Sometimes you have to applaud how the logic of a giant streaming company’s boardroom works. You can pretty easily work out how Playdate got made at Prime Video – and it definitely all starts with Reacher becoming a massive hit for the streaming platform.
Alan Ritchson, that show’s gigantic star, can do more than just straight-laced chisel-jawed action man, though, and actually has quite a penchant for comedy, as demonstrated by his breakout role in Blue Mountain State and a turn in Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. So, now he’s heading up a huge action-comedy for Prime Video: Playdate.
Rewinding a bit, though, you can watch the first trailer for the movie up above, and it’ll instantly confirm that this is indeed a mainstream comedy, because Kevin James is the other big star. He’s made quite a career out of this sort of low-maintenance flick, and is firmly in the “always plays the dad of a chaotic family” bracket now.
This time around he’s actually a step-dad, my bad, working on getting closer to his step-son when he meets Ritchson in the park playing ball with his own kid (or so it seems). They hit it off despite their obvious differences in lifestyle, but things take a turn when Ritchson’s father and son pair are attacked by an assassin. Cue fistfights, gunfights and even car-fights from the looks of it.
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It all looks like complete silliness, but there’s no reason to suspect it won’t be a very fun brand of silliness, to be fair. Crucially, Ritchson seems to be having a great time, whether he’s beating people down, fighting his own young son or cutting some crazy drifts in a family car, and that’s a recipe for success.
The movie’s going to hit Prime Video on 12 November, so you’ve got almost exactly a month to wait for its crowd-pleasing comedy thrills. That gives you plenty of time to catch up on Reacher and get acquainted with just how physical Ritchson’s performances can be.
