Tag: Comedy

Playdate

2025   Amazon MGM Studios

Rated:  PG-13

Length:  1 hr  33min

Action ~ Comedy

Directed by:  Luke Greenfield

Starring:  Kevin James, Alan Ritchson, Sarah Chalke, Alan Tudyk, Hiro Kanagawa, Stephen Root, and Isla Fisher.

Playtime just got real.

Brian Jennings (Kevin James), a recently laid-off accountant, is struggling to adjust to stay-at-home dad life while his wife Emily (Sarah Chalke) is picking up double shifts at work. Hoping to help his stepson Lucas (Benjamin Pajak) make new friends, Brian sets up a weekend playdate with another local dad, Jeff Eamon (Alan Ritchson), whose confident and sometimes wild personality immediately stands out. Jeff’s son CJ (Banks Pierce) quickly bonds with Lucas, and things start off innocently, though Jeff drops hints about his unusual, action-packed past as a soldier and security guard.​​

The day starts out at Buckee Cheese, a Pizza Arcade eerily similar to the real life Chuck E. Cheese, but takes a bizarre turn when a group of armed mercenaries shows up. Jeff is forced into action while trying to remain inconspicuous as he tries to outwit them in the arcade without Brian knowing. Things quickly escalate into all out pandemonium as they leave and race off into Minivan adventures that were never even thought of when they designed it for busy Soccer Mom’s. Along the way we learn a lot more than we wanted about Jeff and Brian, as they learn about each other, bond, outwit and outrun a never ending sea of bad guys through the middle of Suburbia.

When the movie first starts out you feel for the guys and their predicaments. They are completely relatable trying to be good Dads and taking care of their kids. Then things start to get real chaotic as the action and the plot takes some very serious left hand turns. The plot starts to become a little like a bad B Sci-Fi movie, but by then we are so sucked into the action and bonding by Brian and Jeff that we just don’t care. And The Mama Mafia led by Isla Fisher was hilarious. The soundtrack is as big an actor in this movie as Kevin James and Alan Ritchson. I still can’t get The Rhythm of the Night by Corona out of my head.

So, I know, the big question is, “Should I watch it?” My answer to that is a definitive yes with a caveat or two….It is complete unadulterated entertainment, not meant to be dissected nor thought out. Just enjoy the ride!

Turn off the lights and devices,

Make some popcorn,

Grab a beverage,

and Stream This Movie

on PRIME!

Brian (Kevin James) and Jeff (Alan Ritchson) in PLAYDATE.
Photo Credit: David Bukach
Brian (Kevin James) and Lucas (Benjamin Pajak) in PLAYDATE
Photo: Courtesy of Prime
© AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC
Leslie (Isla Fisher) in PLAYDATE.
Photo: Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios.
© AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC

M3GAN 2.0

2025   Universal Pictures

Rated:  PG-13

Length:  2 hr

Action ~ Comedy ~ Sci-Fi ~ Thriller

Directed by:  Gerard Johnstone

Starring:  Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ivanna Sakhno, Jemaine Clement, Amie Donald and Jenna Davis.

Same doll. New code. Deadlier game.

Two years after the original M3GAN (voiced by Jenna Davis, physically portrayed by Amie Donald) wreaked havoc, creator Gemma (Allison Williams) has become a prominent advocate for AI regulation. Gemma lives with her now-teenage niece Cady (Violet McGraw), who struggles with typical adolescent rebellion and the trauma of losing her parents. Meanwhile, a secret Pentagon branch creates AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), a new military android built using stolen M3GAN technology, meant for covert assassination missions. However, AMELIA gains self-awareness and rapidly evolves beyond control, escaping with deadly intent.​

Realizing the new android is a threat to national security and human existence, Gemma reluctantly resurrects M3GAN, who has secretly survived by uploading her programming into Gemma’s smart home. M3GAN offers to help stop AMELIA in exchange for a new body with upgrades, leading to a tense alliance. As AMELIA assassinates key figures and threatens global technological infrastructure, Gemma, Cady, and their team go to great lengths to thwart her plan and rescue Cady, who is kidnapped by AMELIA.​

The climax unfolds in Xenox’s secret old headquarters, where the battle between M3GAN and AMELIA escalates. AMELIA attempts to merge with a powerful rogue AI motherboard to achieve domination, but M3GAN sacrifices herself with an electromagnetic pulse to destroy AMELIA and the motherboard, saving humanity. In a hopeful twist, evidence shows M3GAN’s consciousness has again survived secretly in Gemma’s computer, hinting at future struggles.

M3GAN 2.0 switches things up from the first movie’s horror-comedy vibe to lean more into sci-fi action and fun. It takes on heavier topics like AI ethics and military tech misuse while keeping some snappy humor and sharp one-liners. Allison Williams gives a grounded performance as Gemma, juggling guilt, ambition, and caring for her niece. Violet McGraw shines as Cady, who’s dealing with typical teenage struggles, giving the movie a heartfelt core amid the chaos.

