Playing It Cool (2014)

Genre

Comedy | Romance

Director

Justin Reardon

Country

USA

Cast

Chris Evans, Michelle Monaghan, Topher Grace, Aubrey Plaza, Ioan Gruffudd, Anthony Mackie, Ashley Tisdale, Matthew Morrison, Patrick Warburton, Giovanni Ribisi, Martin Starr, Luke Wilson, Philip Baker Hall, Scott Evans

Storyline

The narrator (Chris Evans) is a writer and wants to write action but his publisher Bryan (Anthony Mackie) wants him to write a rom com first. The problem is, the narrator doesn't believe in love. But when he meets Her (Michelle Monaghan), he falls for her, only to find out that she is already engaged to Stuffy (Ioan Gruffudd).

Opinion

I'm not much into romantic comedies - I can see if it's a good one though -, but I'm definitely into Chris Evans so I gave this thing a try. What a mistake!

You know that wow factor everybody looks for in a film? This one has it, but unfortunately it is a disappointment wow. Playing It Cool is the king of clichés, not that funny or romantic, and it is so bad that left me speechless, and as I'm writing this review I'm still not sure about what to write, or where to begin.

I'll go with the huge problem, the writing. I wonder if screenwriters Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair were high as a kite when they wrote this crap. 

First of all the names. Every single character is given a name except the two leads, and Her boyfriend. 

The narrator is a douchebag that lies and uses women because his mommy left him when he was a child. Please tell me how realistic this is. Nowadays half of the kids grow up with just one parents, and I do know some of them, and they are not like this at all.

Her is engaged and happy with Stuffy - seriously? -, then she meets the narrator, who lies and lies to her, insult her as well, and at the end, surprise surprise, they end up together. And that's never going to happen, and I know that because I'm a woman.

Then, there are way too many fantasy sequences, annoying and pointless to be honest, and from the very first scenes you can tell where the film is going: abyss.

Shafer and Vicknair tried hard to write something clever, but the results are disappointing, and I can't even imagine how bad can be dating one of them. 

Unfortunately, the really strong cast, and the great chemistry between Chris Evans and Michelle Monaghan are not enough to save the film.

Quotes

Narrator: I'm gonna tell you this one from my point of view so you can put yourself in there.

So the story goes:The guy falls in love with a girl the second he meets her, but it takes them a lifetime to get it together.

When they do they end up on a boat, and they realise the only way they can stay together is to never go ashore.

So they raise the yellow colour flag so no port would take them and they drift out to sea 'till the end.

And it makes you realize there are people in your life so important that they dwarf everything else.

It's up to you to figure out who they are.If you have to give up everything else and spend the rest of your days on a boat, who are the must haves, the ones you can't live without?

Figure out your own list and then do everything you can to let them know how much they mean to you.