Critics Have Seen Role Play, See What They’re Saying About Kaley Cuoco And David Oyelowo’s Action Flick
The movie is available to stream now.
In recent years Kaley Cuoco has taken on some pretty complicated characters on series like The Flight Attendant and Harley Quinn, and even 2022’s Meet Cute took a deceptively dark turn. She’s continuing along those lines in Role Play on Amazon’s Prime Video, playing an assassin for hire opposite David Oyelowo. Critics were able to screen the new action comedy before its streaming release on January 12, and opinions seem to be less than favorable.
Kaley Cuoco — in her first movie playing a mom — stars with David Oyelowo as married parents of two Dave and Emma. The couple decide to spice up their marriage with some role play, leading Dave to discover that his wife is leading a double life. Peyton Robinson of RogerEbert.com rates it just 1 star out of 4, saying Role Play provides feeble fight scenes and too few laughs. The result is a movie that feels more like a screen test than completed product, Robinson says, writing:
Matt Hambridge of FandomWire also calls out the movie for not providing many laughs, adding to that minimal action and few thrills. Only partially saved by its lead actors, Role Play is another forgettable January release, and Hambridge rates it 4 out of 10, saying:
Coleman Spilde of The Daily Beast advises people to “Skip This,” as not even Kaley Cuoco can save it from its lack of verve. Role Play doesn’t allow time for her character to work through her moral dilemmas, and it doesn’t provide enough action. Spilde continues:
Matt Donato of Paste gives it a 5.5 out of 10, saying the movie achieves the basic blueprint for “secret identity lover” films but lacks anything beyond the bare minimum, despite Kaley Cuoco’s efforts. Donato writes:
Ian Sandwell of Digital Spy seems to agree, calling Role Play “bland and inoffensive.” The critic rates the movie 2 out of 5 stars, writing:
Critics don’t seem over-excited about Kaley Cuoco’s latest offering, though she and David Oyelowo do seem to be the best parts, according to many of the reviews. While Role Play holds a paltry 19% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes (from 19 reviews), the audience score is much higher at 75% Fresh. That’s from the less than 50 opinions submitted as of this writing, so both of those percentages are going to change as more people weigh in, but this could be an indication that viewers will embrace the movie despite critics' opinions.
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Only time will tell, and if you want to form your own opinion, Role Play is available to stream now with an Amazon Prime Video subscription. Be sure to see what other films are headed our way soon by checking out our 2024 movie calendar.
Heidi Venable is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend, a mom of two and a hard-core '90s kid. She started freelancing for CinemaBlend in 2020 and officially came on board in 2021. Her job entails writing news stories and TV reactions from some of her favorite prime-time shows like Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in Journalism and worked in the newspaper industry for almost two decades in multiple roles including Sports Editor, Page Designer and Online Editor. Unprovoked, will quote Friends in any situation. Thrives on New Orleans Saints football, The West Wing and taco trucks.