Streaming
Service:
Amazon Prime
Movie
Name/Year: Role
Play (2024)
Genre:
Action, Comedy, Romance
Length:
1h 40min
Rating:
R
Director:
Thomas Vincent
Writer:
Seth W. Owen
Actors:Kaley
Cuoco, David Oyelowo, Bill Nighy, Connie Nielsen, Rudi Dharmalingam,
Lucia Aliu, Regan Bryan-Gudgeon, Simon Delaney, Sonita Henry,
Jade-Eleena Dregorius, Julia Schunevitsch, Stephanie Levi-John,
Steffen Jung, Betty Kaplan, Dong Hyun Yoon, Matthias Schmidt, Angus
McGruther, Dominic Holmes
IMDb
Blurb:
Emma has a wonderful husband and two kids in the suburbs of New
Jersey. She also has a secret life as an assassin for hire, a secret
that her husband Dave discovers when the couple decide to spice up
their marriage with a little role play.
Selina’s
Point of View:
I
didn’t have too much stock in Role
Play
going into it. It looked like a fun little action/comedy, but I
figured it would be basic. The trailer looked interesting, if a bit
predictable.
Watching
that same trailer now, I get a much different feel for it.
From
the music to the way the scenes are spliced together, the trailer
winds up taking on a whole different vibe when you know the context.
It’s one of those things where it made me expect something I didn’t
get, but it was done in such a way that the trailer doesn’t feel
like a lie. It’s like the video representation of the laurel/yanny
audio. Watching the trailer with the comedy genre in mind paints a
much different picture than when you watch it with the action genre
at the forefront.
I
believe the reason for the versatility in the coming attractions is
because of a certain elegance in the film that they were trying to
represent.
There
are a lot of films that travel down that assassin meets civilian
romantic route in movies. I’ve seen about 50 of them. None of them
do what the director, Thomas Vincent (Reacher, Possessions,
Bodyguard), did in this one. The way he used the tone of each
genre to represent the existence of each character was interesting.
Some of the other films have done that, but usually through the basic
soundtrack or lighting. A more subtle alteration. In Role Play
the entire genre changes.
When
David Oyelowo (The After, Selma, Silo) is on screen, the movie
leans more comedy. Meanwhile, if the only main character on screen is
Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory, The Wedding Ringer, 8 Simple
Rules), it leans toward a darker action genre. Vincent used the
genres to represent the light that Oyelowo’s character brought into
the life of Cuoco’s character, and I think it was very well done.
Although it was less subtle, there was an elegance to it that I
believe needs to be appreciated.
At
times, it did make the tonal consistency of the movie feel a bit off.
I’d
like to see what Vincent can do with that kind of strategy having
learned what he did from making Role Play.
I
firmly believe that Role Play was a solid film. I wasn’t
sucked in immediately, but I did wind up enjoying it by the end. It’s
a cute little comedic action flick that doesn’t deserve all the
negativity it’s gotten.
Cat’s
Point of View:
When I was looking through trailers and
putting together my Top 20 list for January, I remember that Role Play came very close to
making my final cut. Selina did have this movie as her #10. It was
definitely on our radar then.
My initial impression from the teaser
was that this was a more comedic attempt at a gender-twist version of
True Lies (1994). Considering that 2023 launched a reboot of that
'90s IP in the form of a TV series on CBS/Paramount+, Role Play
didn't feel like the freshest attention-grabbing idea at the time.
The movie did look cute and potentially funny, if the trailer was to
be believed, though.
I can't say that Role Play
delivered exactly the vibe that the trailer promised, but it did fill
in the blanks regarding how this particular peculiar situation came
to be in a plausible fashion. I didn't have to try hard to suspend
disbelief.
Kaley Cuoco and David Oyelowo didn't
have the sort of chemistry that people normally think of for
on-screen couples. There weren't incindiary moments that would make
an audience member feel like a voyeur – this just wasn't that sort
of movie. They did, however, accurately portray a couple that has
been together for a very long time and has, perhaps, gotten into a
bit of a rut. There is deep love and affection but the bedroom isn't
always a fireworks show. Anyone expecting otherwise is really either
hoping for an entirely different sort of film or just is having a
hard time of “reading the room.”
I enjoyed their dynamic as a couple,
and as parents. I was down for forgiving any hiccups in the story
where that was concerned.
The shift between the comedic elements
and the more serious action was generally handled well. This story
wasn't really centered on down and dirty combat scene action. It was
woven in as necessary to support the story of Cuoco's character's
“job” and her fight to extract herself from its grasp. Nothing
felt fake or hokey. Everything was, again, completely plausible in
the context of the story – for the most part.
I thought that Bill Nighy (The
Limehouse Golem, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, The First Omen) and
Connie Nielsen (The Following, Sea Fever, Wonder Woman 1984)
were excellent choices for their roles. I can't quite put my thumb on
it, but Nighy always brings me joy with his roles – even the
serious ones. There's just something about his delivery that has me
excited to see him on the screen each time. He was probably one of my
bigger draws to Role Play aside from the other primary cast
and story.
While Role Play might not have
been the most original thing out there, the story was executed well
and it was an enjoyable rom-com with a side of action and suspense. I
had a legitimate knot in my stomach at a few points. That says
something for even a predictable plotline.
If these are appealing genres for you
and you're in the mood for the safety of a story where you can see
what's coming early on, I'd say definitely give Role Play a
shot.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score – 27%
Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score –
43%
Metascore
– 38%
Metacritic
User Score –
4.6/10
IMDB
Score –
5.5/10
Trust
the Dice: Selina’s Rating –
3.5/5
Trust
the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3.5/5
Movie
Trailer:
