Role Play Parent Guide

Although she lives a tidy white-picket-fence life with her husband Dave (David Oyelowo) and children, Wyatt and Caroline (Regan Bryan-Gudgeon and Lucia Aliu), Emma (Kaley Cuoco) isn’t just the energetic businesswoman her family believes her to be. Her frequent business travel is, in fact, a cover for her long-running career as an intercontinental assassin. She’s been able to keep that part of her life separate – until now.

An attempt to “spice up” their marriage by meeting at a hotel under assumed names goes badly awry when Emma is spotted by another contract killer who is aware of the price on her head. On his own, one little hitman isn’t much for Emma to deal with, but if her cover’s been blown, she needs to get her family to safety. And that’s going to take a little more…business travel.

As R-rated action comedies go, Role Play is remarkably tame. Yes, there’s a fair amount of violence, but that’s really it. There’s a handful of serious profanities, and infrequent social drinking, and almost no sexual content to speak of, in spite of the film’s rather suggestive title and premise. Mostly, it’s a fun little action comedy.

The story colors pretty safely inside the lines for an action flick, and while it certainly isn’t perfect, it seems to have a pretty good idea what it can get away with. The pacing is a little touch-and-go in spots, and the plot is riddled with holes, but charismatic performances from Cuoco and Oyelewo and a script that leans into the silliness go a long way in keeping the film on the fun side.

There’s really not too much I can say about the movie, if I’m honest. Cruising on down the middle of the road, Role Play doesn’t take any big creative risks, but it also stays out of the ditch. Is there a way to say something is mediocre without meaning it as an insult? It’s familiar but not wearing, safely derivative without being either a shameless knock-off or trying to be something it isn’t. And I appreciate that about the movie. There’s nothing wrong with a fun little date night flick that hits viewer expectations without a deluge of problematic content. Just don’t expect it to reinvent the wheel here.