Role Play movie review: Kaley Cuoco and David Oyelowo’s film is a middling take on marriage and mayhem

Cast: Kaley Cuoco, David Oyelowo, Connie Nielsen and Bill Nighy Director: Thomas Vincent Language: English Couples in films will go to any lengths to spice up the monotony of their relationships and marriage. Be it here or in the West, they have tried spouse swapping, dating people outside the relationships, and in Thomas Vincent’s film that’s now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, which is called Role Play, Emma and Dave, played by Kaley Cuoco and David Oyelowo, decide to do a role-play. It’s only during this trainwreck of an idea when the husband discovers his wife is an assassin. Hilarity ensues? Only in spurts. Western comedies are driven by a certain sense of madness and abandon, and the spirit of rage. In Role Play, the tonality is done and dusted, even when you’re partly amused by the fate that awaits the husband and also the wife. The leads have an electric chemistry and one awaits what lies ahead in their near-bland marriage. The film takes a dramatic turn when the confrontation finally happens and the wife says she never wanted to lie to her husband but just wanted a normal life. In another scene that could make you chuckle, the wife tells her husband she’ll call her later. Guess where she is? In the middle of a shootout with bullets waiting to wound her. There are some swift and sharp action set-pieces and doses of comedy by the leading man. And before you can guess, he lands up to be with his wife to save her and guide her when she’s trapped in a tumultuous situation. But are these enough to salvage a film that almost fails to thrill us from start to end? The tagline of the film says every couple has its secrets. Well, they also have their ups and downs, just like this film. Rating: 2.5 (out of 5 stars) Role Play is streaming on Prime Video