Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 3/10
Cast: John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, John Leguizamo, Brianna Hilderbrand, Dennis Haysbert, Judy Greer, Tyler Mane, Paul Potts, Christian Convery, Finlay Rose Slater.
You can create great drama out of a crisis, you can get the point across of how vital the emergency services are in an insightful way, and you can also give the audience pleasure in seeing how brave and dedicated people react to moments that are away from the front line, the off duty moments, the private instances in which the guard is allowed to briefly be put down, yet to make a full feature comedy, one that has three great supporting actors to whom the genre is engrained, widely misses the mark of what should pass for idea, the presence of the comedic style.
Placing John Leguizamo, Keegan-Michael Key and Brianne Hildebrand in any given situation would normally be seen as an absolute winner, they are able to hold the viewer’s attention with ease, and in the case of Mr. Leguizamo, he holds a certain understanding with the film goer after offering an outstanding performance on television’s E.R., despite it causing him to confront internal issues, and in films such as To Wong Foo…Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar, and his scene stealing recital in Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
Despite this, and even with premise of the film aimed at a younger crowd than it should have been, Playing With Fire doesn’t just fall flat, it is hosed down and stamped upon to a place where it barely has the energy to raise a smile, let alone a laugh; and whilst there are some interesting moments revolving round the idea of family, the film, without any doubt, could have been one of absolute creative freedom, a comedy to which didn’t have to rely on body odours and the dumbing down of Keegan-Michael Key’s immense talent.
There is probably a reason why films which concentrate on the emergency services such as paramedics, ambulance drivers, coastguards, firefighters and smoke jumpers do not transfer to the arena of comedy, and with the arguable exception of the first two Police Academy films and television series such as The Thin Blue Line, the seriousness of the occupation does not lend itself to being seen as one covered in amusement, not when people’s lives are at stake.
A film which on paper might have been a good idea, but one which was unsatisfying, poorly examined and delivered without the fear of failure. Playing With Fire is the act ofthestraight-laced, lacking in any type of humour, believing they can provide a stand-up routine without having any experience in playing to the crowd.
Ian D. Hall