Players

Players
Starring Gina Rodriguez, Damon Wayans Jr., Tom Ellis, Joel Courtney
Directed by Trish Sie

I watched "Killers of the Flower Moon" twice. That movie is three and a half hours, and I sat through it twice. Not just sat through it, but absolutely enjoyed it both times. In fact, I could probably watch it again. The acting, the story, the cinematography, the score, everything about it is above reproach. Same with "Oppenheimer," which I've seen three times so far. Why did I start this review for "Players" with mentioning two Academy Award-nominated films? Because although "Players" is half the length of either of those films, I found myself feeling like I was watching paint dry for twenty-four hours, having been so bored I worried that I had missed a whole day of my life, and realized it was only an hour and forty-five minutes. Less with credits. And although I could sit through those three-something-hour epics again, I'd probably gouge my own eyes out if I had to watch this again.

Mack (Gina Rodgriguez) lives in New York City and works at a newspaper doing reports on sports, which is her passion. Her best friends also work there - Adam (Damon Wayans Jr.) and Sam (Augustus Prew). The three go out every night to the bars with Sam's brother Little (Joel Courtney) and pull "plays" on people they want to hook up with - long, convoluted plots that, somehow by the grace of God, actually works more times than not. Yet Mack is tired of the game, and wants to settle down - with the worldly, intellectual Nick (Tom Ellis), who's a success in every sense of the word. Mack and her friends devise a new type of "play" for Nick, proving it to be more difficult as this one is for keeps, but ultimately she lands her man and leans that the grass isn't always greener on the other side, and true love was staring at her right in the face the whole time.


The Good:
The only thing keeping this from a D- score is the cast. Gina Rodriguez, Damon Wayans Jr., Augustus Prew, Joel Courtney and Liza Koshy (who plays Ashley, a future addition to the friend group) have great comedic and heartfelt chemistry with one another. You feel like they've known each other their whole lives, and they know everything about each other. They work brilliantly off one another and made me wish I had a friend group like that.

Gina Rodriguez especially does a surprisingly decent job at a role that under the surface seems stereotypical, but gives Mack more emotional depth than what's expected. Mack's a confused woman: strong yet weak, intelligent yet stupid, and confident yet shy. She balances this like a seesaw master, and her effervescent charm and charisma is on full display. She's someone you'd want as a best friend, and really holds the film's center in the palm of her hand.


The Bad:
The story is as typical as they come, playing to every rom-com trope you can think of. Doing something totally outlandish to get the man of your dreams when all you had to do was just simply talk to him? Check. Somehow this convoluted plan actually works? Check. Finding out that the man of your dreams isn't all he seems? Check. Realizing you've changed everything about your life for him, while he changes nothing for you? Check. Being completely in the dark to your best friend's romantic intent? Check. Eventual blowout between the friends due to the unforeseen sexual tension? Check. A nice little happy ending with a bow wrapped around it? Check. Not that any of these are spoilers, because this film is so bland you see every moment coming a mile away.


The Summary:
A film of this caliber is exactly as you'd expect it to be, and while "Players" tries to perform a play on the audience to get them to root for them, ultimately it becomes a tedious overtime gameplay when you wanted it to end at the fourth quarter.


The Score: D