Playing with Fire
By Sandie Angulo Chen,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Cena charms, but slapstick-heavy comedy doesn't fully spark.

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Playing with Fire
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What's the Story?
Director Andy Fickman's PLAYING WITH FIRE follows Jake "Supe" Carson (John Cena), a second-generation superintendent of a squad of elite California firefighters known as smoke jumpers. Their straight-laced, rule-following demeanor is put to the test when the team rescues three siblings from a fire and must provide safe sanctuary for them over a long weekend. Complicating matters is the fact that Supe is applying for a promotion and expects an important evaluation from the retiring Commander Richards (Dennis Haysbert). The kids -- teenage Brynn (Brianna Hildebrand), tween Will (Christian Convery), and preschooler Zoey (Finley Rose Slater) -- prove more difficult to control than Supe or his crew imagined. But as the kids and adults -- including Mark (Keegan-Michael Key), Rodrigo (John Leguizamo), and Axe (Tyler Mane) -- get to know one another, it's clear that Supe needs the siblings as much as they need him.
Is It Any Good?
Like Arnold Schwarzenegger and The Rock before him, Cena capitalizes on the charm of no-nonsense alpha males tapping into their nurturing sides in this slapsticky action comedy. Playing with Fire isn't nearly as quotable or memorable as Arnold's Kindergarten Cop, but the cast has enough comedic chemistry to keep families entertained. Leguizamo and Key deliver most of the jokes, with mountain-of-a-man Mane existing primarily as a sight gag. The screenplay is familiar, but at least the emergency responders storyline feels relevant, given the ongoing wildfire crisis in California.
The three siblings range widely in age, so they hit a breadth of parenting issues, from potty training and My Little Pony play to lack of impulse control, mechanical curiosity, and adolescent angst. Unlike the movie Instant Family, which covered weeks and months of foster care, this film compresses the timeline to just a few days. That makes the mayhem the kids can cause on otherwise-organized adults' lives that much more manic. Younger viewers will particularly enjoy the big firehouse dog, as well as the various commercial trucks and tools and the downright silliness of the crew getting in touch with their childlike imaginations. Judy Greer co-stars as Jake's love interest, USDA environmental scientist Dr. Amy Hicks, but she's slightly underused until the final third of the movie.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the role models in Playing with Fire. How do Jake and the other smoke jumpers display courage and teamwork? Why are those important character strengths?
Why is it funny to watch big, burly, child-free men being around young children? Can you think of other movies with similar storylines?
What lessons does Jake learn from the kids? How do they impact him for the better? What do the kids learn from Jake and the other men in the squad?
Movie Details
- In theaters: November 8, 2019
- On DVD or streaming: February 4, 2020
- Cast: John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, John Leguizamo
- Director: Andy Fickman
- Inclusion Information: Black actors, Latinx actors
- Studio: Paramount Pictures
- Genre: Comedy
- Topics: Cars and Trucks, Friendship
- Character Strengths: Courage, Empathy, Teamwork
- Run time: 96 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG
- MPAA explanation: rude humor, some suggestive material and mild peril
- Last updated: March 31, 2022
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