Mr. Right

LOUISA SAYS: A SCREEN ZEALOTS REVIEW www.screenzealots.com “Mr. Right” isn’t much more than a half-baked hitman romantic comedy. We’ve seen the concept before (think “True Romance” meets “Grosse Point Blank“), but the idea has never been as messy, sloppy and as ill conceived as it is here. Unlucky in love Martha (Anna Kendrick) has her world turned upside down when she meets and falls for gun for hire Francis (Sam Rockwell). Their love story blossoms over killings, knives and gun battles. The script, written by Max Landis of “American Ultra” fame, is just too flimsy to work. I expected more from the writer. Tim Roth and RZA turn in enjoyable supporting performances, but the two leads lend the most starpower. The film features the onscreen pairing of my dreams with Kendrick and Rockwell. The two have an undeniable chemistry, but both actors are completely wasted with this mess. I really, really hope to see them work together in the future in a good movie — they both deserve a far better vehicle than this. “Mr. Right” is a fun idea that’s poorly executed. MATT SAYS: In “Mr. Right,” Martha (Anna Kendrick) has recently broken up with her boyfriend after she discovers him cheating on her. A chance encounter in a convenience store leads her to start dating an unnamed hitman (Sam Rockwell). If those two names — Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick — are all you need to hear to decide you want to see this movie, read no further. If you want to see the two of them play off of one another, this will be a meal that is mostly satisfying for you, but leaves you just a little bit hungry for something with more substance. There are probably vehicles that would have worked better for the two of them, but basically, it’s enjoyable enough as a choice for a movie night at home. The highlights: Sam Rockwell’s dancing and dry delivery and the way that Anna Kendrick’s millennial-angsty, world-weary-but-optimistic character plays off of him. Tim Roth’s nameless soldier-of-fortune with inscrutable motivations. The rent-a-thug Steve (The RZA), who is nothing if not pragmatic. The lowlights: a terrible script that tries too hard to shoehorn a hardcore action plot into a film that works well enough without it. It’s readily apparent why this movie didn’t get a wider theatrical release. I enjoyed seeing it, but ask me a month from now and I’ll barely remember it. **A SCREEN ZEALOTS REVIEW www.screenzealots.com**

Great watch, will watch again, and do recommend. This has a very special recipe of madness to it, I honestly don't know how to tell you how this movie FEELS. Sam Rockwell has a very particular style of acting to begin with, and telling him to turn it up to eleven turns out amazingly. Anna Kendrick, better know for "I'm a teen girl" acting than intense action roles keeps every pace with Rockwell in both action and madness. While we get whiplash from how likeable Kendrick's character is before Rockwell comes in, the fun of the movie quickly takes off in both action and writing. As "Mr. Right" carries chaos in his wake, it starts to develop multi-threading between the two characters, and while Rockwell is the main focus for majority of the movie, I think it is equal part leads between the two. There is some funny business in the 3rd act as they do some things that would normally be 1st act establishing events, but one becomes a mini-arc of the 3rd act, and the other just isn't explained at all, unless I misunderstood. The only other movie that is even close to this is "Wanted", and that's pretty superficial, the higher philosophical points aren't presented in the same manner at all, the movies "feel" completely differently, but they both focus on the morality of killing and high reflexes. Definitely give this one a go if you like action movies, it's a lot of fun.

Okay, so Mr. Right is a different sort of romantic comedy! It starts with an original idea: a hit man undergoes a personality change due to an injury, so that instead of carrying out hit jobs like previously, he decides that “murder is wrong “ and so, not seeing the obvious irony, he kills those who order the hits. We also meet Martha, a single gal coming off a bad break-up (isn’t everyone at the start of these movies?) and the two of them gradually make a connection. Against all odds, it seems, given his mental state, he treats her quite well. Their banter is witty and intelligent, with some humor coming from him telling her exactly what he does — kill people — and she naturally thinks he is kidding. She has her own surprises for us later, but I will give nothing away here. As I have noticed with a few other movies lately — mostly action films, such as Nobody — there is a ridiculous amount of violence here, almost cartoonish at times. I invented a new genre for them :Bodybag movies. I guess if some viewers require such excesses, who am I to complain? I enjoyed this movie anyway. I like that he is always polite and considerate to his new girlfriend even under extreme and dangerous situations. And you know how it is neat when characters display personal growth? The surprises that emerge concerning Martha that I alluded to above are part of a rather astonishing bit of character growth for her. Or is ‘growth’ the wrong word?. But no, my lips are sealed. Watch this entertaining comedy and see for yourself.