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‘ROLE PLAY’ RATED R
Kaley Cuoco has come a long way since her role of pretty aspiring actress Penny, the apartment-dwelling neighbor befriending a pair of science nerds in the long-running popular series “The Big Bang Theory.”
Just a few years ago Cuoco’s Cassie Bowden was the titular character in the HBO series “The Flight Attendant,” an alcohol-fueled mess who traveled often on long-haul flights which she endured with copious indulgence of airline mini vodka bottles.
This series was an intriguing murder mystery in which Cuoco was anything but the pleasantly sincere “girl next door” as she turned out to be an inebriated libidinous party girl who on one trip wakes up in a Bangkok hotel room next to a dead guy.
Continuing on a path of more daring television fare than an innocuous sitcom about life with socially awkward physicists, Cuoco not only stars but serves as a producer on Amazon Prime’s “Role Play,” in which she has a secret life.
Cuoco’s Emma Brackett is apparently happily married to Dave (David Oyelowo) with two kids in the suburbs of New Jersey. For business, she’s supposedly traveling to exciting places like Nebraska but apparently not engaging in sexual trysts with strangers.
In “Role Play,” Cuoco’s character, much like the one in “The Flight Attendant,” skirts with danger once again, only this time she’s a willing participant in a hazardous position, which comes with the territory of being a professional assassin.
Back home in New Jersey, her unwitting husband is displeased that Emma has forgotten their seventh wedding anniversary, and he can be forgiven for fretting that their marriage might have lost its allure.
To pump a little excitement back into matrimony, Emma and Dave decide a little role-playing would be in order by planning a rendezvous at the bar of a swanky New York hotel, where they will pretend to be strangers before hooking up.
Drinking alone at the bar as a prelude to a make-believe encounter, Emma is approached by an older gentleman who is game for striking up a conversation, while Dave is apparently running late to the party.
The interloper in this situation is Bob Kellerman (Bill Nighy), who has a gift for gab. While his appearance is like that of a traveling salesman, there’s more to Bob than getting in the way of a role-playing occasion.
The encounter in the hotel lounge takes an interesting turn with a few surprises. What will it take for Dave to catch on his wife’s secret identity? An unexpected death exposes a rift in the marriage when both Emma and Dave find themselves “persons of interest” to the police.
Emma might not even be her real name, but the notion that she’s a professional killer leads to inevitable marital complications as Dave is completely bewildered and blindsided.
Things get even more dire for Emma when she has to go to Berlin for a contract, and mysterious handler Gwen Carver (Connie Nielsen) is determined to keep Emma from giving up her career for family.
A mix of comedy and action can work where the secret assassin is the central plot. Take the case of double secrecy in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, a couple in a decaying marriage, have been hiding from each other that they are assassins for rival agencies.
Kaley Cuoco and David Oyelowo are not exactly Brangelina, but as far as “Role Play” goes, they acquit themselves decently for a serviceable and formulaic comedic thriller that has enough moments of fun for a streaming production.
CRIME DRAMAS ON LIFETIME CHANNEL
Premiering on February 3RD on the Lifetime Channel, “A Mother’s Intuition” centers on the story of a young sculptor named Toni (Denise Boutte), a pregnant woman mourning the abrupt death of her husband who learns upon the birth of her child that her baby girl was stillborn.
The story takes a bizarre turn when Toni accuses the hospital of swapping her baby. More than paranoia is in play, and though no one believes her, the search for truth results in plenty of twists and suspense.
Based on a true story, “Abducted Off the Street: The Carlesha Gaither Story” chronicles the kidnapping of a Philadelphia nurse’s aide at the hands of a homicidal predator, and reveals how she fought to survive and created a trail that would ultimately lead to her rescue.
Carlesha (Riele Downs) was walking home from a family gathering when she is forced into a car at knifepoint. Determined to endure and outsmart her captor, Carlesha leaves clues behind at every opportunity.
Meanwhile, Carlesha’s mother, Keisha (Kenya Moore), stops at nothing to find her, making an impassioned plea to the media and working alongside a committed detective to rescue her before it’s too late.
The real culprit was a person by the name of Delvin Barnes, a man with an extensive criminal history who pleaded guilty to holding Carlesha hostage for three days. In June 2016, Barnes was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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‘MEAN GIRLS’ RATED PG-13
Screenwriter and director John Hughes was legendary as the creative force behind many memorable films.
