If you’ve got a tween, then you’ve had that moment. You know the one. You are watching a movie together and something happens onscreen that makes one, or both, of you wish you weren’t sitting side by side. You squirm a little and cast a sideways glance at your kid. He stares steadfast at the screen.
Can’t we do better? P&G and Walmart believe so and have teamed up to create Family Movie Night, a series of made-for-TV-movies designed to entertain, educate and encourage families to watch together. Game of Your Life, the ninth Family Movie Night, premieres this Friday on NBC.
Game of Your Life follows college freshman Zach Taylor as he navigates the challenges of the first semester at the prestigious – and highly competitive –Digital Institute of Game Design. Challenge one? Zach and his team must pass the infamous freshman project that eliminates more than half of the incoming class within.
Paired with brilliant, yet socially awkward, teammates Phillip and Donald, the trio persuades Sara Ramirez – a determined and striking team leader with whom Zach has a history (and possibly a future) – to join their team. Working off-campus in a teched-out loft, the four set out to involve the entire campus in a quirky new game that explores the consequences of the choices everyone makes in life.
As the group becomes entrenched in the project, Zach learns that his widowed father is facing growing financial woes at home. To help out, Zach accepts an opportunity to work on a secretive side project that requires nearly all of his time and energy and violates the school’s prohibition against outside consulting projects. Struggling to keep it together, Zach is torn between his responsibility to his team and the chance to help his father.
Yup, there’s a moral about making good choices and the importance of loyalty. But there are video games, the hint of a love story and enough quirky characters to make the story readily digestible to your tween. Click here to check out the trailer.
Game of Your Life airs Friday, December 2 on NBC at 8/7(central).
P&G is a Macaroni Kid sponsor.
