Playing for Keeps
FilmDistrict | Release Date: December 7, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
27
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
11
Negative:
15
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyDec 6, 2012
Though the script takes pains to paint George as a passive boy-man, there's just not enough lovable here and too much of the thoughtless lout. Butler beware: In acting as in soccer, if you keep taking dives, sooner or later you pay the penalty. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleDec 6, 2012
As a movie, it's not much. But it's the best showcase for his charm that Butler has ever had. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertDec 6, 2012
Jessica Biel all but steals the show as Stacie. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyDec 6, 2012
At some point you hope the actor (Butler) will find a movie that will give him the right material to make hearts truly beat faster. Until then, it appears we'll have to settle for films with more flaws than his characters. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliDec 6, 2012
A sloppy, poorly focused comedy. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyDarren FranichDec 7, 2012
The central question of the movie becomes: Can George triumph over his inability to stop hot women from throwing themselves at him? Read full review
40
The New York TimesA.O. ScottDec 6, 2012
Sometimes the movie swerves toward farce, sometimes into the zone of smiley family comedy and at other times into full-on weepiness. None of it is especially credible or engaging. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanDec 6, 2012
Perhaps, if this movie fails, studios will finally accept that we all deserve better. Biel knows it already, and Butler keeps up in their scenes together. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleLouis BlackDec 5, 2012
Watching this all-too-predictable romantic comedy/drama, my overwhelming thought was this: Given all the great filmmakers and film projects that can't find funding, how did this effort secure its reported $35 million for production? Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberNov 23, 2012
This is a good premise for a comedy, but somewhere along the way, it got diluted and turned into a sappy, feel-good story of family togetherness. Read full review
40
VarietyJustin ChangNov 23, 2012
A modestly affecting reconciliation drama wrapped in a so-so sports movie by way of a misogynistic romantic comedy, Playing for Keeps can't stop tripping all over itself. Read full review
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27 Critic Reviews

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