PLAYDATE
Starring: Alan Ritchson, Kevin James, Banks Pierce, Benjamin Pajak, Sarah Chalke, Alan Tudyk, Isla Fisher, and Stephen Root
Director: Luke Greenfield
KATIE
Playdate is mostly unbelievably unfunny, but against my better judgement, I did find a way to laugh at some parts. Alan Ritchson’s loveable idiot, himbo type character reminded me of Chris Pratt’s early roles, and he displays a lot of comedic potential. The child actors are also funny, and the gags involving them were responsible for the few times I laughed. However, Kevin James seemed completely disengaged, and the plot is nonsensical. Plus, there are constant terrible needle drops that do nothing for the scene, and the use of very annoying background tracks that made me feel like I was watching a TikTok video.
ROBERT
There appears to be a playbook at Amazon for their action comedies, and truthfully, it is only successful when the two leads are equal and buy in completely (See: Heads of State). For Playdate, there is no balance as Alan Ritchson shows his funny bone as the dumb jock, and Kevin James seems angry that his last handful of starring vehicles stalled his movie career. The film itself is a bland, man-child buddy flick that seems long at 93 minutes. The caliber of performer they got to color in the cast for one or two scenes confirms that script quality will always lose to cash.
