Role Play (2024) User Reviews

Similiar plot to other assassin comedy films but lacks the fun and humor.

[cruise01 · 5/10 · 16 January 2024]

Role Play is a pretty bad comedy action film about a wife who is an assassin and hiding the secret from her husband and family. Until her past catches up to her and she has to step in and fight for her familys safety.

The plot is forgettable with its tedious script. The plot is similiar to The Family Plan except at least the humor and fun in that film is worth watching. This film lacks the humor and when it tries for laughs it is just pure awkward. The action sequences are boring. The cast ensemble is forgettable. It is nice to see Katey going for the action role. But the script and direction gives them nothing to work with.

It is a boring action film that has a eh story. Boring action and tedious performances.

Just fun

[markhotchkiss-24715 · 7/10 · 12 January 2024]

Can't understand the negativity around this film.

It's not supposed to be taken seriously, it's just a fun movie that doesn't expect you to be gripping your seat arms or biting your nails wondering what's going to happen next.

Kaley Cuoco is as good as she always is, especially as she found out she was pregnant whilst shooting it, and has good support from the rest of the cast throughout the movie, especially from David Oleyowo who I've never seen before.

Connie Nielson is always a good watch and she puts her all into the role.

So just sit back with a glass of wine and some popcorn and forget everything else for a while and enjoy the entertainment.

Well, I guess it could have been worse

[dcj2 · 5/10 · 13 January 2024]

This is basically a gender swap of Mark Wahlburg's "Family Plan", but without the same level of humor or action. The lead actors are fine, the action sequences are well done but waaaay too short. The story is predictable, the humorous bits garner a chuckle at best. It's great to see Kaley branch out, but this doesn't come close to her performance in "Flight Attendant" on Apple TV. I think she deserves a bigger audience, and I'll continue waiting for her to find that true breakout role so she'll no longer just be Penny from The Big Bang Theory. As others have said, it makes for some fine background noise, but ultimately is pretty forgettable.

Nontraditional role for Kaley Cuoco.

[TxMike · 13 January 2024]

There are a number of low ratings and negative reviews for this movie and to me they missed the whole point of this movie. It is mostly a comedy, not to be taken so seriously. My wife and I were entertained.

Kaley Cuoco, who also produced, is the star as Emma Brackett. She is married with two children. She goes out of town on "business" trips but it not the traditional business. Nor is it the career her husband thinks she has. As the trailer for the movie clearly points out, she is an assassin.

She is married to David Oyelowo as Dave Brackett. He is a standard, honest man. One night when he and Emma decide to do something different, they go to a hotel to pretend to be strangers, meet at a bar, and end up in a hotel room together. However that "date" doesn't go as planned. It sets the tone for the rest of the movie.

Bill Nighy is good in everything he is in. Here he is Bob Kellerman who also shows up at the bar. He starts flirting with Emma. In the conversation he drops word hints. It soon becomes obvious to her that he knows who she is and he is in the same profession.

Things develop from there, Emma's husband finds out what she really does, he is mortified. He can't believe it. In the end it becomes a fight for survival.

We watched it at home, streaming on Amazon Prime. Viewed as a dark comedy we found it suitably entertaining.

A fun, if fairly light, hitwoman drama

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 13 January 2024]

Emma and David have been married for seven years and, after returning from yet another 'boring business trip' she forgets their anniversary. Thinking it is time to spice things up a little they decide to have a little role play. They separately head to an upmarket New York hotel where they plan to enter under assumed names and pretend they are strangers meeting for the first time. Unfortunately David is delayed and Emma finds herself being chatted up by an older man. Nothing is quite what it seems; he has recognised her and her secret life, that of an international assassin, is about to be exposed! She must go on the run as David tries to come to terms with what he is told. They will be reunited but the danger, for them and their two children, is far from over as Emma's employers are determined she won't walk away from her work.

