It’s my general rule to want to help new entertainment ventures when I can, so here I draw your attention to “Game Day,” which received its premiere Saturday in Chester.
That it made its debut in Chester, tells you it has heavy local connections. It is entirely local. That explains characters wearing a Pat’s Steaks T-shirt and a Primo Hoagies sweat shirt.
The movie is centered around a family gathered on a Sunday afternoon to watch an Eagles game, which will probably bring “Silver Linings Playbook” to mind.
“Game Day” has no Robert De Niro, Jennifer Lawrence or Bradley Cooper (who once was a Daily News summer intern). It has, instead, local actors in a cast headed by Dean Simone, as Zach Forte, in whose home the movie takes place on a fateful Eagles/Dallas Sunday. Aren’t they all?
Unlike “Silver Linings,” the family is distinctively, unalterably Italian, which means almost every line is shouted at the top of their lungs. There are more F-bombs than E-A-G-L-E-S cheers.
South Philly/South Jersey native Simone is the co-writer, and the story is drawn from his family’s background, which is pro-Eagle and pro-bickering, filled with competing grievances, according to the script.
Zach is an actor whose main work is in commercials, but work has been scarce lately and the bills are piling up.
He has opened his home to his out-of-work father and ailing mother. His large suburban stone home is also shared with his son, Marco, an aspiring musician, his second wife, Jamie, and their son Cash.
Zach’s career may be flagging, but not his sex appeal, as his ex-wife Michelle and even his mother-in-law flirt with him.
The broadcast of the game can be heard in the background, as various fissures open up in the living room between the characters.
Simone’s looks and style puts me in mind of Harvey Keitel, and Val McAdoo was terrific as Jamie, Zach’s wife, the only character permitted some subtlety.
I won’t give you the outcome of the game, or of the Sunday family disputes, because that’s not my purpose here.
How to see it on the website: https://www.gamedaythemovie.com/
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