A star quarterback has a girl show up on his doorstep claiming to be his daughter, so he must learn quickly to be a father during the playoffs. Joe Kingman is a star quarterback in the American Football Federation, but he clearly needs to work on his ego. In the final game of the regular season, he ignores his teammate in order to score by himself, because he wants all the glory. The day after the game, he answers the door and finds Peyton, a peppy 8-year-old girl, who says that she's his daughter. He's skeptical, but she insists her mother, divorced a while back from Kingman, sent her there so she could spend time with her father. Kingman debates with his agent the pros and cons of having a little girl around, in terms of his career. Eventually, they decide that it could improve his image, so he brings her to a press conference. He plans on using her as a prop, but when attacked by the media, Peyton rushes to his defense, calling him the best dad possible, doing the best he can. After this, Kingman stops thinking exclusively about himself, and tries to do something for her: she wants to go to a ballet class, and she wants Kingman to join her in performing ballet so he can realize it's just as hard as football. While there, he strikes up an interest in her ballet teacher, Monique. With his life turning for the better, Kingman plays inspired football, leading them to the championship game. However, before it arrives, he learns that Peyton's mother is actually dead, and she ran away from her month-long ballet summer program to be with her father. When her guardian takes her back off of his hands, he is forced to decide what is more important to him: success on the football field, or a relationship with his daughter?
Click here to see the rest of this review...
Best part of story, including ending:
It's another cliched story about a sports figure learning to be a human being, but The Rock is so charming that it makes this one a step above the others.
Best scene in story:
Some of his friends come over, and they engage in a water gun fight with Kingman and his daughter. It's a fun scene of watching Kingman learn how to embrace his inner kid.
Opinion about the main character:
Kingman is a jerk for the first half of the film or so, but once he straightens up, he's very sympathetic. It helps that The Rock is a very charming actor.
