• Release year: 2025
• Director: Luke Greenfield.
• Producers: Jason Benoit, Mark Fasano, Luke Greenfield, Jeffrey Greenstein, and Sean Patrick O’Reilly.
• Screenplay by: Neil Goldman.
• Cinematography by: Darran Tiernan.
• Music by: Jeff Cardoni.

Shotgun Commentary: unexpectedly fun for a film of this genre.

Review

Playdate is the kind of film you begin to watch with zero to no expectations of having fun. It might just be that I’m on the boring spectrum, but action buddy comedies got dreadfully tedious decades ago. The films of this genre that actually make you laugh out loud are few and far between. Luckily for us fans of a good brain unplugging, it is still possible to be surprised and actually have fun with the generic, mass-produced action films that come out these days. You just have to pick the right one.

Brian (Kevin James) and his stepson Lucas (Benjamin Pajak) are out in the park trying to connect when they meet Jeff (Alan Ritchson) and his son CJ (Banks Pierce). Jeff is insanely intense, but Lucas makes friends with CJ, so Brian reluctantly accepts to go on a playdate to Jeff’s house. Upon arrival, Brian notices that Jeff’s story doesn’t really hold up very well. His casual love for violence and his clearly made-up answers make Brian uncomfortable, but, before he can keep digging, a bunch of generic evil goons show up and start to attack them, leading to high-speed car chases, tons of fighting, and plenty of ridiculous moments that will inevitably make you laugh.

The buddies

It is quite impossible to watch Alan Ritchson in a movie of this kind without inevitably thinking of John Cena. Ritchson is to Cena what Cena was to Dwayne Johnson until he found his own flavour of ridiculousness. For this very reason, it is hard to expect much from Jeff. Is he an original character? No. Have you seen this exact archetype to the point of exhaustion? Yeah, very likely. Does Ritchson make it work? Annoyingly, yes. Yes, he does. In an oddly precise combination of wacky acting, lots of charisma, and marvellous editing, Jeff becomes the star of the show. Of course, a mentally unstable killer is nothing without his slightly more stable, way more scared counterpart. This is a buddy comedy, after all.

Cue Kevin James in the role of Brian. If you have seen any comedy featuring James, you already know what you are here for. And before you ask, yes, you will have absolutely forgotten his character thirty seconds after the film is over. Still, there is one particular aspect of this character that makes him worthy of consideration: his relationship with his stepson. Shocking everyone, Brian and Lucas have the most average relationship ever. There is no dramatic fighting, no clichéd “you’re not my father” moment, no… Well, no nothing, really. Brian tries to be a good father, and Lucas is a nice kid. Now, you might be thinking, “wow, lame”, but in an industry that teaches people that their stepparents will always be murderous evil people out to get them, this is a big step towards reality. Let’s cut stepparents some slack, people.

Smack attack

Another element of the film that makes it stand out is its subscription to the beat-the-children trope. For decades, children getting hurt was a matter of controversial horror, heartwrenching dramas, or hardcore animated comedy. In other words, far away from light mainstream entertainment. Fortunately, Hollywood’s scruples have been slowly fading away as more and more people called bullsh*t on their hypocrisy, leading to the sweet moment we are in now. A moment when children can be hurt for comedic purposes same as adults, and they can fight like badasses without having to add a whole monologue on the ethics of it. Why? Because not everything needs to be real or grounded. Sometimes, a movie just wants to be funny, and that’s okay too.

All in all, Playdate is ridiculous, yes, but in the best of ways. It is the perfect movie to have in the background while you do something else, or if you just want to sit on the sofa for a bit and not think about the suffocating darkness that covers the world, even if just for a couple of hours.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Don’t bully kids. It’s not worth it… and also kinda frowned upon.
• Don’t take your kids to kiddie restaurants; they are a nightmare.
• Don’t bully nerds; you’ll create supervillains.

What’s your take? Have you watched Playdate? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message on my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