He tapped into the zeitgeist of the coming-of-age teenage human condition in comedies that included “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club’ and “Weird Science.”
Best of all was “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” which remains a favorite. Matthew Broderick was outstanding as the slacker titular character, a manipulator and con artist as he ditched high school for a day with two friends enjoying the best of Chicago that included a Cubs game at Wrigley Field.
The whole point of bringing up Hughes is that you would be far better off insofar as being entertained by watching his films from the Eighties than spending time with “Mean Girls,” which is essentially a remake of the Broadway musical of the same that was an adaption of the 2004 film.
What we get with the new “Mean Girls” is the same old story of the new girl at the high school finagling her way into the social hierarchy of the popular girl group known as the Plastics, an oddly fitting name for the vacuous teens.
The difference between the two films is that the new version, such as it is considering that Tina Fey was writer of both along with the Broadway musical, are musical numbers that would work best in a stage production.
The role of Cady Heron, originally played to perfection by Lindsay Lohan, now belongs to Angourie Rice. As with the 2004 film, Cady transfers to North Shore High School after being homeschooled in Africa, which would seem to result in a serious case of culture shock.
At first, Cady falls in with two other outsiders, Janis (Auli’i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey).
Janis was once friends with Regina (Renee Rapp), the rich mean girl who is the leader of the Plastics. But that friendship dissolved when Regina outed Janis as a lesbian.
Though warned by her friends to avoid the Plastics, Cady is invited to become part of Queen Bee Regina’s clique, which includes the bubbly and dimwitted Karen (Avantika) and insecure Gretchen (Bebe Wood).
Of course, Regina has ulterior motives; after all, she’s as fake as the name “Plastics” would imply. While Cady is bright, she feigns a lack of math skills to get closer to Regina’s ex-boyfriend Aaron (Christopher Briney).
Naturally, Cady’s infatuation sends Regina into a spiral of cruelty and malicious jealousy, which leads to vindictive backstabbing that one might expect from a borderline sociopath. High school is a brutal breeding ground for broken souls.
Aside from a cameo appearance by Lindsay Lohan as a math quiz moderator, Tina Fey reprises her role as math teacher Ms. Norbury, while Tim Meadows is once again the beleaguered school principal Mr. Duvall, who looks ten years overdue for retirement.
Granted, many of the newcomers as students demonstrate passion and energy, but in the end the inevitable question is why was there a pressing need to bother with a reboot that adds nothing of weight to the overworked teen angst.
Midway through the Nineties, Amy Heckerling, as writer and director, delivered “Clueless,” an appealing coming-of-age teen comedy. She also directed 1982’s “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” a teen comedy that greatly amused with Sean Penn’s stoner slacker Jeff Spicoli.
There are just too many good teen comedies from three to four decades ago to revisit than bothering with an unmemorable remake, unless there’s some weird fascination with the Plastics. “Mean Girls” will likely find its audience, but this reviewer does not fall into that camp.
‘RESCUE BOWL’ PRECEDES THE SUPER BOWL
Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 11 will be preceded by Great American Family’s annual “Great American Rescue Bowl” that has been created in partnership with the North Shore Animal League America.
The program is a fun interactive way to raise awareness of the huge number of wonderful animals in local shelters across the country and has been highly successful at increasing the adoption rate several fold during Super Bowl weekend.
Renowned animal advocate and bestselling author, Beth Stern, who has personally placed more than 2,000 fosters over the years, returns to host “Great American Rescue Bowl.”
An active member of the Animal League America Board, Beth Stern is joined in hosting duties by TV personality and producer, Brian Balthazar, and 13-time Emmy-winning morning news anchor. Dan Mannarino.
Since 1944, North Shore Animal League America has saved more than 1.1 million pet lives through the organization’s medical care, vaccination programs, and the ultimate pet life savers – rescue and adoption.
“Great American Rescue Bowl 2024” features a tail-biter of a bowl game between The Adorables versus The Cuddlers with a halftime show that will melt hearts. Spoiler alert: The status of each furry player is – adopted!
Animal lovers are bound to be touched by the Animal League’s pioneering as the no-kill movement and architect of the happy ending for more than a million deserving shelter pets for 80 years.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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