This is a reasonably funny comedy with a fatal casting flaw that keeps it from being anywhere near as good as it could be.

I’ve read people saying that this movie has a great cast but a dumb plot. I agree the plot is hardly new and hardly clever, but I do think it mostly works in part because of the quality of most of the cast. The problem, for me, is not the plot but rather the leading man, Adam Devine, who either needs to tone down his shtick a few tiers or needs to go back to being a supporting comic relief player.

I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who find Adam Devine funny, as he gets a lot of work. I’m sure I’ve found him funny in something and I must admit he made me laugh a few times here, though how much that was the script (either the dialogue or the circumstances) I don’t know. But as a romantic, high-strung lead in a comedy about marrying into a family of bank robbers, he’s a bit of a disaster. I described him to Jenn as a “way gayer Jack Black with way less charisma and no ability to tone it down” and Jenn felt like that was too kind and somewhat mean to Jack Black. (Jack Black can turn off his shtick and just be an actor, I’m not sure Devine can. Though he was really leaning into it.)

Devine appears to be straight but his energy is quite gay, at least in terms of acting tradition. A lot of the kinds of things he does are historically associated with gay or secretly gay characters. The film even hints at this at least three times. Maybe he’s supposed to be bi. Regardless, we both felt like he needed to project a little straighter in order to be believable in this relationship.

But that wasn’t the biggest problem. The biggest problem is that his shtick is often extremely annoying. Now, with high-strung characters like this, they are supposed to be somewhat annoying. But you also have to root for them, as Jenn pointed out. And when he never, ever stops being goofy, it’s hard to root for him. He’s so annoying! You understand why Brosnan’s character hates him, you wouldn’t mind if someone killed him. And you don’t really understand why he changes his mind. (Sure he came up with the plan, but the film still doesn’t do a good job of selling Brosnan’s character’s change of heart. The plot just needs it to happen.) This is a huge problem for the movie.

The good thing is the rest of the cast is great, perhaps none more so than Richard Kind, who is at his very best. Kind is the best part of this movie, for me, aggravating everyone but also weirdly completely accepting of his wife’s orgy. And Brosnan and Barkin are having fun. Also: Julie Hagerty! She is also fun.

The whole thing feels like a wasted opportunity, despite how silly the premise is and how underwhelmed so many people were by it. A more believable, less manic, less goofy, less gay-coded lead actor would have made a world of difference.

5/10