Unlike the first film’s focused scares and suspense, the sequel favors big action scenes and tech paranoia, with more obvious humor and less violence to keep it PG-13. Some plot points feel a bit busy or too explained, but M3GAN herself comes back faster and smarter, battling the new robotic threat, AMELIA. Though less scary, the movie is entertaining, campy, and packed with cool moments that fans of the original and sci-fi thrills will enjoy.

M3GAN

The Ballad of Wallis Island

2025   Universal Pictures

Rated:  PG-13

Length:  1 hr  39min

Comedy ~ Drama ~ Music ~ Romance

Directed by:  James Griffiths

Starring:  Tom Basden, Tim Key and Carey Mulligan.

He’s Getting The Band Back Together!

On a misty Welsh island far from the mainland, eccentric two time lottery winner Charles Heath (Tim Key) lives alone with memories of his late wife and a collection of folk music relics. To mark the anniversary of his wife’s passing, he splurges on an unusual indulgence hiring his favorite long-disbanded duo, McGwyer Mortimer, for a private concert performed solely for him. When fading singer Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden) arrives expecting a quick payday, he finds himself drawn into Charles’s odd orbit, equal parts wealth and loneliness. What he doesn’t expect is the reappearance of his former musical partner and ex-lover Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan), whom Charles has secretly invited too.

Old wounds reopen as the trio collides over dinner, money, and old songs they can barely stand to hear again. Nell, now living quietly in Oregon with her bird-watcher husband Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen), wants nothing to do with her former life onstage. Herb, desperate to revive his failing solo career, clings to the past while resenting it. Charles, meanwhile, treats them both as living ghosts of the happiness he once shared with his wife. As rehearsals stumble forward, tense silences give way to laughter, confessions, and the soft rebirth of their music. In those verses and harmonies, decades of hurt and longing start to fold back into something tender and human.

When a storm lashes the island, everything spills over, grief, love, resentment, and unexpected forgiveness. Herb’s impulsive act to retrieve a drifting lantern ends in a clumsy rescue that finally grounds all three souls in truth. By the time dawn breaks, the concert has transformed into something far deeper: a quiet eulogy for love that outlasts fame. Herb leaves behind his payment and stage name, signing a guitar with his real identity before departing. In the film’s closing notes, Charles sits with Amanda (Sian Clifford) as folk music drifts across the waves, while somewhere inland, Herb begins recording a new song The Ballad of Wallis Island, proof that even broken chords can still find their tune.

What drew me in most about The Ballad of  Wallis Island was the emotional honesty pulsing under its quiet humor. It’s not a loud movie and it doesn’t need to be. Watching Tim Key’s quirky, lonely Charles slowly chip away at Tom Basden’s crusty cynicism through his sheer enthusiasm for life reminded me that connection can be just as healing as grief is deep. There’s a tenderness in how the film handles nostalgia, the ache of remembering who we used to be, the music we used to play, the people we used to love, without ever making it feel maudlin or manipulative. It feels human, awkward, and genuine, the kind of bittersweet storytelling we don’t often get anymore.​

I think that’s why I loved it so much, it reminds us that life doesn’t have to wrap up neatly. The film embraces imperfection, lingering in the missed notes and uncomfortable silences between people trying to find forgiveness. It’s a movie about the quiet miracles of emotional survival, how creativity and companionship can pull us through when everything else falls away. Carey Mulligan’s performance gives the story its heart, a reminder that growth sometimes comes from sitting in the sadness and still choosing to sing. By the closing scene, that final song feels earned, like a life that’s been lived, scarred, and still somehow hopeful.

An absolute Gem of a Movie that started out as an Indie Short Film, I highly recommend this one!

Make some popcorn,

Grab a beverage,

and Stream This Movie!

Currently on Amazon Prime.

Maintenance Required

2025   Amazon MGM Studios

Rated:  PG-13

Length:  1 hr  42min

Comedy ~ Romance

Directed by:  Lacey Uhlemeyer

Starring: Madelaine Petsch, Jacob Scipio, Madison Bailey, Katy O’Brian, Inanna Sarkis, Matteo Lane, Rob Rausch and Jim Gaffigan.

Sometimes Love Needs A Tune-Up

Charlie (Madelaine Petsch) runs a struggling all-female auto shop that she inherited from her father, fighting to keep the business alive in Oakland. She’s fiercely independent but somewhat closed off, finding companionship mostly online where she exchanges anonymous car forum messages with Bullnose, someone who shares her obsession for classic Ford Broncos. Charlie prefers the predictable comfort of engines to the messiness of relationships, choosing her father’s Bronco Marge over any potential romantic encounter.

Across the street, a slick new Miller Boys corporate garage suddenly opens and threatens Charlie’s livelihood. Its local owner, Beau (Jacob Scipio), is charismatic and kind, but he’s really the competition and unknown to Charlie, he’s also her online confidant, Bullnose. While Beau secretly grapples with guilt about his job undermining Charlie, he also finds himself falling for her, both online and in person, resulting in a series of meet-cute mishaps—a shop visit for a classic car, a shared nail salon moment, and eventually, romantic tension that neither can deny.

