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By Leon van Nierop

Journalist


Playing it Cool movie review

"Beware the trailer!" Was that Shakespeare? Or perhaps some cynical film critic who has endured far too many romantic comedies and now suffers from a romcom hangover?


Because the trailer to this romantic effort contains the few highlights in this film, all put together in two minutes. So if you should venture to see this film and you have been bombarded by the trailer (which you probably saw when you ventured to see Fifty Shades of Grey), rest assured.

It is one of those efforts you hire from the DVD store with the two others you really want to see. So Playing it Cool is simply an “in case” film. In case you are still in the mood for another film after watching the other two big ones, you slip it into your DVD player. One you can start watching without paying much attention and then happily fall asleep.

Playing it Cool pretends to be a satire on love and romance. The age-old questions concerning love are raised ad infinitum in this rambling script.

Chris Evans plays the part of a romcom script writer who cannot come up with the perfect script, because he doesn’t understand or appreciate love, let alone relationships. It takes him (and us) the entire film to discover that love, with the beautiful Michelle Monaghan, can indeed become a reality. And there is something clumsy and awkward about his performance when he has to deliver certain lines.

With all these grim views out of the way, anyone who simply wants to indulge in popcorn-and-a-movie-night-out might find Playing it Cool quite okay for a Friday evening’s predictable entertainment. It will deliver everything you expect from a romantic movie. The people are good-looking and the outcome is predictable.

Fortunately, the choice of whether you want to pay R60 to watch it is yours.

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