Playing It Cool is a 2014 American romantic comedy film directed by Justin Reardon and written by Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair. The film stars Chris Evans and Michelle Monaghan. The film was released on video on demand on March 31, 2015 before a limited release on May 8, 2015 by Vertical Entertainment.[1] It received generally negative reviews from critics.
Plot[]
Me is a screenwriter in LA who wants to write action flicks, but his agent, Bryan, needs him to write a rom-com first. Due to mother abandonment issues from his childhood, he doesn't let love in or believe in it, so finds writing about romance difficult.
His buddy Scott is obsessed with romantic books and movies. He’s had a crush for ages on a guy who works at a bookshop. He is tortured, hoping the feelings could be reciprocated.
Me wants to show love as it is in his perspective, not funny nor romantic. Every time anyone has told him they love him, he says he doesn’t think he’d be able to reciprocate. So, he constantly hooks up and then says he doesn’t see a future with them
Then Me meets Her at a charity event, bantering together with ease. Me finds himself really drawn to Her, but suddenly they meet her boyfriend ‘Stuffy’, and she gets whisked away. When he tries to get her out of his head by hooking up quickly with anyone else, for the first time it doesn’t work. He goes back to the venue to see if he can get her name, but there is no one left to ask. Desperate, he steals the guest book.
His misfit group of friends are all writers: Lyle is prolific yet still unpublished, Samson is a married graphic novelist, Mallory writes and performs one woman shows she makes them attend and of course Scott. Me tells them he is trying to find Her. Most are cynical about marriage and love, while Scott is supportive.
Me goes to see his granddad, who tells him he must search like Columbo. Me and Scott makes the rounds of charity events, hoping to run into Her. After a plethora of events, he is embarrassed at one when the host puts Me on the spot to talk about works that he has previously bragged (lied) about. Her is actually at the event, so they reconnect, and he gets her to agree to a ‘friend date’. Afterwards, when he gives her a lift home, she mentions an upcoming charity event.
The next day, Scott is again his only friend supportive of love; his other friends try to dissuade him, with Mallory openly hostile.
Me shows up for the event, to find it is actually her yoga class. Their connection continues to strengthen. Chatting in a café, he asks her about ‘Stuffy.’ She describes him as stable, safe and liked by her family and friends. Her dream wedding is at one of the heart sculptures in San Francisco. Me finally confesses that he ‘likes’ her, which she says won’t change her plan.
Her calls Me up because she can’t get him out of her head, and before long, they end up in bed together. For the first time, he doesn’t feel guilty. Her, on the other hand, leaves feeling badly. She calls again, everything is going well, until his dishonesty about the charities surfaces and she stomps away. Mallory finally confesses she loves Me when he asks her for help. The next morning, Her wakes him with a call, only to confess she is already engaged.
A night of binging, followed by making a fool of himself at her apartment and his granddad dying, gets Me back on track. His writer's block melts away and the rom-com gets done. Scott finally gets a date with that guy, Mallory gives a ‘friend’ a chance. Me realizes he has to try to stop the wedding. After a flight, cliché run through an airport and a taxi ride, and checking all of the heart sculptures, Me finds Her.
The end message: Love isn’t a thinking thing, it’s a feeling thing. Live your own story.
Cast[]
- Chris Evans as Me
- Jaeden Martell (credited as Jaeden Lieberher) as 6 Year Old Me
- Michelle Monaghan as Her
- Topher Grace as Scott
- Aubrey Plaza as Mallory
- Luke Wilson as Samson
- Martin Starr as Lyle
- Anthony Mackie as Bryan
- Ioan Gruffudd as Stuffy
- Philip Baker Hall as Granddad
- Patrick Warburton as Hedge Funder
- Gerry Bednob as Cabbie/Gabriel
- L. Peter Callender as Tourist Couple Guy
- Velina Brown as Tourist Couple Girl
- Ryan Cover as Skateboarder
- Peyton List as Hot Girl
- Kyle Mooney as Other Dude
- Sarah Dumont as Cute Girl
- Shelly Slocum as Samson’s Wife
- Beverly D’Angelo as Lyle’s Girlfriend
- Brenda Schmid as Blissful Girl
- Scott Evans as Blissful Boy
- Precious Chong as Serious Girl
