Role Play

Directed by Thomas Vincent, Role Play follows a married couple (Kaley Cuoco’s Emma and David Oyelowo’s Dave) as they find themselves in a whole mess of trouble after an attempt at spicing up their relationship goes awry. It’s a fun premise that’s employed to watchable yet entirely forgettable effect by Vincent, as the filmmaker, armed with Seth Owen’s script, delivers a briskly-paced endeavor that never becomes quite as engaging or entertaining as one might’ve anticipated – with the arms-length feel perpetuated by an often egregiously lighthearted atmosphere that prevents one from wholeheartedly connecting to the material or characters. There’s little doubt, then, that Role Play benefits from its affable storyline and agreeable performances, with, in terms of the latter, Cuoco and Oyelowo’s charming efforts, particularly when coupled with their palpable chemistry together, going a long way towards smoothing over the picture’s less-than-enthralling stretches. And although the movie concludes with an ineffective, action-heavy climax, Role Play has, by that point, cemented its place as a decent-enough piece of work that generally does feel like it should be quite a bit better.

**1/2 out of ****