A Netflix Suggestion for You

I'll give you a little snapshot of how I handle my Netflix membership.  I don't look at my queue of DVD selections for long periods of time.  Nor do I go onto the site frequently to choose new movies.  Generally, I will hear of movies that got limited theatrical releases and weren't worth the price and hassle of seeing them in a multiplex.  I notate them and then pop them into my Netflix account the next time I sign on.

As a result, I have a queue of about 100 films and I completely forget what I have loaded on there until the movie shows up in the red envelope.  Oh, did I put this down?  Really?  Why?  Some are dismal examples of what I need to show more discretion.  Others can be very pleasant surprises.

"Play The Game" showed up several weeks ago and falls in the latter category.  More ironically?  This film, which was Andy Griffith's last movie role, arrived in the mail on the day he died.  Timing is everything.  And, in a strange way, "Play The Game" serves as a fitting and, at the same time, bizarre closure to Andy's acting career.

The movie is a small, yet satisfying story of a grandfather and a grandson coming together in a way that most grandfathers and grandsons do not.  Paul Campbell, an actor unknown to me previously, is the younger generation.  He works for his dad's car dealership and uses the same sales techniques there that he uses to pick up women in bars.  Considered a bit of an expert in both arenas, the kid shares his skills with others.

Enter Grandpa Andy.  Living now in an assisted living facility, the old guy is mourning the recent death of the love of his life and contemplating the quickest way to join his life.  On one of the grandson's rare visits to "the home," Grandpa is encouraged to meet other people.   Armed with some of the boy's tried-and-true pick-up lines, Grandpa joins his grandson at a local watering hole.  The old guy hitches his pants up to his rib cage, stirs some Metamucil into a cocktail, and proceeds to find a meaning to his life. 

At the same time, the youngster falls for a girl who may be "the one."  But, she might be playing him the same way he plays women.  Or is she?  The cat-and-mouse game evolves into mouse-and-cat and back again.  You're never quite sure who's playing who and the usually cocksure grandson suddenly finds himself at a loss.

So, while the boy sinks into a sea of confusion, Grandpa becomes the "player" at the senior center.  He's smitten with Doris Roberts, but she's already spoken for.  He winds up romancing Liz Sheridan, who we all remember as Jerry Seinfeld's mother.  Not only is Andy feeling his oats, she's feeling up his as well.  And, in the most bizarre image ever on the screen, you get to watch her give good ole Andy Taylor...wait for it...a blowjob.  Mayberry would be all agog.

"Play The Game" was written and directed by people I've never heard of.  So, with the lack of a solid pedigree, you're not that surprised when it becomes predictable like every other romantic comedy that's been produced since 1995.  But, there's a unique sweetness in the relationship between Grandpa and Grandson that elevates it all.  And the acting is spot-on, creating some characters you genuinely like.

I also enjoyed some of the subtext that the filmmaker employed in "Play The Game."  Perhaps they knew this might be Andy Griffith's swan song.  The grandson's father is played by Clint Howard, Ron's brother.   Doris Roberts' boy friend is played by Rance Howard, Ron's father.  And the closing scenes take place at the lake.  Grandson and Grandpa, barefoot and fishing.  Just like Andy and Opie.

It makes me wonder if they knew. 

You could do a lot worse than putting "Play The Game" into your viewing queue.  Not only could you do a lot worse, most of us usually do.

Dinner last night:  Bangers and mash---a true English dinner at the home of some British friends.