''Best Player'' is a 2011
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
that aired on
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
on March 13, 2011. The movie stars
Jerry Trainor
Gerald William "Jerry" Trainor (born January 21, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for playing Spencer Shay in the teen sitcom '' iCarly'', winning three Kids' Choice Awards for his performance, and reprises the role on its revival series ...
and
Jennette McCurdy
Jennette Michelle Faye McCurdy (born June 26, 1992) is an American writer, director, podcaster, singer and former actress. McCurdy's breakthrough role as Sam Puckett in the Nickelodeon sitcom '' iCarly'' (2007–2012) earned her various awards ...
, from the show ''
iCarly
''iCarly'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, which originally aired on Nickelodeon from September 8, 2007, to November 23, 2012. The series tells the story of Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), a teenager who creates and hosts ...
''. Filming started on October 24, 2009 in
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...
, Canada and wrapped up production on November 18, 2009.
Plot
Quincy Johnson (
Jerry Trainor
Gerald William "Jerry" Trainor (born January 21, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for playing Spencer Shay in the teen sitcom '' iCarly'', winning three Kids' Choice Awards for his performance, and reprises the role on its revival series ...
) is a barely employed adult gamer who lives at home with his parents. Quincy plays video games under the username "Q" and is renowned in the gaming community for his many awards and world records. Much to Quincy's dismay, his parents decide to sell their house, meaning Quincy will need to find a new place of residence. Quincy decides to try to buy the house from them for $175,000. He plans on getting the money from a tournament for a new video game called "Black Hole", where the grand prize is $175,000. He discusses the dilemma with his number one fan, Wendell (
Amir Talai
The Women's March was a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, the day after Inauguration of Donald Trump, the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president. It was prompted by Trump's policy positions and rhetoric, which protesters called Misog ...
). While practicing for the tournament, Quincy finds a player named "Prodigy" whom he cannot defeat. Quincy and Wendell decide to find out who Prodigy really is to secure Quincy's chance of winning the tournament, also because Quincy needs a place to stay. Wendell picks Quincy up and finds out that Prodigy lives nearby. They seek a plan to beat Prodigy while together.
When they find Prodigy's house, Quincy discovers that Prodigy is actually a sullen high school girl named Christina Saunders (
Jennette McCurdy
Jennette Michelle Faye McCurdy (born June 26, 1992) is an American writer, director, podcaster, singer and former actress. McCurdy's breakthrough role as Sam Puckett in the Nickelodeon sitcom '' iCarly'' (2007–2012) earned her various awards ...
), ("Chris" for short), who thinks that he is her mom Tracy's (
Janet Varney
Janet Varney (born February 16, 1976) is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for voicing Korra in the Nickelodeon animated television series ''The Legend of Korra'', co-starring as Sheriff Evie Barret in the television ser ...
) internet date. But the plan almost fails when Mr. Johnson, Tracy's real Internet date, arrives, however, Wendell manages to stall him. Quincy decides he will have to go on a date with her, so on his and Tracy's first date, Quincy lies to her, saying that he is a
home economics
Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences, is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and food preparation, as well as texti ...
teacher at Chris' school. Tracy tells Chris, in front of Quincy, that if Chris gets any more F's she will not be allowed to play any video games. The next day, Wendell has set up Quincy to be the home economics teacher at Chris's school. Later, Chris goes to science class and is the first to present her project which Quincy and Wendell had sabotaged the previous night so that she would fail and not be able to play in the tournament. It goes awry and ends up with Chris getting an A+, and she gloats to Quincy about the $175,500 she will win at the tournament.
The next day, Quincy asks several boys if any one of them will take Chris to the prom, which is on the same day of the tournament. No one shows any interest and they all leave except Sheldon (Nick Benson) who reveals that he has had an unnoticed crush on Chris. Quincy takes Sheldon to the library and they research pick-up lines on the computer so they can research how to woo Chris. Quincy then tells Sheldon to sign up for the football tryouts. Unfortunately, Sheldon, being a complete nerd, is tackled by a stronger jock and given a massive, humiliating, almost atomic wedgie in front of Chris. The bully, however, doesn't stop there, dangle Sheldon by the wedgie in front of the entire bleachers full of girls. After a full minute of dangling Sheldon by his briefs, Sheldon's friend Ash convinces the bully to let go of his underpants and drop Sheldon to the floor. Quincy realizes that Chris likes Ash (
Jean-Luc Bilodeau
Jean-Luc Bilodeau (born November 4, 1990) is a Canadian actor who has been acting since 2004. He is best known for his role as Ben Wheeler in the ABC Family channel program ''Baby Daddy''.
Bilodeau has also appeared in films and television seri ...
).
Later on a field trip to a video arcade planned by Quincy, Ash asks Chris to prom much to her delight. Chris, later on, tells Quincy and Tracy that Ash asked her to the prom, and she will be missing the tournament. Quincy assures her there will be more tournaments, and they look on the Internet for some other tournaments, when Chris sees Quincy on a magazine cover about video games. Realizing Quincy is Q, Chris spitefully decides to "destroy" him at the tournament, even rejecting Ash's prom invitation to do so, while Tracy appears and asks Quincy to leave after he tells her the truth. After leaving, Wendell tells Quincy that he is also competing in the tournament and kicks Quincy out of his house for choosing Tracy over gaming.