I thought this was fairly fun even if it isn't as action packed or violent as one might expect for the genre. The plot isn't the most original but it serves well enough with some mildly tense moments as well as a degree of humour. Kaley Cuoco does a solid job as Emma, I think she has what it takes to make the action believable. David Oyelowo is fun as David, especially as he gradually learns just what his wife can do. Given that it isn't particularly violent, there isn't an excessive amount of strong language and here is no sex or nudity it can be enjoyed as a family film with older children; I'd say anybody old enough to watch the likes of 'James Bond' is old enough for this. Overall I wouldn't say this is a must watch but I did enjoy it so would recommend giving it a go.

Solid movie

[jkb2012 · 6/10 · 15 February 2024]

I thought this was an interesting movie there were times when the pacing was kind of all over the place, but it got better as time went on if you were a fan of these kind of movies and won a lot of action, I highly recommend it Kaley Coco was fun to see in a different role for her. I also think that even though the pacing was all over the place it was still a very cool movie and worth checking out and I appreciate it that it wasn't cliched like some of these kinds of movies I highly recommend it there's a lot of twist and turns and it wasn't as predictable as you might think I hope Kaylee Coco stars and more films like this in the future.

Flatter than a 3 day old soda

[Jblum5 · 5/10 · 16 January 2024]

Role Play tells the story of a married couple who decide to have a night out that reveals to a secret revealed that will shake them to their core.

Overall this movie isn't strong in any aspect. I feel like the casting of David Oyelowo as the husband was not a good choice. He has almost no chemistry with Kaley Cuoco and I don't buy that these two are married. These two are the heart of the film and I just think it's hard to get invested in them.

Characters in general are very inconsistent, weakly written so that they can do what the script needs them to do. Timid/rational in one scene, brave/irrational the next. The "ruthless criminals" feel like were lifted from a rated PG TV movie.

I do think some of the film is fun and the set up is intriguing, if ultimately bland. I love Bill Nighy so he was a welcome surprise and makes the best scene in the movie. I was fairly engaged throughout the movie and it went by fairly quickly.

Overall this is a straight to streaming quality movie that doesn't do its premise as well as others like Mr. And Mrs. Smith. It is a skip.

I like it, stop the hating from the super critics

[sabrina-urbina · 7/10 · 13 January 2024]

People nowadays cannot enjoy a fun movie at home they only want to see masterpieces! Like if they can tell one. We'll this movie does the job to keep you entertained and stick to the plot, enough for me, I'm not an effing Oscar critic, just an average movie watcher that wants to have a good time watching a fun and well done movie, this is one of many.. Enjoy it! Don't read the so wannabe critics! They exhaust themselves talking about nonsense that doesn't add anything of what you should really enjoy, the movie is fun, entertaining and has a good storyline, that's enough for a good weekend watch!

Maybe worthy of background noise

[randy-145-894319 · 3/10 · 12 January 2024]

This movie really doesn't know what genre it is. It's not really funny, but there is some comedy. It's not really serious, although I think it tries to be at times. There is so much unbelievable about the story line it really needs to be a comedy to be at all entertaining.

The first half of the movie was somewhat entertaining. I was interested to see where they were going to take the story. But then the believability dropped significantly and the story slowed down at the same time. I almost shut it off at one point but decided to read the news on my phone and leave it going in the background just to see how it ended. Didn't really need to though, nothing interesting about the ending.

Oyelowo is a hoot

[ferguson-6 · 6/10 · 11 January 2024]

Greetings again from the darkness. The spouse living a double life is territory covered many times by many movies over many years. When done well, it's an intriguing premise and fertile ground for a fascinating character - one who can flip the switch between a 'normal' family life and one of intense danger. What's rare is for the oblivious spouse to be the more interesting character, yet that's exactly what happens in this film from director Thomas Vincent and screenwriter Seth W Owen.

Kaley Cuoco stars as Emma Brackett, and David Oyelowo co-stars as her husband, Dave. Ms. Cuoco shot to fame with her role as Penny on the long-running TV series "The Big Bang Theory", which she followed up with leading roles in "The Flight Attendant" and "Harley Quinn". This is her latest shot at establishing herself as a movie actress. Mr. Oyelowo is best known for his dramatic turns in SELMA (2014) and THE MIDNIGHT SKY (2020), and the new series "Lawmen: Bass Reeves".

