Fun, Football, and Family {What More Can You Want?}

Family time and family movie nights have long been something after my own heart.  I’ll just be honest – there is so much junk on TV these days that it’s hard to find something appropriate for the entire family to watch.

Think about it – creating something appropriate for the whole family to enjoy is harder than you might care to admit.  For us that means the following:

• Not overtly sexual
• No crude jokes
• No cursing
• Not violent

But it also means:

• Easy for the entire family to follow but…
• Complex enough for the adults to enjoy
• Appealing to both boys and girls (we have a 50/50 split)

I mean, honestly.  That’s a tall order, is it not?  P&G and Walmart have successfully accomplished this yet again, however, with Game Time: Tackling the Past, the newest of the Family Movie Night franchise.  You might remember that I visited the set of The Jensen Project, another one of the Family Movie Night movies, back in March of 2010.  I’ve enjoyed all of the movies that P&G and Walmart have created so far, and I have been partial to The Jensen Project because of my involvement, but I have to tell you – they have really outdone themselves this time with Game Time: Tackling the Past.

Our family LOVES football — I grew up in the South where Football is in your blood.  Even my now 4-year-old daughter has been asking to watch more football since she was barely old enough to talk.  I made this video when she was around 17 months old, asking me to put “fut-ball” on the TV.  (Sorry it’s so dark, it was one of those moments where I just grabbed my camera!)

Football fans like us will LOVE this movie because it is all about the Football spirit!  Check out the synopsis from the official Family Movie Night site:

Pro football star Jake Walker is living the dream… or so he thinks. The veteran tight end is a fan favorite and on pace to set the all-time receiving yards record that will guarantee him a spot in the Hall of Fame. While working out at training camp, Jake receives an unexpected call from his brother Dean – their father Frank has suffered a major heart attack. Jake immediately leaves practice and returns to Riverton, North Carolina, the small hometown he’s avoided for nearly 15 years. Memories of glory and regret flood his mind as he returns to the family and friends he abandoned in pursuit of his career. Jake dutifully visits with Frank and Dean, but hurt and misunderstanding from the past begins to resurface, leaving him counting the days until he can return to his team.

A second unexpected call, this time from his agent, delivers Jake another crushing blow. His contract is not being renewed amid concerns about his surgically repaired knee. Suddenly, the life Jake knows is over. To avoid the media circus around this news, Jake reluctantly decides to extend his stay in Riverton. Attempting to make the best of the situation, he begins reconnecting with the community that once revered him.    Jake is reintroduced to Sarah, his high school sweetheart, and helps Dean take over their father’s high school coaching job.

Surprisingly impacted by the people around him, the real Jake begins to emerge from behind his armor to see that life is much more than the accumulation of personal stats. But when Jake’s offered a lucrative new contract to play for another team, he is forced to decide whether to go back to the career he thought he loved, or stay in Riverton and embrace the people who always believed in him.

I was able to watch the movie online and chat throughout the film with one of it’s stars, Catherine Hicks (who you might remember as the mom from Seventh Heaven!).  It was so much fun to get the behind-the-scenes peek at the film with her insight, and I can tell you that she, along with the rest of the cast and crew, have personally put so much heart and soul into this film – and it is apparent while you watch it.  It is directed by Doug Barr, who also directed The Jensen Project (and is just a totally awesome guy.)

So, if you’re looking for something to watch this Labor Day weekend with the family, check out Game Time: Tackling the Past, which premieres on Saturday, September 3rd on NBC at 8 pm EST/7 pm CST.  Also, don’t forget to check out the Family Movie Night Facebook Page for more information!

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of P&G and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

The Jensen Project – Watch Tonight!!!

Back in March I had the most incredible opportunity to visit the set of The Jensen Project – a joint movie project by Walmart and P&G in an effort to bring back family movie night.  This is their second project in this endeavor – the first being Secrets of the Mountain.  The Jensen Project stars Kellie Martin, Brady Smith, Patricia Richardson, and LeVar Burton, to name just a few of the all-star cast.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience – check out the recap of our time on set below!  (Which, for the record, can also be seen in the “bonus features” section of the DVD!”)  Pay close attention to the last 5 minutes of this video where I prove, once and for all, that I am a GIANT. GOOFBALL.

For the record, my experience on-set was AMAZING.  But, I should also state, for the record (who keeps these “records” anyway?) that I support this movie for several reasons – the least of which was the trip to Canada to hang out on the set.  So here ya go – reasons why I am 100% behind The Jensen Project.

1.  Family Movie Night is back. Well, it’s about time!  How much junk is there on TV, seriously?  Even when the programming itself is mild enough to watch with your kids, you end up covering their eyes during half of the commercials for shows like “Desperate Housewives”.  You can watch this together with your family – all of them!  Sa-weet!

2. The movie is awesome.   I know what you’re (potentially) thinking.  After school special?  Captain lame-o?  Sorry to disappoint you, naysayers of the world – this movie is SO not lame.  Secrets of the Mountain proved that Walmart and P&G can indeed swim in this made-for-TV-movie world, and the all-star cast of The Jensen Project proves that again.

3. I adore the cast. I simply cannot say enough NICE things about them all.  This is the most down-to-earth, kind, genuine, hardworking group of people that I’ve ever met in ANY profession.  For instance, before we “officially” met, Kellie Martin and I ended up in the same elevator at our hotel.  We chatted away like old friends. I arrived later that day on the set and went – oh, right.  So that girl from the elevator (who’s ear I TALKED OFF) was Kellie Martin. She greeted me with a smile when I walked in and immediately said “We met in the elevator!”  Why yes, yes we did!

I grew up watching Patricia Richardson on TV each week, but in a very surreal moment, she stood and talked to me for 20 minutes about her children, her hiatus from work, and Twitter – and this was after the cameras stopped rolling on her interview with us.  I was totally geeked out.

Of course there was LeVar Burton who graciously played along with my antics both before and during my interview with him – and was so much fun to talk to. He even gave a shout-out to my dad during our interview – a longtime Star Trek fan!

And then there was Brady Smith (CONGRATS on the new beautiful baby girl, Brady!) who showed off pictures of his beautiful pregnant wife, and then asked to see pictures of my daughter. The next day, he saw me wandering the lobby of the hotel and invited to give me a tour of Montreal and to have lunch with him and Kellie.  So for several hours on the last day of shooting they voluntarily hung out with a random blogging chick from Louisiana – and they made me feel right at home.

…so there you have it.  This is the short of the long story – a story that I could go on and on about for a bit, but it boils down to this.

Watch The Jensen Project tonight on NBC at 7pm CDT.

You won’t regret it.  Follow me on Twitter for updates, and follow @Kellie_Martin and @LeVarBurton as well!

PS – Want to win a copy of The Jensen Project?  Leave a comment to be entered to win the DVD + CD combo – available in Walmart on July 17th!  Contest ends July 25th at 11:59pm CDT.