Playdate: Should you watch or skip the latest Prime Video comedy starring Alan Ritchson? A viewer's guide

At first, Luke Greenfield's latest buddy action comedy, Playdate, appears to borrow some themes from Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), but by the end, the film adds another theme, usually present in sci-fi films: artificial beings developing emotions. Think of the recently released Tron: Ares or the 1982 hit Blade Runner.

The film's synopsis (via Rotten Tomatoes) reads,

"When recently unemployed accountant Brian (Kevin James) agrees to a playdate with charismatic stay-at-home dad Jeff (Alan Ritchson) and their sons, he expects an easy afternoon of small talk and football tossing. Instead, he's thrust into a chaotic scramble to stay alive as they are pursued by a ruthless team of mercenaries. Brian stumbles through one ridiculous obstacle after another, his zero tactical skills a stark contrast to Jeff's oddly prepared demeanor."

Audiences and critics are pretty much on the same side if we go by the score at the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. It holds a mere 23% score on RT's Tomatometer and a 58% on the Popcornmeter.

This article contains the writer's personal opinion. Reader's discretion is advised.

Our take on Playdate

In case you're curious about one of the Prime Video films that made it to the top of the streaming charts, you should give it a try. Alan Ritchson is trying his best to blend action and comedy for his role in Playdate, but he definitely did it better with Guy Ritchie in his The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024).

Whatever's happening in the movie, it feels forceful. Action sequences are worth watching to some extent, especially the chase that begins and ends the film. Rather than a buddy action, Playdate feels more like a father-son movie.

Kevin James should have stuck to his comic persona. Instead, he is a simple stay-at-home dad without a humorous spin. His character could've been more compelling, a little cooler, in place of a lame suburban dad, which Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother could have accepted, but we cannot.

For the antagonist of the film, Alan Tudyk plays Simon Maddox. And although he might seem like a dangerous character, the more you read about the premise, nothing about him is threatening when you watch the movie. Tudyk's character could have been more intense.

Skip this one

Kevin James plays Brian Jennings in the movie. (Image via Prime Video)

Prime Video has a lot of titles, and, interestingly, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is part of its catalogue as well. You can skip this title, where Alan Ritchson is trying to be a funny warrior and watch the Guy Ritchie film where he was totally invested in the role.

Luke Greenfield has released three back-to-back films that see a pair (of protagonists) in a story, including Playdate, but the first two, Let's Be Cops (2014) and Half Brothers (2020), did a much better job. The former even exploded at the box office and made the audience laugh, within the buddy action genre.

All in all, our verdict for his latest film is that you should skip it.