Review: Playing It Cool

Chris Evans has raised his profile in recent years with his role as Captain America, appearing in stand-alone films (The First Avenger and The Winter Soldier) as well as part of the all-star superhero team in The Avengers and the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron. As Captain America, he's the straight man, a sort of party-pooping fuddy-duddy amidst more flamboyant characters like Iron Man and The Hulk. Yet Evans, with his all-American good looks, possesses an easygoing charm that's still to be exploited in lighter fare.

Playing It Cool showcases his charisma, and his conviction in playing an unbeliever in love turned inside out by meeting the One elevates the otherwise slightly inspired but run-of-the-mill romantic comedy. Billed as the Narrator, Evans portrays a screenwriter assigned to pen a rom-com script. Problem is he doesn't believe in love and whatever relationships he's had are glorified booty calls that usually end up with him getting punched in the face.

Then he meets Her (Michelle Monaghan). She's beautiful, smart and game. Sparks fly and then disappointment: she has a boyfriend (Ioan Gruffudd) to whom she's soon engaged. Our Narrator can't stop thinking about her, even goes to all of the charity events in the area just so he can see her again. (One of the film's best lines builds off all of the charity races he runs when in a later scene he's dashing through the airport so he can declare his love for her: "All those 5Ks I ran finally paid off, seeing as I have to outrun this cliché.") They keep seeing each other, maintaining they're just friends but knowing there's something more than friendship there.

Playing It Cool spins a meta commentary on the rom-com genre, insisting love in its true form is not funny or romantic but rather dark and troubled. The film certainly skews that way most of the time but it is still very much a love story, not a Cassavetes film. The script, by Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair, doesn't shed any new light on the nature of love - their screenplay is often too analytical and drawn out for its own good. By the way, how can Monaghan's character seem to have all the time in the world to spend with our Narrator but not her own boyfriend?

Aubrey Plaza, Topher Grace, Luke Wilson, and Martin Starr co-star as the Narrator's gang, serving as a Greek chorus mouthing conflicting opinions on love and relationships. There are also vignettes that have Evans and Monaghan essaying various characters in the tales told by some of the film's players; so we see our lead duo as serf and maiden, soldier and sweetheart, and players in a Korean soap opera. It doesn't really add much to the proceedings, but may induce a chuckle or two.

Playing It Cool

Directed by: Justin Reardon

Written by: Chris Shafer, Paul Vicknair

Starring: Chris Evans, Michelle Monaghan, Topher Grace, Aubrey Plaza, Luke Wilson, Martin Starr, Ioan Gruffudd, Philip Baker Hall, Patrick Warburton