New Movie The Game Plan Gives a Positive Portrayal of Food Allergy Overall
The new Disney movie The Game Plan includes two scenes about food allergies. Overall, the film handles food allergy in a way that, for the most part, is accurate and sensitive.
The film’s main character is a carefree, unmarried pro football quarterback played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who one day finds himself playing father to an 8-year-old daughter he hadn’t known existed. It takes him a while to warm up to his new role.
In the first scene depicting food allergy, Johnson’s character inadvertently eats a cookie that contains cinnamon, to which he’s allergic, and as a result, his tongue swells up. This causes him to speak in a goofy and comical way at football practice, highlighted by humorous scenes of him filming a TV promo and trying to call plays in the huddle.
Taken by itself, this scene gives viewers the false impression that an allergic reaction to food is merely a nuisance, and a comical one at that. Fortunately, the film makes it very clear later on that this is not the case.
At a pivotal mealtime moment in the movie, the girl begins showing symptoms after distractedly taking a few bites of a dessert. At first, Johnson’s character doesn’t realize what’s happening, but another adult who’s with them points out that the girl’s face is breaking out and her lips are swelling (though this isn’t shown on camera) and says she thinks it might be an allergic reaction.
At this point, the girl manages to say, with difficulty, that she’s allergic to nuts, and the other adult discovers nuts in the dessert. Knowing that time is of the essence, the father immediately scoops his daughter up in his arms and runs to the hospital. When they get there, he bursts through the doors screaming that his daughter needs help. She is treated and recovers.
FAAN applauds Disney’s accurate portrayal of an allergic reaction to food in The Game Plan.
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