Emma is a contract assassin who works all over the world using disguises (mostly wigs) and aliases, while telling Dave, the nicest, most trusting man on Earth, that she is off to yet another generic work conference in Nebraska or some other unexciting locale. When home, Emma is a good mother to their two kids, and clearly enjoys their life in suburban New Jersey. When work beckons, Dave unwittingly accepts her reason for travel, having no clue that she'll return with blood on her hands.

On their seventh anniversary, Dave suggests they spice things up a bit with some role play. Their planned 'happenstance' meeting as strangers at a hotel bar goes sideways thanks to the intrusion of an unwelcome third wheel named Bob Kellerman. The always fabulous Bill Nighy plays Kellerman, and we find ourselves wishing he had more screen time. It turns out, this encounter leads to Emma being outed, which sends Dave into emotional turmoil (a terrific scene) ... and an ill-advised meetup at her latest job.

Additional support work is provided by Connie Nielsen as the demented woman who raised and trained Emma, and their final meeting provides the impetus for the third act. Other than Bill Nighy's too-brief role, the best part of the film is seeing rare comedic chops from David Oyelowo. It's a joy to see such a well-respected and talented actor show yet another side on screen. Kaley Cuoco doesn't fare quite as well, as her TV sitcom approach defies believability. For those in search of some mindless entertainment with a side dose of action, the movie should work just fine.

Opens nationwide in theaters on January 12, 2024.

So Boring

[bthigdon · 4/10 · 12 January 2024]

This movie reminds me of John Wick but without any of the violence. The script is decent. The acting is fine. Cinematography ok. Score is better than average and provides a nice atmosphere. But without more than a couple quick fights, the movie becomes a chore.

When violence is eventually shown to us it's incredibly contrived and meaningless. The ending was especially disappointing and the writing devolved into a strange, unbelievable rom com. They could've done so much to improve the script and still keep the storyline they've given us. I think had more unbelievable action proceeded this then I could've looked past the nonsense.

Underrated IMO

[byron_charles · 8/10 · 19 February 2024]

The trailer doesn't do this movie justice, thought it was going to be stupid comedic jokes similar to the Aston Kutcher similar movie but no this in all honesty was a dumb down Mr and Ms Smith like. It was overall all seriousness in the killing and atmosphere. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it. The first half of the movie is probably the cause of the low ratings but the second half scenes and atmosphere was good for the budget they probably was given. I actually saw Kaley Cuoco as her assassin character and not a comedy actor, overall she did a good job in my opinion in this role. To be honest the new Mr and Ms Smith series on the way should of cast these actors for the role.

Damn, I thought I'd see her in that nurse outfit!

[kelboy10 · 6/10 · 12 January 2024]

Why is Role Play getting some backlash? Pretty sure it's because of the genre the audience is expecting before even hitting the play button. If viewing the film from a different perspective then there are plenty of merits on display here.

One being the performances and the chemistry between the actors/actresses. Kaley Cuoco has it in abundance, I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's there I can feel it. Maybe it adaptability, sophistication or sassy sexiness emulating from one scene to another, still clearly she has it here. I'm going in pretty blind as I haven't seen much of her previous work, no Big Bang or Flight Attendant! Secondly David Oyelowo matches her well and their on screen chemistry appears second nature to me. I think one review mentioned they seem cute together, I don't know about that however I do know they seem believable. I didn't doubt their onscreen relationship for one minute which is exactly what you want to get engrossed into a film.

Now going back to adaptability, Kaley Cuoco embraces the role managing to create a balance between cute cuddly lovable wife and mum to deadly badass assassin. When she get down to business she is strong assertive and bold juxtaposed with being playful and cute at home. David Oyelowo manages to bring emotional empathy within the script through his acting once finding out about the truth. What was once his normal family life has a huge flip side that we can see in his expressions is troublesome to say the least.

So who steals the film with the standout scene, it's obviously none other than Bill Nighy. The man in the middle of this triangle has the standout scene of the film in the bar. A slow burner or so in the first twenty minutes soon well and truly warms up with a little Role Play, no pun intended. Soon as the get to the title it gets rather interesting.

