ROLE PLAY
(director: Thomas Vincent; screenwriters: Andrew Baldwin, Seth W. Owen; cinematographer: Maxime Alexandre; editor: Gareth C Scales; music: Rael Jones; cast: Kaley Cuoco (Emma Brackett), David Oyelowe (Dave Brackett), Connie Nielsen (Gwen Carver), Bill Nighy (Bob), Sonita Henry (Karen Shah), Simon Delaney (Toby Berman), Rudi Dharmalingam (Raj); Runtime: 100; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Kaley Cuoco, Alex Heineman, Andrew Rona; Amazon Studios; 2023)
“When Nighy is killed off, so is the film.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
French director Thomas Vincent (“Mr. Bob”/”The Hook”) and screenwriters Andrew Baldwin and Seth W. Owen get the best outcome they possibly can from their uneven, diverting and derivative blend of comedy-action pic. It’s about a globe-trotting contract killer, Emma (Kaley Cuoco), who is a happily married suburban New Jersey mother of two. Emma has not told her husband Dave (David Oyelowe) of her extra-curricular activity.
After taking a business trip to Nebraska to do a hit, Emma’s peeved husband tells her she forgot about their seventh wedding anniversary. To make up for that oversight, the couple decide to dine out at a swank NYC hotel and to meet there by pretending not to know each other.
At the hotel, dressed in a wig, she’s approached by an older man who seems to recognize her. When she meets him in his hotel room as he requests, it turns out he’s a fellow assassin, named Bob (Bill Nighy), who bribes her and says he will reveal her identity if she doesn’t pay. Of course, she plugs him.
When the police investigate, she becomes a suspect because it was reported she was seen talking to him. At this point Emma comes clean and tells her husband the truth.
Emma’s handler, Raj (Rudi Dharmalingam), gives her a hit contract in Berlin she must take. That leads to some poorly executed shootouts and car chases, as the film loses its comedy and goes off the rails.
When Emma returns home, she’s met by her former handler (Connie Nielsen) and a few goons, who order her to kill her husband.
Unfortunately, when Nighy is killed off, so is the film. Its funny black comedy is replaced by poorly executed action-pic tropes.
REVIEWED ON 1/27/2024 GRADE: C+