Playing It Cool (also known as A Many Splintered Thing) is a romantic comedy film made in the United States which came out in 2014 and was directed by Justin Reardon. The film features Chris Evans in the lead role as an agitated writer who falls for a woman, played by Michelle Monaghan, despite her already having a fiancé. This incident makes him rethink his pathetically cynical outlook about love and relationships.
Synopsis
The viewer gets an insight into the life of the protagonist, ostensible “Me” (Chris Evans), irritable with his job as a screenwriter of romcoms – Love Actually remains writer’s complex hole-in-the-wall, making it hard to believe in love. He meets “Her” (Michelle Monaghan) at a charity gala and they establish a remarkable bond right away, only for her to admit that she is already engaged. Undeterred, Me attempts to get to know her on a higher level while dealing with a broken love and friendship and the blurry boundaries between the two.
Cast
- Chris Evans as Me
- Michelle Monaghan as Her
- Topher Grace as Scott
- Aubrey Plaza as Mallory
- Luke Wilson as Samson
- Anthony Mackie as Bryan
- Philip Baker Hall: Granddad
Critical Reception
The film was poorly received with criticisms on acting, story, and direction. Playing It Cool has a patronage of only 15% from audiences as per Rotten Tomatoes where 27 reviews amount up to a rating of 3.5 out of 10. The consensus states: ‘Movies like Playing It Cool It is like laughing at someone who is not funny on purpose’. The romance between characters Scott and Kate is developed reasonably well however it is disappointing in its comedic aspects.
Availability
The film can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video and Tubi.
Personal Insights
Playing It Cool aims to create a love story disproving its own premise where one character portrays a person living dissatisfied with life and love however falls in love by the end f the film. The movie features quite popular stars like Chris Evans and Michelle Monaghan and has a crisp plotting yet brings no freshness to the storyline. The idea of parodying of routine romantic patters could be interesting to many fans validation but its strong idea is quite dull and normal such that it creates no tension to watch the movie.
Context and Significance in the Society
The movie reveals issues concerning the impact on modern romance relationships, one-sided love, and understanding love in today’s world. Thanks to the choice of a protagonist who is a screenwriter, it serves as a stylized commentary on the romcom genre, albeit this concept is not properly exploited in the movie.