Script is where this one struggles for me, I'd say our cast made their own character development and produced mountains out of molehills. It's not until the later that you realise if not for the charisma and humour this could've been way more bland than a two steak, and that isn't me being tough. Seth W. Owen needed a better character development arc to suggest why Emma Brackett (Kaley Cuoco) was unable to leave sooner from being an assassin, yes it does explain, yet it all very loose lacking depth or much interest. Dave Brackett (David Oyelowo) really seems weak running all the way to Berlin for an explanation after all he has heard and been through. Yes I understand it's his wife, it just seemed rather forced.

Thomas Vincent has given us something intriguing for the most part similar to films like Mr and Mrs Smith and True Lies however this one really does fall short towards the climax and is saved by the talented cast of characters they created.

Not Funny, No Yummy

[Tweetienator · 3/10 · 12 January 2024]

Not funny and there are many, too many movies starring a female contract killer, assassin and so on, delivering far better action. Just a few: Nikita, Anna, Hanna, Atomic Blonde, Salt, Violet & Daisy, Red Sparrow and so on and on. The genre defining pieces of promoting couples with dark and deadly secrets like Mr. & Mrs. Smith or True Lies are out of reach too: action-, production- acting-, and comedy- and storywise. So what's left to say? Like another reviewer indicated Role Play is maybe good enough to give you some background noise to kill a rainy Sunday afternoon or something like that without anything else to do (of course, one could be tempted to put one of the previously mentioned movies on his or her plate one more time again...). Exact rate: 3.5.

Didn't expect that!

[jingalls-16960 · 7/10 · 13 February 2024]

I was randomly looking at movies in Amazon and this popped up! I went in with low expectations as I tried watching Kaley Cuoco tv show and I just couldn't get into it! But I really enjoyed this it was dynamic and a different kinda spy story! With me being a Big Bang fan I'm glad she stepped into this and ran with it! Although I was hoping for some funny moments but nothing really came of it. I understand where they got the name of the movie but it could have been something different. I don't like putting spoilers in my reviews so if your bored one day and need something to watch try this one!!

Ghosted: The Married Edition

[anicho01-944-812539 · 7/10 · 13 January 2024]

This is essentially Amazon Prime's version of Apple TV's spy meets ordinary human film Ghosted with Chris Evans and Anna de armas. But this time they are married with kids and he discovers her secret after a night out on the town.

This isn't intended to win any awards. It's basically a fun action flick. Kaley Cuoco did a great job in her fight scenes and David Ayelwo was hilarious. And Bill Nighy in his quick cameo was as charismatic as usual - POW!

It was interesting seeing them both play against type with Kaley taking on the more serious role while David handled the comedic straight man, but they both did a great job.

This isn't intended to subvert the genre. And yes we've seen this before with True lies and even Mr and Mrs Smith. But Spies/assassins with ordinary people is always fun escapist fantasy. Like gunpowder milkshake It's just a fun hour and a half.

More streaming movie trash

[FeastMode · 1/10 · 12 January 2024]

Imagine stealing the idea of Mr. And Mrs. Smith. But remove most of the intrigue by making only one of the spouses an assassin. Then also remove stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Remove the awesome action scenes and great humor. Strip down the story and drama to the most basic parts. That's Role Play.

This movie is absolute garbage. It's so boring and unbelievably dumb. It's the kind of movie that hopes you're naive enough to believe that a secret agency of assassins would ask you nicely to search your house. And if you say not without a warrant, they listen to you. And that if they discover the location of the assassin, they no longer want to search her house. It's moronic.

The movie also tries to trick you a bunch of times. It's obvious every time. And to make it worse, they go back and explain it right after, in case you were too dumb to put it together. They will only succeed in tricking you if you have seen a total of 7 movies in your lifetime.

In conclusion, don't watch this. It terrible. (1 viewing, 1/12/2024)

"ROLE PLAY" REVIEW

[Mr-Topshotta · 6/10 · 18 January 2024]

Directed by Thomas Vincent. A runtime of one hour and forty minutes. Streaming on Prime Video with an R rating.

"Emma," played by Kaley Cuoco, has a beautiful family. She has a caring husband, "Dave," played by David Oyelowo. Along with two children, she loves dearly "Wyatt," played by Regan Bryan-Gudgeon, and "Caroline," played by Lucia Aliu.

