Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
Stars Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, Kevin Corrigan, Jose Zuniga, Kevin Rankin, Enrico Colantoni, Ariel Winter, Jake Austin Walker, Ashley Taylor, Cullen Chaffin, Darren O'Hare, Yeardley Smith | Written by S.J. Roth
UK Certification 12 | UK RRP £15.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 99 minutes | Directed by Stephen Herek
The latest cinematic effort from WWE Studios and Samuel Goldwyn Films takes legendary wrestling Superstar Triple H and quite literally places him in the driver's seat of a feature film. His first starring role, the muscle man known as “The Game” takes the bull by its horns and delivers a surprisingly good, Schwarzenegger-like performance in a movie that accomplishes exactly what it sets out to be: a healthy dose of light-hearted family fun.
The film begins with Ray Bradstone (Levesque) being released from prison (and with the absolute worst fake beard I've ever seen) after serving a seven-year sentence for a bank robbery. He's no longer the hulking criminal esteemed in his circles for his abilities behind the wheel as a getaway driver, but a changed man who wants nothing more than to make peace with his ex-wife and daughter, while keeping his life on the straight and narrow. This isn't how his former partners in crime see his future however, and they quickly try and reel him back into their low-down and dangerous world of law-breaking schemes. They half succeed, but following a botched bank heist, they are left in pursuit of a kitbag full of money as it travels around New Orleans in the cargo hold of a bus driven by Bradstone as he acts as the chaperone for his daughter's field trip, with his intention being to get closer to her even though she tries to shun him away. What ensues is a cat-and-mouse chase across the city where fists and handguns are the weapons of choice.
Falling somewhere between Kindergarten Cop and The Pacifier, The Chaperone, helmed by Bill & Ted's Excellent Aventure director Stephen Herek, is scene-after-scene of unbridled silliness. Its story of a father's journey to redemption after the mistakes he's made and his attempt to repair the shattered relationship with those he loves is one we've seen countless times before, but with such a positive, good-natured and moralistic tale aimed at a family audience, it's easy to forgive the film's creative shortcomings. And trust me, there are a lot. It's fairly predictable stuff throughout with an abundance of clichés and weak gags, but it still remains enjoyable from start to finish.
There have been plenty of negative and snobby reviews from across the pond, but I seriously wonder whether these viewers were watching with a chip on their shoulder purely because it's a film produced by WWE and starring one of their most recognised athletes. It's far from a great movie, but it's clean, honest and doesn't take itself seriously. What more do you want from a corny comedy with such a target audience?
The Chaperone isn't a smart movie and nor does it ever attempt to be as evident by its fairly outlandish plot and Spy Kids-esque final act, but it's a pleasant enough way for adults to spend an hour-and-a-half and a film that I believe kids will remember and want to come back to all because of its constant aura of feel-good fun.
EXTRAS ★★ An audio commentary with Triple H, Ariel Winter and Yeardley Smith; blooper reel; a feature on Triple H's role in the film; the music video for Come Back, an original song by Ariel Winter; photo gallery; and an inside look at That's What I Am, the next WWE Studios production starring Ed Harris and WWE Superstar Randy Orton.