One segment of films that never seem to be produced enough is that of the family film fare. Sure, there have been these films in the past, however clearly not enough. And since I've been told that I don't review enough family oriented films, I felt that "Playing with Fire" would fit the bill. First of all, it's geared toward kids/families, and secondly, after watching the trailer several times, I felt it would be a fairly funny film.
When straight-laced fire superintendent Jake Carson (John Cena) and his elite team of expert firefighters, Mark (Keegan-Michael Key), Rodrigo (John Leguizamo), and Axe (Tyler Mane) come to the rescue of three siblings Brynn (Brianna Hildebrand), Will (Christian Convery) and Zoey (Finley Rose Slater) in the path of an encroaching fire, they quickly realize that no amount of training could prepare them for their most challenging job yet-- babysitters. Unable to locate the children's parents, the firefighters have their lives, jobs and even their fire depot turned upside down and quickly learn that kids--much like fires--are wild and unpredictable.
Others to round out the cast are Judy Greer as Dr. Amy Hicks, Dennis Haysbert as Commander Richards and Lynda Boyd as Patty Welch.
By his very resume, this was directed by the family film king, Andy Fickman ("She's the Man" '06, "The Game Plan" '07, "Race to Witch Mountain" '09, "You Again" '10, "Wright vs. Wrong" (TV movie) '10, "Parental Guidance" '12, "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2" '15) plus TV. As with his other films, this is familiar territory and with that, he effectively, yet easily pushed his way through this project. Everyone in this was credible in their roles and emitted the emotions that was needed given the situation at hand. His staging and pacing with was spot on. It will be interesting to see what he does with his "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife" which is in pre-production. It was written in a cute way by Dan Ewen and Matt Lieberman ("The Christmas Chronicles" '18, "The Addams Family" '19). Certainly Lieberman has the brunt of the experience here, although I'm sure Ewen had pivotal input. As I mentioned, this was a very cute film in that it was about a hardened firefighter ultimately being softened by these kids, which becomes heartwarming. Was this Academy Award caliber? No. Was it well written? Not expressly, but I believe it delivered what it was meant to deliver: and that's a kid/family oriented film that is funny, heartwarming, exciting and carries an effective message. It was formulaic and predictable, however allowing it to be able to talk to its audience--in this case kids and their parents, it brought home a film the entire family can enjoy and have fun with.
I'm very perplexed, however not surprised that this has received poor critiques. If one can be objective and realize why this was made and to what audience it was attempting to reach, then this should've received a more fair write-up. Although it wasn't perfect, this was still fairly humorous and heartwarming. And hey, it's just nice to see films that anyone can see and not have to wonder if they're going have four-letter words, gratuitous sex and plenty of drugs thrown in their face.
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: PG 96mins.
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