"Emma," though, is slacking on her end. She recently forgot her anniversary. On a normal basis, that would be the height of the issue, but in this case, she has a lot more issues going on. "Emma" is a contract killer.

After trying to spice it up and make up for her anniversary blunder, "Emma" and "Dave" do a little role-playing at a fancy hotel. Things take a turn. She's approached by another assassin, "Bob Kellerman," played by Bill Nighy.

That sets off a chain reaction of her going on the run to meet her handler, "Raj," played by Rudi Dharmalingam. Leaving her husband to find out through a so-called FBI agent, "Gwen Carver," played by Connie Nielsen, of her double life.

Will "Dave" cave to the pressure the authorities are trying to put on him, or will he stay strong and support his wife? Even if she's a trained killer, and lied about who she truly is. Find out in this action-packed romantic comedy.

"Role Play" wasn't original but still held my attention. This film was a slightly more serious version of AppleTV+'s "The Family Plan." Kaley Cuoco just switched roles with Mark Wahlberg. The similarities were uncanny.

That being said, I enjoyed "The Family Plan," and I found myself enjoying this film. I don't know how I feel about Kaley Cuoco doing action roles. But being a mother now, I think, definitely helped her bring a real feel to her character. Also, David Oyelowo played his character perfectly.

Of course, it had moments I wish I could edit out. But I think being rated R helped the film altogether. I thought I would hate it once I realized it was just like "The Family Plan." That made me more intrigued, and I liked seeing the changes it made. I was hesitant to like it, but by the end, I did enjoy it. It was a decent streaming film. So much so, I'm giving it a high three mor fires 🔥🔥🔥.

#CosmoandtheMovieWithin #CosmoMovieBlog #CosmoLanier #RolePlay.

Not worth your time

[bitbucketchip · 4/10 · 12 January 2024]

Movies are sold based on the script. Then a director is selected to bring the script to life. Sometimes the director doesn't like the script - or doesn't understand the script - and takes the film in a completely different direction. The result is invariably a disaster: a hodgepodge of the writer's vision and the director's conflicting vision (think Congo where the director refused to read Crichton's book). Both the writer and director visions might work on their own, but jumbled together? Not a chance. This would seem to explain this film. Let's see if we can unpack it.

The script is an action film. The assassin premise and so forth should produce exciting action scenes. We don't get any - there's too few action scenes and what's there aren't exciting. That's on the director, who presumably didn't want to make an action film. There's some humor, which can work in a buddy type action film, but here it feels shoehorned in by a director who was handed comedians as his leads and didn't know what to do with them. This is understandable: the casting is so poor it is inexplicable. The last third of the movie is all director. The action script is tossed in favor of an ill-conceived eighties-style romantic comedy that doesn't work in part because the leads have zero chemistry. Neither the writer nor director deserve blame for the ending, which appears to have been parachuted in on studio notes. It's discordant and unsatisfying and not worth your time.

The editors did what they could to try to make this collection of disconnected scenes understandable, but they can't work miracles. Their best efforts could only produce a boring, tedious, plodding movie that starts off in one direction, changes course, meanders about for a good long while, before mercifully ending in the least satisfying way possible. I'm being exceedingly generous in giving this four stars, the stars earned by virtue of the film being too benign to hate. Four stars.

Star studded and not terribly long, with Bill Nighy!!!

[thejdrage · 7/10 · 12 January 2024]

I will watch anything with Bill Nighy in it. He can do (almost) no wrong. And he proved himself again in "Role Play". He stepped up and made a great foil for Kaley Cucoco and David Oyelowo to play off of and get the story going.

This is a fun movie with some comedy and a strong family that has a crack in it they aren't quite aware of until it's too late and it turns into an addition to the Grand Canyon.

The music is okay given that I don't recall any of it and have no earworms at all.

A good portion of action, bad shooting and a glass house where you must suspend belief in what it really is made of.

There are some actual surprises in this script.

It's FUN! Watch it if you can use some bubble gum for your brain!

AND it has Bill Nighy!!!! (Love that guy.)

