characters all were placed in the
life when they really should have middleof the woods "Lord of the
died off along with their ability Flies"-style and left there to fend
to maintain a storyline. "Weeds" for themselves, it kind of makes
just completed its eighth season, an audience member wonder:
even though the appeal of the How many awful things can hap-
storyline and the development pen to the same people over and
of characters seemed to have over again? How unlucky can one
disappeared way earlier in the cast of characters be before the
show's run. The last few seasons audience just kind of wants them
have left the audience wishing to die and get it over with? Well,
for Nancy Botwin's death so she for "Grey's" it seemed as if the
can stop acting as the catalyst loss of the loveable Lexie Grey
that literally destroys the life of and then Mark Sloan '(played
anyone and everyone near to her. by Chyler Leigh and Eric Dane,
Joining "Weeds" in this category respectively) was the straw that
is "Grey's Anatomy." broke the audience members'
Now, I embarrassingly admit backs and patience.
I was an avid "Grey's" viewer for No show wants to get on the
the entirety of the show, until level of "Two and A Half Men,"
recently. I, too, cried over the becoming so long and drawn out
death of George O'Malley, or that See GREY'S ANATOMY, Page 7A

Call: #734-418-4115
Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com

4

RELEASE DATE- Monday, December 10, 2012
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Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
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