Readers of this blog know that I am all about family time. With a teen on the cusp of adulthood, I grasp at family time any way I can. Even my youngest is now 8. Still a little boy, but his preteen years are not far off.
If I see a movie in the theater, I plan a family outing to the movies. When a show comes on TV that looks promising, I turn dinner time in to movie time. Dinner on movie night becomes pizza rolls, bagel bites, and taquitos. It may not be gourmet cooking, but if I can get my family to watch a movie together…I’m all for it.
Walmart and P&G have teamed up for Family Movie Night. You might recall that I posted about another Family Movie Night, Who Is Simon Miller? From the intensity of espionage to the play-by-play of high school football, Family Movie Night is enabling families to gather to watch a movie together.
I watched Game Time: Tackling the Past online two days ago. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the movie. The storyline is a good one. Now that I have a high schooler there is no way that I could avoid getting immersed in the world of high school football. I’m not a sports fan, but there is a certain energy to a football game that I like.
High school football is the antithesis of what I experienced at high school in England. We had no school mascot, no football team, no interschool rivalries except for perhaps a tennis match.
American high school football is just as intense and high energy as the pros. Kids take the game seriously. So do parents. Game Time: Tackling the Past centers around a football family. Dad is a curmudgeonly, “we must win” high school coach played by Beau Bridges. Is it me or was Beau Bridges always an old soul? He never seemed young to me even though he played youthful roles.
The film begins with Bridges having a heart attack during family dinner. The stress of seasons past and present has finally caught up with Coach Walker.
In times of crisis families gather. The Walkers are no different. Mom — Catherine Hicks who you will remember as a the mom in Seventh Heaven — becomes the family rock and mediator between silent, brooding Dad and their two sons who are at war with each other. Mom has her work cut out for her as she tries to quell anger between her sons: returning NFL star Jake and “never left his hometown and now coaches with Dad” Dean.
Jake and Dean have never seen eye to eye as adults. When Jake returns home, he has to evaluate more than his relationship to his family. He must find a new job as his NFL contract is over. What will Jake do? Play for another NFL team? Stay in his hometown and mend fences?
Do you know how many times I find a movie on Netflix or Fios Flex View that I think will be a great family movie only to find that the movie has an R or PG13 rating? Almost every movie that I think my teen will be interested in turns out to be a no-go due to an R or PG rating. A good resource for finding the skinny on movies is Common Sense Media. I love finding movies, like Game Time: Tackling the Past, that are free of offensive language, violence, or sexual content.
You can catch a sneak peek of Game Time…
Don’t forget to watch the premiere of Game Time: Tackling the Past on Saturday, September 3 on NBC at 8pm ET/7pm CT.
To find out more about Game Time: Tackling the Past, click here. Also, Like Game Time: Tackling the Past on Facebook.
I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of P&G and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.
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