- Thomas R. Martin as Serious Guy
- Tony Cavalero as Charity Waiter
- Catero Alain Colbert as Diner Waiter
- Kelsey McNamee as Charity Event Hostess
- Henrietta Meire as Mother
- Abby Ryder Fortson as Little Girl
- Sean Carrigan as Another Guy
- Petie Sjogren as Teenage Girl
- Lara Everly as Girl Next Door
- Jeremy Glazer as New Guy
- Fabianne Therese as College Girl
- Carl McDowell as Neighbor
- Shantel Wislawski as Supermodel
- Michael X. Sommers as San Francisco Bystander
- Nicholas Bearde as Man From Crowd
- Carmina Garay as 6 Year Old Girl
- Joey Capone as Abrasive Clerk
- Kahyun Kim as Korean Woman
- Jason S. Kim as Korean Man
- Mikaela Hoover as Lacey
- Shira Scott Astrof as Vivian
- Devon Ogden as Sadie
- Cathy Tanaka as Hipster Chick
- Jaden Alexander as Photographer (uncredited)
- Natalie Marie Ames as Charity Event Guest (uncredited)
- Joseph Aviel as Beach Bodybuilder (uncredited)
- Drew Benda, Nkechi, Rajiv Shah and James D. Weston II as Tourist (uncredited)
- Julie Berlin as Party Guest (uncredited)
- Cici Leah Campbell as Medieval English Peasant (uncredited)
- Cindera Che as Fran Burns - Hedge’s Secretary (uncredited)
- Dwight V Coleman as Beach Camper (uncredited)
- Joshua Corley as Bartender (uncredited)
- Thomas Dalby as The Groundskeeper (uncredited)
- Sandra Daubert as Valentino Woman (uncredited)
- Rick L. Dean and Dennis Nicomede as Charity Event Guest (uncredited)
- Alexandra Fatovich as Maid of Honor (uncredited)
- Theodore John Forsi as Artist of Gallery (uncredited)
- Geoffrey Gould as Pedestrian (uncredited)
- Jon Robert Hall as Bartender (uncredited)
- Matt Harding as Diner Cook (uncredited)
- Nicky Hawthorne as Cocktail Waitress (uncredited)
- Pamela Keith as Wealthy Woman (uncredited)
- Nate Komari and Tamim Nawabi as Skateboarder (uncredited)
- Mark Lavell as Businessman (uncredited)
- Charley Lodi as Gun Club Employee (uncredited)
- Carly Louis as Babysitter (uncredited)
- Phil Mallon as Bar Patron (uncredited)
- Mahal Montoya as Casual Traveller (uncredited)
- Marcus Natividad as Dax (uncredited)
- Onrico Nightingale as Guy at Bar with Drink (uncredited)
- Sharelle Smith as Runner (uncredited)
- Luci Suicide as Suicide Girl (uncredited)
- Joseph Lyle Taylor as Priest (uncredited)
- Oliver Trevena as The Best Man (uncredited)
- Anthony James Whitewolf as Waitstaff (uncredited)
Production[]
Pre-production[]
The script for the film was originally titled A Many Splintered Thing and was first on The Black List and was a 2011 finalist for the Nicholl Fellowship.[2]
Filming[]
The film began filming in late 2012 in Los Angeles and completed in early 2013. The film is produced by Voltage Pictures and Wonderland Sound and Vision.
Release[]
The international trailer was released on September 17, 2014.[3]
The film was released in Estonia on September 26, 2014, Latvia on October 17, 2014, South Korea on October 23, 2014 and Romania on December 26, 2014.[4]
On November 5, 2014 it was announced Vertical Entertainment had acquired US distribution rights for the film with a planned 2015 release.[5] In February 2015, the film was released exclusively on DirecTV Cinema.[6] In Canada, on February 27, 2015, the film received a limited release in theatres and was released on video on demand.[7] The film was released on video on demand on March 31, 2015 before a limited release on May 8, 2015.[8]
The film premiered at the Dallas International Film Festival on April 11, 2015.[9]
Reception[]
Critical response[]
Template:RT prose
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 30 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[10]
Box office[]
Playing It Cool grossed $1.3 million at the box office.[11]
Trailer[]
Videos[]
External links[]
References[]
- ↑ Playing It Cool (2015-05-07).Template:User-generated source
- ↑ Chris Evans Has Complicated Feelings for Michelle Monaghan in 'Playing It Cool' Trailer. The Hollywood Reporter (13 September 2014).
- ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Template:Cite AV media
- ↑ Two More Posters for 'Playing It Cool' and Some Release Dates (2014-09-26).
- ↑ Chris Evans' 'Playing It Cool' Acquired by Vertical Entertainment (5 November 2014).
- ↑ Watch Playing It Cool Full Movie Online.
- ↑ Playing it Cool synopsis and movie info.
- ↑ Flieder on Film: Playing It Cool.
- ↑ Playing It Cool | 2015 Dallas International Film Festival.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Wd". Playing It Cool. Red Ventures.
- ↑ {{{title}}}. IMDb.Missing or empty |id= Missing or empty |title=