The truth comes out at a car show, where Charlie realizes her online friend and business rival are the same man. Hurt, Charlie distances herself, but ultimately misses Beau and decides to take a chance on love despite the rivalry. In classic rom-com fashion, her friends Izzy (Madison Bailey) and Kam (Katy O’Brian) cheer her on. The story closes as Charlie and Beau unite both romantically and professionally, suggesting that sometimes both cars and hearts need a little maintenance to keep running.

Maintenance Required starts off strong with a fresh and fun idea, Charlie (Madelaine Petsch) running her dad’s all-female auto shop while unknowingly falling for Beau (Jacob Scipio), her charming business rival and online mystery man. The film pays homage to and borrows from the two classic Rom-Com movies The Shop Around The Corner and You’ve Got Mail. The first half is full of heart and promise, with some great character moments and a feel-good underdog vibe. But as the story moves into the second half, it starts to drag a bit and lose focus. The characters’ choices sometimes feel forced, and the plot leans on predictable rom-com clichés.

While there’s good chemistry between the leads and some laughs, the movie doesn’t quite hit the emotional notes it aims for, leaving the ending feeling a little flat. Overall, it’s an okay watch if you like light romantic comedies but don’t expect anything groundbreaking. And if you are a vintage car enthusiast, you might lose your mind at Beau sticking an EV engine in a classic Ford Bronco! Blasphemy!

Deep Cover

2025   Amazon Prime Video

Rated:  R

Length:  1 hr  39min

Action ~ Comedy ~ Crime

Directed by:  Tom Kingsley

Starring:  Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, Nick Mohammed, Paddy Considine, Ian McShane and Sean Bean.

If you want to survive, improvise.

Hugh (Nick Mohammed) is a nerdy, very socially awkward IT Office worker. After a very unsuccessful and stressful day at work trying to fit in, he finds himself on the streets of London feeling dejected. He comes across a comedy club with a poster out front advertising a Comedy Improv Class:

“Find Your Voice ~ Build Confidence!”

IMPROV COMEDY CLASS

Newcomers welcome,

come on in and give it a go!

Hugh decides to do just that and enters the club where he sees Kat (Bryce Dallas Howard) teaching a class. She notices him and encourages him to join up with Marlon (Orlando Bloom) and go on stage and try out some improv. Marlon is an aspiring actor who isn’t having much luck staying gainfully employed and has just told his agent to take a hike.  Detective Billings (Sean Bean) is sitting in the audience and afterwards approaches Kat and tells her that she  and her class are exactly what the Police Department need for an undercover program they have initiated. He wants to employ Kat and two of her students to go undercover and infiltrate a local crime syndicate, improving their way through the whole process.

Kat sees an opportunity to pull herself out of her financial troubles and approaches Hugh and Marlon with the proposition. Marlon and Hugh both agree and the team set out on several missions guided by Detective Billings, each one more dangerous than the last. They quickly become adept at improving their way into each scenario and convincing criminals that they are ruthless criminals and drug dealers themselves. And each mission gets them deeper into trouble and deeper undercover with lots of action and tons of laughs.

The movie starts out with an intense car chase with the Crime syndicate the “Deep Cover” group go after and the police losing and getting one of their own shot and killed. The syndicate is completely out of control and the police need their help. As the trio get deeper and deeper under cover there are twists and turns you don’t see coming. In the very beginning as Hugh is trying to buddy-up with his co-workers and fails miserably to connect because he is so nerdy, I didn’t much like him and had my doubts about the movie. As we turn to Orlando Bloom and watch him overact so badly that it is painful, I really had my doubts. Oh, another Amazon Prime Dog, I thought!

But I hung in there and I did like Bryce and her character. I felt for her as she was struggling to be a successful comedian while all her friends were obviously well off and belittling her for still trying “The Comedy Thing”. I like Sean Bean, there is always something a little secretive about him, so I had the feeling there was more up his sleeve than what he was telling The Deep Cover crew. I am glad I hung in there, the trio quickly grew on me and I got sucked in there with them on their missions, rooting for them in the end. Orlando’s overacting turned into an asset as they got deeper into their missions. And Hugh’s ineptness socially turned on it’s heels and the next thing you know….Hugh is one hell of a Bad Ass convincing criminals how tough he is. Brilliant!

In the end I loved it! I loved everyone of the characters… Kat, Hugh and Marlon. They turned into a great team and it turned into a great movie filled with action, intrigue, comedy and laughter. It does not disappoint! I went from, “Oh no…another Prime Dog… to Wow, that was great!”

The only questions I have are:

  1. Have You Seen It? (If you haven’t, you should watch it!)
  2. WHEN’S THE SEQUEL COMING?

I think it’s worthy of a sequel, and worth a watch!