Game Plan, The (Blu-ray)

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From classic-era films like "The Seven Little Foys" and "My Six Loves" to more recent fare like "Mr. Mom" and "Mrs. Doubtfire," the pairing of children with inept or reluctant adults has been a comic staple. And always, these films seem to go one of two directions: either playing it cute and going straight for the heart, or else siphoning every drop of silliness and stupidity that the premise seems to offer. But "The Game Plan" (thankfully) aims for somewhere in-between.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays an egocentric pro quarterback for the Boston Rebels who has a bachelor pad especially made for "babes" and par-tays, during which he's always the center of attention. This guy's so full of himself he has gigantic photos plastered all over his apartment, he watches replays of interviews while mouthing his sound bytes, and he doesn't even notice that his teammates aren't exactly fond of him. But where's the surprise? He hardly even notices them on the field, he's so busy hogging the ball . . . and the spotlight. And the women? He has an entire closet full of swag-bags to hand his special woman du jour--though he seems to be most serious about a Russian supermodel named Tatianna (Kate Nauta).

But all that changes when an eight-year-old girl turns up on his doorstep claiming to be his daughter from an early (and unpublicized) marriage. Her mother is apparently off trying to save the world and dropped the little girl off so he could also do the right thing, at least while she's away. Call it long-term baby-sitting, except when it's your own child, you're not really a sitter. You're . . . DADDY. Those capital letters at first confound Joe Kingman. But then, like a real gamer, he rises to the occasion. He adjusts to having her around the house, he puts up with her "bedazzling" everything in sight (including his prized football), and he even takes her to ballet lessons, where he finds no fan in the instructor (Monique Vasquez)--only another person who makes him question his frivolous and decadent lifestyle.

Two-and-a-half storylines play themselves out. While Joe is learning not only how to be a father, but that he might actually like it and love her, he's also trying to lead his team to the championship (of course). The half-twist comes when we begin to suspect that the little girl, Madison (Peyton Kelly) isn't telling the whole truth, and that brings the mother and aunt into the picture. While "The Game Plan" might be predictable, the script by Nichole Millard and Kathryn Price has enough turns to make it interesting, and enough decent lines to make it work. In the parlance of football, there might not be many big plays, but there's enough short-pass, grind-it-out offense here to win the game.

Complications arise when Kingman tries to continue his bachelor life, even with an eight year old in tow (Can you say, "Gotcha," as in paparazzi?), and another turn comes when he learns the real truth about the girl's situation. But director Andy Fickman manages his own run for the end zone while being careful not to step out of bounds. He avoids sappiness and instead gives us a true family film that zeroes in the good things that having a family--and a family life--can do for a person. Even his handling of a developing mutual attraction between Joe and the ballet teacher is nicely understated.

Given what tries to pass for "family" entertainment these days, "The Game Plan" takes us back to basics. No cheap or gross-out humor, no dumbing down (well, except for one or two of the players), and no hip-talking kids. Just a precocious little girl named Peyton (Madison Pettis) who does her Shirley Temple thing with savvy rather than Saccharine, pouty-lipped naiveté. And "The Rock" shows that he can handle the sometimes difficult juggling act that a family comedy demands. Though his emotional range still has a ways to stretch, he does a fine job convincing us that this arrogant football player feels other things besides self-love.