Wow - waste of talent

[trident-39079 · 3/10 · 12 January 2024]

When I first saw this movie was out I thought it was a comedy. It started out like it could've been a comedy, then I thought "this is just a bad comedy." Then I thought, this is just a bad drama or action flick and now, half way through, I had to pause to look it up and see what it's listed as and found out it IS a bad action movie. Very bad.

The acting is fine but what a waste of talent. The writing is mediocre at best. The directing is awful. I thought maybe it was his first time directing but no, he's done a lot of work - good work. This is, most likely, his worst work to date.

The movie might've had a chance as a comedy, it could've had a chance as a serious thriller, it never had a chance as an "action" movie. I watched just over half and just can't hang in there anymore...it's truly that bad. The only good thing about watching this was turning it off.

A feel-good movie.

[Benjiffy · 8/10 · 21 January 2024]

This is really a very competently made romantic thriller. The cast do a great job, and I was pleasantly surprised by how good Kaley Cuoco's performance was (I have only seen her in the Big Bang Theory, but she was clearly wasted there). The writing is also good, it's not held-down by any social commentary (which can be good but sometimes feels aggressively forced. It was good to avoid it for this, as I think it would have detracted from the story), and I do feel like this is an original and well-rounded take on a frequently-used story: the "assassin trying to get out" works nicely with the devoted husband and family to take care of. The relationship with the previous boss is again much more interesting and compelling than is typical. This film left me feeling good, and that's rare.

Enjoy it for the entertainment

[okpilak · 6/10 · 19 January 2024]

This is not a movie that will rank among the top movies of the year, but still is fun entertainment if one does not dig too deeply. Emma has a secret job and is married to Dave. Dave thinks she is a troubleshooter for a company, which is why she travels so much. They are married, with a boy from his former marriage, and a girl from theirs, and seem a happy family. She forgets her anniversary, and to make it up decides to role play. They will meet as strangers at a hotel bar and then have a romantic evening. He is delayed in traffic, and before he gets there, a man moves in on her. He is a hit man and things go badly, and suddenly the spotlight is on her. But Dave knows nothing other than a man was killed at the same hotel they stayed at. She has to take care of some loose ends, and this is perhaps the strongest part of the movie. How will she extract herself, when those directing her want her to continue as an assassin? For those digging deeply into the plot points and execution, they will be underwhelmed. For those who simply want some breezy entertainment, they should be satisfied.

Look for another movie

[Movie_Rating_n_Ranking · 5/10 · 18 January 2024]

I'm not sure if it's intentional, but this is one of the least chemistry couples I've seen in a while. That affects absolutely the entire film. If they don't mention it in the movie, you never know it's a marriage. Cuoco's performance is probably the reason for this, because apart from the action scenes, her participation is quite flat. Understandably, she is a cold-blooded professional, but you are in front of your husband, the reason why you want to get out of the shady business!

Regarding technical details, only the photography and production design are redeemable. The script, editing and soundtrack are pretty bad. For a 100-minute film, they stretch it like chewing gum to become a feature-length film. A truly horrible edition.

Anyway. It doesn't make me want to recommend a movie like this, because it is neither action nor spy, nor a drama.

A role reversed True Lies with a good ending.

[lojitsu · 7/10 · 24 January 2024]

Here's The 4K Lowedown on "Role Play" (R - 2023 - Prime) Genre: Comedy/Action

My Score: 6.5 Cast=7 Acting=6 Trailer=7 Ending=8 Story=6 Visuals=7 Direct=6 Sounds=6 Genre=5 Sub-Genre=7

A woman has a wonderful family in the suburbs of New Jersey. She also has a secret life as an assassin for hire, a secret that her husband discovers when the couple decide to spice up their marriage.

"I love you and I love our family...we will get through this." Even though it's a role reversal of True Lies, this was a fun watch. At first, I was disappointed with the lack of action by the lead until the last 20 minutes, but then I found out she was pregnant during filming. There were some cute parts, but it wasn't very funny for me. This movie is all about the destination...the ending is the best part. This was a pretty good watch on Prime, but not one to hire a hitman to take out.