If you are a regular reader of She Scribes, you know how much I love horror movies. It’s my favorite movie genre. However, I also enjoy comedies, dramas, documentaries and other movie genres as well.
My children are young adults now. When they were little we used to have Family Movie Night (usually on a Friday or Saturday night). We would pick out a movie (the kids usually argued over who got to pick it out), pop some popcorn and enjoy some quality time together.
We still have Family Movie Night from time to time, but not as often as we used to, and the movies have changed. My kids are into horror just like me. They also like dramas and “romcoms.”
Even though our kids are busy with their lives (work, college, friends…), my husband and I still enjoy movie night together.
Friday nights are always “Stupid Horror Movie Night.” We look for the silliest sounding horror movie we can find and enjoy making fun of it as we watch it. It started out as a horror movie night, but since most horror movies are not scary, it turned into “Stupid Horror Movie Night.”
Saturday nights we watch another film. Most of the time it’s family friendly films. We are just big kids at heart and have no problem watch a classic Disney film, or films that people with younger children might watch.
We had the opportunity to watch a newly released film, Playing with Fire, along with our son (our daughter had plans with friends that night). It was a rare occasion to have one the kids home.
Playing with Fire stars John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, Judy Greer, John Leguizamo, and Dennis Haysbert.
Jake Carson (Cena) is totally into his smoke jumper career. A smoke jumper is a specialized fire fighter who parachutes into fires to help rescue people and tend to fire aid needs. They also help out with rescues in remote locations.
Jake’s father was a division commander – something that Jake aspires to be. In fact, there is an opportunity for him to replace the current division commander when he retires.
Jake is “hardcore” and almost militant about his position. He doesn’t smile or show any kind of flexibility. He is completely goal orientated.
Jake works at a station with a few other smoke jumpers – Mark (Key), neurotic Rodrigo (Leguizamo) and a man they affectionately called “Axe” (Tyler Mane) because he carries his fireman’s axe where ever he goes (literally!). There were other smoke jumpers at their post, but they bailed and went elsewhere.
One day the group are alerted to a cabin fire deep into the woods. They to to asses the situation and realize the cabin is occupied. Jake is let down into the burning cabin via a rope. Inside he finds three children Brynn (teenager), Will (young boy) and Zoey (toddler).
The children are rescued and brought back to the station. Due to weather conditions, the children are forced to stay at the station, much to the dismay of Jake (the other men welcome the children into their station).
Something happens and the children are forced to stay there a lot longer than Jake had hoped.
How is this “tough as nails” firefighter, and other men who have no knowledge or experience with children, suppose to take care of three children? Needless to say the results are hysterical.
Of course there were bonus features. On the Blu-ray disc, the bonus features included;
- Deleted Scenes
- Bloopers
- Storytime with John Cena
- Lighting Up the Laughs – A behind the scenes look at some of the funniest sequences.
- What is means to be a family – The cast and crew give their definition of what a “family” is.
- The REAL Smokejumpers – A look at the life and work of real smokejumpers. Let’s just say it’s not something anyone can do. You have to be really brave and skilled to do their work. They are true heroes.
- And more!
The bonus content is really funny (for the most part – the segment on the real Smokejumpers is not funny). I highly recommend checking out the bonus content for more laughs.
This movie is a lot of fun. It’s great for families of all ages. Our son is twenty years old, and he was laughing throughout the film. I should also note that our son doesn’t really have much of a sense of humor, so for him to laugh it has to be REALLY funny.
The kids are the scene stealers, most especially the little ones. The character “Axe” is also very funny too. He’s played by Tyler Mane, who played the character Michael Myers in the newest Halloween movie. He doesn’t say anything in the movie, he just grunts a lot.
This movie is ideal for even young children. There is no sex or foul language. Some children might be scared by the fire scenes.
I was sent a copy of this film to review, along with a cool (no pun intended) fire hydrant reuseable water bottle and some yummy popcorn to enjoy while watching the film.
In addition to the other goodies, we also received a GIANT Jenga set, similar to the one featured in the film. WOW! It’s HUGE! It stands five feet tall when set up.
I brought the Giant Jenga to work with me one day to let my “work kids” have fun with it. They had a BLAST! The Giant Jenga was even taller than some of the kids playing with it (my “work kids” are ages 9-12).
I’m currently keeping the game in my car. That way I have it at home when we want to play with it, and I can bring it into work when the kids want to play with it too.
I blurred out their faces for privacy reasons.
Look for Playing with Fire where ever movies are sold or rented.
Below is the THEATRICAL trailer for the film. The film is no longer in theaters.
Kimberly
*I received a free screener copy in order to do this review, as well as other free goodies. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.