The next day they go to the tournament, Quincy, Wendell, and Chris each win in their respective first rounds. Sheldon (going by the name "Shell-Shock") appears, after having been released from the hospital. Quincy admits to Tracy that he loves her and has feelings for her, but Wendell convinces everyone to think it's "smack talk", which inadvertently humiliates and embarrasses Tracy in front of everyone and further worsens the rift between Quincy and Tracy. Tracy, however, who knows that is not true, is not sure about what he said. For the final event, Wendell asks Quincy if he'll work with him to destroy Chris and when they win they will share the award fifty-fifty. Quincy doesn't reply and jumps on Prodigy/Chris; leading everyone on that he will destroy her, but then he works with her to destroy Wendell. But in Quincy's final strike, Wendell and Quincy destroy each other. Chris appears to be the winner, but the game is not over. Sheldon/Shell-Shock, thought to have been defeated, gets up and defeats Chris/Prodigy to win the game.
Ash appears from the crowd to Chris's surprise. He congratulates her despite not winning and says he intended to spend the evening with her anyway, and that there is still time to go to the prom. Quincy apologizes to and reconciles with Tracy and asks her to the prom, to which she accepts. In the ending credits, you see prom photos of Ash, Tracy, Chris, and Quincy.
Cast
*
Jerry Trainor
Gerald William "Jerry" Trainor (born January 21, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for playing Spencer Shay in the teen sitcom '' iCarly'', winning three Kids' Choice Awards for his performance, and reprises the role on its revival series ...
as Quincy Johnson
*
Jennette McCurdy
Jennette Michelle Faye McCurdy (born June 26, 1992) is an American writer, director, podcaster, singer and former actress. McCurdy's breakthrough role as Sam Puckett in the Nickelodeon sitcom '' iCarly'' (2007–2012) earned her various awards ...
as Chris "Prodigy" Saunders
*
Amir Talai
The Women's March was a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, the day after Inauguration of Donald Trump, the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president. It was prompted by Trump's policy positions and rhetoric, which protesters called Misog ...
as Wendell
*
Janet Varney
Janet Varney (born February 16, 1976) is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for voicing Korra in the Nickelodeon animated television series ''The Legend of Korra'', co-starring as Sheriff Evie Barret in the television ser ...
as Tracy Saunders
* Nick Benson as Sheldon
*
Jean-Luc Bilodeau
Jean-Luc Bilodeau (born November 4, 1990) is a Canadian actor who has been acting since 2004. He is best known for his role as Ben Wheeler in the ABC Family channel program ''Baby Daddy''.
Bilodeau has also appeared in films and television seri ...
as Ash McPhee
*
Gabrielle Rose as Mrs. Johnson
*
Malcolm Stewart as Mr. Johnson
* Julia Maxwell as Cindy
* Jesse Wheeler as Bob
* Lissa Neptuno as Jenny
* Kevin O'Grady as Principal Cooper
* Colin Foo as Old Bobby
* Dan Joffre as Mr. Ingleby
* Kevin Crofton as Tourist Dad
*
Patricia Drake
Patricia Drake is a Canadian actress working on TV and in animated shows, mostly with Ocean Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Filmography
Anime roles
* ''Black Lagoon'' as Balalaika
* '' Dragon Ball Z'' as Android 19 (Ocean dub)
...
as Tourist Mom
*
Calum Worthy
Calum Worthy (born January 28, 1991) is a Canadian actor, writer, and producer, known for his roles as Dez on the Disney Channel series '' Austin & Ally'', Alex Trimboli in the Netflix series ''American Vandal'', Nicholas Godejohn in the Hulu ser ...
as Zastrow
* Karissa Tynes as Permission Slip Girl
*
Osric Chau
Osric Chau (; born July 20, 1986) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Kevin Tran in the CW series ''Supernatural'', Vogel in the BBC America series ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'', and Ryan Choi in the TV shows set in t ...
as Ash's Friend
* Adom Osei as Laser Tag Pre-Teen
* BJ Harrison as Public Librarian
* Dejan Loyola as Eviscer8r
* Jan Bos as Contest Referee
* Talon Dunbar as Wendell's Opponent
* Jesse Reid as Chris's Opponent
* Nick Carey as Sheldon's Opponent
*
Rekha Sharma
Rekha Shanti Sharma is a Canadian actress of Indo-Fijian descent, best known for her role as Tory Foster on ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica,'' and List of Star Trek: Discovery characters#Guest characters, Ellen Land ...
as Brenda
* Baljodh Nagra as Mikey
* Ryan Harder as Benny
* Elfina Luk as Mrs. Chen
* Marc Gaudet as Italian Waiter #1
* Milo Shandel as Italian Waiter #2
* Nancy Ebert as High School Librarian
* Nico Ghisi as Kicker Kid
*
Doug Chapman as Tracy's Internet Date
*
Kevin Michael Richardson as Black Hole Video Game Announcer (V.O.)
Home media
The film was released on DVD on November 8, 2013, and on Blu-ray on December 4, 2015. On November 3, 2020, the movie was added to
Paramount+
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
(formerly CBS All Access).
References
External links
*
*
{{Damon Santostefano
2011 television films
2011 films
2011 computer-animated films
Films about video games
American films with live action and animation
Nickelodeon original films
Films shot in Vancouver
Films directed by Damon Santostefano
American computer-animated films
Canadian computer-animated films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
2010s Canadian films