Playdate (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – Brian has just been fired from his job. He becomes a stay-at-home dad. He accepts a playdate invitation from another stay-at-home dad who turns out to be a loose cannon.

My Take – At this point there is nothing new the buddy-action formula can offer. But like most I remain a sucker for the genre that was once a staple of cinema for decades, mainly as it provided a fun set up in which a comedian was paired up with an action hero to entertaining results, well, that is until a bunch of poorly made outings oversaturated the market.

Though in recent years, a few decent entries have given the much required boost, most of us continue to remain cautious, until the pairing itself sounds exciting, for example: Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds, etc.

The same also seemed like the case of this new Prime Video release which sees comedian Kevin James partnering up with ‘Reacher‘ star Alan Ritchson, probably the most unlikely physical onscreen pairing since Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. And the result is, as one would expect, a standard buddy-action comedy that is far from great, but due to its kind of goofy, slightly chaotic energy still finds a way to entertain you.

The kind of throwaway comedy you end up laughing at harder than you planned. With the biggest catch for this latest directorial from Luke Greenfield (The Girl Next Door, The Animal, Let’s Be Cops) being Ritchson’s talent for comedy, who ends up massively elevating the pedestrian material.

Sure, it is not clever, not polished, and definitely not memorable, but it’s strangely enjoyable for a casual watch that will likely be remembered as a showcase for Ritchson’s range as a performer, rather than anything else.

The story follows Brian Jennings (Kevin James), a forensic accountant, who recently got married to the lovely Emily (Sarah Chalke), a former lawyer turned stay-at-home mom, who is struggling to connect with his young stepson Lucas (Benjamin Pajak). Mainly as Lucas prefers dancing to sports and often gets bullied.

As luck would have it, after Brian is fired from his job for refusing to commit, you know, fraud, Sarah has to go back to work, thrilled for her hubby to be a new stay-at-home dad and finally bond with Lucas. However, after taking him to the park and running into a mama mafia (led by Isla Fisher), he faces a challenge tougher than fatherhood itself. In the form of Jeff Eamon (Alan Ritchson), an army veteran with a physically imposing presence but a sweet demeanor and his odd son, CJ (Banks Pierce).

Though Brian finds Jeff’s eagerness to become best friends so quickly a little annoying, he can’t help but give into his puppy-dog friendliness, particularly when he suggests a playdate, which begins at their home and moves to a Chuck E. Cheese-style restaurant. But soon enough, Brian and Lucas find themselves chased by shadowy black-ops agents, intent on capturing them, his new best friend and his freakishly dangerous son.

What follows is a mix set up of chaos, music cues and chase sequences, along with some plot twists that one may expect from a material like this, but also give it a bit of distinction in a fairly formulaic film. At a brisk ninety-four minutes, the film doesn’t slow down much once it gets moving.

Here, director Luke Greenfield is desperate to replicate the funny guy plus badass guy chemistry we’ve seen in something like Central Intelligence (2016) or The Other Guys (2010), but the narrative doesn’t have the same draw. Especially the action scenes which are all over the place and hard to look at. Writer Neil Goldman (Community, Scrubs) ensure the film is rife with references to other films and pop culture that start as fun but eventually start to wear thin.

Naturally, the film is leaning hard on Alan Ritchson’s comedic charisma, while Kevin James is relegated to the straight-man role. Ritchson is known mostly for his tough guy roles, but here, he’s hilarious. He plays Jeff like a well-meaning, slightly clueless action hero who quotes films, punches bad guys, and still manages to make you root for him. A delightfully earnest, gentle soul, showcasing a surprisingly varied comedic range.

Kevin James, on the other hand, feels like he’s holding back. He’s usually the one cracking jokes and tripping over, but here, he’s mostly the straight man. It’s a weird shift, and sometimes it makes him disappear next to Ritchson’s energy.

Child actors Benjamin Pajak and Banks Pierce get the most screen time aside from Ritchson and James and get some fun moments too with their adult co-stars. In smaller roles, Sarah Chalke, Isla Fisher, Stephen Root, Alan Tudyk, Hiro Kanagawa and Paul Walter Hauser have nothing to do. On the whole, ‘Playdate‘ is a lightweight buddy-action romp held together by Alan Ritchson’s sharp comedic charisma.