Playing It Cool

"Rom-coms aren't true. They're what we wish were true."

The Narrator (Evans) is a screenwriter.  He wants to write action movies, but for now he has to write a romantic comedy.  Unfortunately, he doesn't believe in love and struggles to write.  To avoid writing he goes to a charity event with his best friend Scott (Grace), where he meets Her (Monaghan).  They hit it off immediately, until he learns that she is dating Stuffy (Gruffudd).

They decide to be friends and begin spending time together.  His writer friends, Scott, performance artist / writer Mallory (Plaza), family man Samson (Wilson), and Lyle (Starr), think he is developing feelings for Her.  Is he finally ready for love?


I discovered the trailer on IMDB.  It looked funny and boasted an impressive cast (and I love Chris Evans), so I added it to my Netflix queue.

The film has an interesting premise, a rom com writer doesn't believe in love until he finally experiences it... There are so many opportunities to take the rom com cliches and subvert them, but the story doesn't take it as far as it could.  There are some neat touches throughout, like using the Narrator's imagination to add fun effects (the lightning when they touch hands, the Heart character, etc).  The ending is cliched, and the story would benefit from ending ambiguously during the boat story.

The cast is excellent and make the most of their parts.  Chris Evans is an appealing lead and holds the film well.  I enjoyed seeing him paired again with Anthony Mackie.  Topher Grace is endearing as the love advocate / voice of reason throughout.  Philip Baker Hall is memorable in the small role of the Narrator's feisty Granddad.  Aubrey Plaza, Martin Starr, and Luke Wilson are entertaining as the quirky friends.  Michelle Monaghan is good as the female lead.

This is Evans second collaboration with writers Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair, who also wrote the screenplay for Before We Go (which is also in my Netflix queue).  They crafted an enjoyable romantic comedy that was funnier (and crasser) than expected.  It was good, but there was so much potential for it to be better.

Playing It Cool (2014) 94 minutes
Rating: R for language and sexual content
Director: Justin Reardon
Starring: Chris Evans as Me / Narrator
Michelle Monaghan as Her
Topher Grace as Scott
Aubrey Plaza as Mallory
Luke Wilson as Samson
Martin Starr as Lyle
Anthony Mackie as Bryan
Ioan Gruffudd as Stuffy
Philip Baker Hall as Granddad