Quarterback Sage Rosenfels, seated with his son Peyton and Peyton's friend Mitchell Robbins, was one of several Texans players to attend the screening of Disney's "The Game Plan."
On Tuesday at Edwards Cinema, Houston Texans players and staff were treated to a private advance screening of Disney's new family-oriented football film "The Game Plan," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Golden Globe winner Kyra Sedgwick.
Several Texans players and their families attended the film, which opens nationwide on Friday, Sept. 28. The comedy features Johnson as arrogant superstar pro quarterback Joe Kingman, who discovers a daughter he never knew existed on his doorstep and must audible his way into parenthood in the midst of his chase for a championship.
Texans quarterback Sage Rosenfels is an acquaintance of The Rock, and that was enough for him to have full confidence the film would be enjoyable before he even made it to his seat.
"I know 'The Rock' can act," Rosenfels, waiting for his wife and children to finish buying popcorn, said. "I was fortunate to meet him playing for the Dolphins for four years. He was at the facility a lot and he was friends with a couple guys on the team; him and Jason Taylor are pretty good friends. He's a good guy, and he's obviously a pretty successful actor."
But looking forward to the film even more than Rosenfels was his son, Peyton, anxious to see a movie about a pro quarterback like his dad.
"My son is very excited to watch the movie – extremely excited," Rosenfels said. "My daughter's clueless. My son and his friend, Mitchell Robbins, are extremely excited to watch this movie."
{QUOTE}Johnson, the former University of Miami defensive tackle and pro wrestling megastar, took on a new role in the film after previously starring in action movies such as "The Scorpion King" and "Walking Tall." He also more recently starred in the more dramatic football film "Gridiron Gang" in 2006 before assuming a new character type in this family-oriented comedy.
The Texans players' reviews of the movie were exceedingly positive. Linebacker Danny Clark could be seen smiling from ear-to-ear as he departed the theater with his wife Chasity, while kicker Kris Brown, at the movie with wife Amy and son Colby, stopped to share his thoughts on the film.
"I thought it was obviously a good movie," Brown said. "It was nice to see 'The Rock' play something completely different than he normally plays. (There was) just a really good message. It was a good movie, a really good movie."
Much of the action in the movie was filmed on location in and around Gillette Stadium and the New England Patriots' practice facility. The obvious question any football fan wants answered: How did the football action measure up against the real thing?
"The football action was realistic, which is sometimes not the case with movies," Brown said. "But again, there's a really good message behind the movie, and I'm glad we came and saw it."
"The Game Plan" was created by sports filmmakers Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray, who were previously behind popular inspirational sports films "Invincible," "The Rookie" and "Miracle." Starring along with Johnson are Madison Pettis (the Disney Channel) as Kingman's daughter Peyton, Roselyn Sanchez ("Rush Hour 2 and 3," TV's "Without a Trace") and Sedgwick ("The Closer").
