Review
Role Play (Action, Comedy) (2024)
Director: Thomas Vincent
Writer: Seth W. Owen
Stars: Kaley Cuoco, David Oyelowo, Rudi Dharmalingam, Bill Nighy
Hiding her secret life as an assassin from her family, a loving mother and wife puts those she loves in danger when her latest contract attracts undesirable attention.
From a roaming idea, ‘’Role Play’’ landed on Seth W. Owen’s writing table, forming a speculative script around a married couple rekindling their love due to the unspoken tensions of the wife’s secret profession. In the works for about three years, with filming in Babelsberg Studio, Berlin it was produced by Cuoco’s company Yes, Norman Productions alongside StudioCanal and The Picture Company while being distributed by Amazon MGM Studios to be streamed on Amazon Prime.
Often abroad on covert operations, Emma Brackett (Kaley Cuoco) is a notorious hitwoman who struggles to balance her dangerous work with family life. As her husband Dave (David Oyewolo) tries to spice up their love life, they arrange a roleplay date at a hotel. Despite being warned to maintain a low profile by her handler, her cover is blown, leading to an unavoidable and unpremeditated assassination, which causes further attention, jeopardising her carefully constructed life.
Within the theme of a spy feature, ‘’Role Play’’ combines comedy, romance and action thriller tonality into a film like ‘’Mr & Mrs. Smith’’, being akin to ‘’My Spy’’ and ‘’Ava’’ concurrently. It attempts an exciting adventure within familial boundaries, trying to keep a secretive life hidden from loved ones.
After a hastened prelude showing Cuoco’s occupation without much detail, we’re presented with an uncomplicated spy comedy as this femme fatale returns home to her unsuspecting suburban family. While, as Dave’s colleague mentions, their marriage seems to be a role model, Dave himself constantly worries and thus tries to re-introduce some romance in the form of, you guessed it! Roleplay. Cuoco’s life as an assassin becomes precarious, yet she tries tirelessly to keep her family unaware as long as possible.
By any means, this feature could fulfil several roles, whether it’s a romantic comedy or an intense spy action drama. However, neither it truly veers towards clutching a basal tone and structure. Through the narrative itself, you’d assume Cuoco’s Emma is more defined through her lethal assignments or camouflaged persona, even her marriage to Oyelowo’s Dave, which tugs on her constantly. These constitutions can’t deteriorate since the audience isn’t convinced they were ever truly there.
As I’ve made quite clear, Vincent’s ‘’Role Play’’ lacks substance. While I could understand Cuoco producing something different, even being supportive of seeing her in the role of a female assassin, it just lacks a sense of true purpose. Oyelowo also creates a positive image, reminding me of ‘’Locked Down,’’ but the lack of chemistry between the family harms the foundationless script even further.
Verdict
An unconvincing roleplay.
4,5
