From the beginning, it is clear that Playdate is set on being a commercial entertainer, nothing more, nothing less. However, with an unfortunate lack of focus, the film gets distracted with itself, like a puppy chasing a butterfly. The story serves as a solid skeletal foundation for the film, but the flesh, blood, and rest of the body are devoid of life.
Director: Luke Greenfield
Cast: Alan Ritchson, Kevin James, Benjamin Pajak, Banks Pierce
Playdate follows two men, Jeff (Alan Ritchson) and Brian (Kevin James), who take care of two kids, Lucas (Benjamin Pajak) and CJ (Banks Pierce), respectively. Alan Ritchson’s earnest performance as Jeff largely saves the film. Jeff is a former special forces operator, but he is also someone who struggles to understand normal social cues. While it can come off as irritatingly ignorant, Ritchson effortlessly converts these possibly annoying traits into funny, likeable character moments. On the other hand, Kevin James, the actor-comedian, plays the ‘straight man’ this time. Even in his average man persona, he is able to deliver some memorable laughs. Playdate provides the right moments for its leads to shine. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the rest of the cast.
Isla Fischer plays the role of a quintessential American helicopter parent, whose only job is to conveniently show up in the middle of a high-stakes car chase, along with her friends, to disrupt it. Stephen Root, as Jeff's absentee father, is only present as a source of tragic emotions for Jeff or to deliver flat humour. Paul Walter Hauser as Galifinakish induces annoyance rather than humour. Alan Tudyk plays a parody of Silicon Valley tech CEO’s, but he does very little, and on top of that, the satire is ineffective. Even Hiro Kanagawa, whose only role was to deliver lines in a stoic manner, has the rug pulled from under him, in the form of lazy writing.
In films, outdated tropes are used to poke fun at the characters, at the story setting, or the trope itself. The light nature with which these tropes are used is what makes them memorable. Unfortunately, this is not the case with Playdate. Music is often used to shift the tone of a scene. One second, you could be seeing a heartfelt moment, the next second, an upbeat rap song could be blasting, in order to try and elevate a scene. While Playdate's only goal seems to be to dish out empty laughs and unearned highs, it still fails in that aspect.
