Fair Play Parent Guide

A corporate non-fraternization policy poses a serious problem for Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich). The finance professionals are newly engaged but must keep their relationship secret lest they be fired. Their charade of mutual indifference works until Emily gets the promotion that Luke was expecting. When ambition and affection collide, the results can get messy…

When I say “messy”, I don’t mean a few little tiffs and some hurt feelings. Luke’s underlying misogyny comes to the fore and he suspects that Emily traded sexual favors for the promotion. Unwilling to admit her professional skill, he starts undermining her at work and at home, attacking her self-confidence and her reputation. His barely smothered entitlement is expressed in passive-aggressive behavior and erupts in a chilling scene of violence.

There is nothing subtle about this movie. It is clearly a cry against cultural misogyny – rumors about Emily’s sexual behavior fly through the office as soon as her promotion is announced. Male entitlement is so wired into her mind that Emily repeatedly apologizes to Luke for getting the promotion and devotes herself to boosting his career, even at a cost to her own.

The critique of Wall Street firms is even less subtle. In one particularly cringeworthy scene, Luke literally kneels before a corporate executive begging for promotion and pledging his loyalty. He recalls meeting the executive years ago and remaking himself in his image, and then claims the executive has become his “god”. With Luke’s focus firmly set on serving his corporate idol, it’s no wonder he can’t manage a healthy relationship with his fiancée.

This movie’s themes are painful and, sadly, so is the execution. This is a long, slow, irksome viewing experience. The characters are unlikable, the plot unsurprising (except for a startling scene at the end), and the negative content overwhelming. There is frequent, detailed sexual content, including a sexual assault and coarse discussions of sexual activity, some in explicit detail. Profanity is omnipresent, with 175 sexual expletives alone. On average, there are two curse words a minute and some characters’ dialogue seems to consist solely of profanity and crude sexual comments. Add in regular smoking and heavy alcohol consumption, and this movie clearly deserves its Restricted rating. I’ve given it a “D” for “dreadful”, but I don’t think that option is available to the Motion Picture Association, so I guess the “R” will have to do.