Worth: $7.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Kaley Cuoco, David Oyelowo, Bill Nighy, Connie Nielsen
Intro:
… a derivative smorgasbord that reminds you that there are much better films out there.
In this action comedy from director Thomas Vincent (Versailles, Bodyguard, Reacher), a marriage ends up on the rocks when one half is discovered to have a secret life as an assassin. No, it’s not True Lies! No, not Nobody either. Or even the very recent straight to streaming The Family Plan. This is Role Play, starring Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco and Selma’s David Oyelowo.
Cuoco plays Emma Brackett who, as far as her husband Dave (Oyelowo) and kids know, is a plane-hopping marketing manager. In actuality, Emma is an assassin for hire; once part of a secretive organisation, she’s now gone freelance. When we first meet the happy couple, everything seems to be running smoothly for a family funded by blood money, with Emma effortlessly keeping her two lives as distinct from each other as possible, boring her husband with long tales of office politics to warn off any further queries into how her day went.
However, upon realising that she’s forgotten their wedding anniversary, Emma wants to make sexy amends with a little bit of role playing at a posh hotel. You know the kind of thing, a slight changing of names here, a little shaping of a scenario there. So far, so horny.
Unfortunately for Emma and Dave, fate intervenes in the shape of financier Bob Kellerman, played by Bill Nighy, who must have saved on catering with how much he chews the scenery here. And that’s not a criticism. Far from it. Nighy is a particular highlight, playing someone who may or may not know what Emma really is.
If the film had just been Nighy and Cuoco playing cat and mouse with each other while Emma tries to keep her bewildered husband in the dark between attempted fumbles, there would actually be no complaints here. Unfortunately, Nighy waves goodbye to the film early on along with the energetic possibilities of the narrative.
Despite Emma learning that her old organisation and the mysterious Agent Carver (Connie Nielsen) are on her trail, leading her to go on a globetrotting journey sans husband, Role Play quickly runs out of steam once we leave the hotel. While Emma is beating up gangsters in neon-soaked nightclubs, in perhaps the most egregious of John Wick influences, Dave stays at home trying to understand where his wife has disappeared to. Presumably the former scenario is the action, the latter is the comedy and combined they produce the thrills? Unfortunately, Role Play just doesn’t come up with the goods.
While amusing moments can be found, they are few and far between. Meanwhile, the film’s set pieces are a bit of a damp squib. Perhaps, we’ve all been spoilt from the aforementioned Keanu Reeves led franchise, but there’s not much here to make Atomic Blonde or even Netflix’s Kate quake in their boots. Essentially, this is because Cuoco’s ass-kicking is reduced to hastily edited scenes or it happens off in the blurry background. If you can’t feel the weight of every punch in your fight scene, what’s the point, really?
Speaking of impact: When Nielsen reveals her final form and lays down Agent Carver’s plan for Emma and her family, you’ll be hard-pressed to engage fully. Carver is so nebulous that she’s the epitome of ‘I’m the bad guy because the film said so’. Sure, her and Emma’s histories are intertwined, but it’s possible the screenplay overestimated how much impact the big reveal would have in the final act.
Given how much Cuoco throws herself into the role, it’s disappointing that the rest doesn’t match her enthusiasm. Role Play is a derivative smorgasbord that reminds you that there are much better films out there.
