PLAYDATE

Playdate maintains itself fun filled nature thanks to the ever game lead performance from Alan Ritchson, once again getting to flex his comedic chops and is infectiously fun, and even though the story does not fully find the right balance between comedy, action sequences, heart and its more serious action storyline, it is no doubt going to be a fun movie night in for the family.

MGM Amazon Studios has done a valiant effort bringing back the long forgotten mid budget studio film this year with their streaming films, bringing together big name actors and familiar narratives to create enjoyable films to be enjoyed at home. Joining the ranks of their big summer films like Heads of State and Deep Cover, the latest film from the studio sees Kevin James and Alan Ritchson combining forces to defeat the bad guys during playtime with Playdate. Never for a second are there any surprises up the film’s sleeve as it is as predictable as you would expect, but with director Luke Greenfield and his background in comedy, he allows James and Ritchson to have the right amount of fun on screen and pulls some great moments out of the screenplay to engage both parents and children alike.

For the first half of the film, Playdate is everything you could want it to be. Neil Goldman’s screenplay captures the right tone for this family targeting action comedy thanks to Jeff’s overzealous personality that leaps off the screen, to the mafia of stay at home mothers in their minivans, creating the most memorable scene of the entire film; and the enjoyable mix of action and comedy as Brian and Lucas find themselves being hunted down due to be in Jeff and CJ’s presence. Because of this, the film’s pacing never stops moving, merely jumping from one fun-filled sequence to another and ensuring that the relatively quick runtime passes by quickly. The humour, while slapstick and childish at times, lands and will no doubt generate laughter amongst the film’s target audience. There is an undeniable heart at the centre of this story that is never misplaced, and Greenfield’s direction of the action sequences tries to make this smaller scale streaming comedy seem bigger than it actually is, which will no doubt excite younger viewers (even if the CGI bringing to life these sequences is questionable at best).

But as the film enters its second half, while the heart of the story becomes more prominent with both Brian and Jeff trying to connect with their sons, it becomes a little too serious for its own good. With the action subplot taking over, and the danger for our main characters increasing, the direction that the plot moves loses that playful spark and inherent sense of fun that made the first half so enjoyable, which unfortunately the screenplay doubles down on this tone as the film enters its final act. The direction that Goldman takes with his story feels very much out of an 80s action film, but not in a good way, with a bizarre ending that although it gives the chance to both Brian and Jeff to become the fathers they have been striving to be the entire film, feels out of place for the film’s target audience. There are moments of the fun comedic tone of the first half that break through during the film’s latter half, such as Brian’s “torturing” scene and the goofy coda to the story, but they get buried by the seriousness of the story and will no doubt lose the attention of viewers.

What makes the film fun though, are the performances. James is playing things far more straight and less goofy than audiences expect of him, that while making his character’s bigger comedic moments stand out even more, you can feel his true comedic skills missing throughout (even if they make a great appearance during the end credit blooper reel). Banks Pierce is fine as CJ; his character is very intently written to be unenergetic and expressionless, and while Pierce accomplishes exactly that, it feels rather one note at best. Benjamin Pajak, hot off The Life of Chuck, is wonderful and continues to show great promise as a young actor as Lucas, sharing some great comedic moments with Ritchson, while the supporting cast all has great moments throughout the film, especially Fisher who is pitch perfect as Leslie, the leader of the mafia mothers. But the film belongs to Ritchson as Jeff. Bringing the biggest kid energy to the film, Ritchson is infectiously entertaining in every scene, whether it be immobilizing bad guys in the matter of seconds, or riffing and being goofy in the next and embracing his comedic roots. While best known for his action roles of late, Ritchson has actually done a lot of comedy over his career with titles like Blue Mountain State and The Wedding Ringer, and it was great to see him utilizing this skill of his once again and blending it seamlessly with his action persona. It is proof that Ritchson was made for the action comedy genre, so someone get Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart to give the man a call for their next film together!

If you aren’t the intended audience of Playdate, there is little the film has to offer, but if there is no doubt that children and younger families will have fun with this age appropriate action comedy. There are some great moments in the script that lead to some generally hilarious happenings throughout the film, largely thanks to the wonderful comedic chops of Alan Ritchson and the always terrific Isla Fisher in a scene stealing turn, that even with the story changing the tone of the film into something more serious and less fun, Playdate packs a dependable entertainment value nonetheless.