Hard to believe, but we’ve not taken a trip into “rom-com” land in 2023. Really? Has this staple been dormant for several months, but with those warmer Spring temps, well, where do most hearts venture? Oh, and since we’re getting nearer to Summer this one’s a hybrid as it’s really a “rom-com-spy-thriller”.This isn’t rare as we’ve seen this played out for at least 30 years, going back to Arnold and new Oscar darling Jamie Lee in TRUE LIES (which inspired a recent CBS TV series). And in the last dozen or so years we’ve had the big “spy reveals” in KNIGHT AND DAY (Tom Cruise) and KILLER (Ashton Kutcher), not to mention the double reveal in MR. AND MRS. SMITH (Bradgilina begins). Well, this new one has a bit of a twist in that the undercover agent is a lady. Plus it also takes a few jabs at modern dating rules and manners, using the social media “online verb”, GHOSTED.
The lady in question is Sadie Rhodes (Ana de Armas) who is feeling down as she returns to her Washington D.C. home after a tough “work trip”. She’s got to stock her fridge, so she drops in at a local farmer’s market. Manning the houseplant stand for a neighbor merchant (after she chides him about his latest dating “dump”), Cole Turner (Chris Evans) tries to help Sadie pick out a potted plant, which leads to a disagreement (she can’t nurture it) that someone ends as a day-long (into the night) first date. Back at his parents’ house (he’s helping out at the farm after his pop was injured) Cole is bummed that Sadie’s not returning his voicemails and texts. His kid sister insists that he’s been “ghosted” for being “needy”.Aha, he accidentally put one of his inhalers in her purse that day and it has an online “tracking” chip. So where is she? OMG, London! His folks encourage him to make a grand “romantic gesture” and since Cole’s got an old airline voucher, so…Across the pond, Cole hones in on a secluded spot where she should be. Instead, he’s jumped and drugged by a quartet of muscled goons. When he awakens, a grinning creep threatens Cole with torture unless he gives them the passcode for something called Aztec. Luckily a black leather-clad hooded hero swoops in with guns blazing. When the dust settles, and his bonds are cut, Cole is shocked to see that his rescuer is Sadie! She’s not an art curator, but rather a CIA operative code-named the “Taxman”. Somehow they have to get past the awkward dating etiquette (“Emojis count as texts”), get Cole out of Pakistan (he was “out” for a while), and stop a ruthless French arms dealer named Leveque (Adrian Brody) from selling the destructive Aztec device to the highest bidder. And then maybe, maybe there’ll be a second date.
Of course, the main component to make a rom-com work is the chemistry of the two leads. Aside from being incredibly photogenic (I can imagine animated hearts floating from the lens), there’s genuine affection present, even as they bicker, as we get hints of the tension increasing the desire. Evans channels the affable charm he projected as the first Avenger into a not-quite-cool everyman (but with the “ultra-handsome). Sure it’s tough to believe Cole’s poor dating history, though the awkward, often clueless demeanor hints at a reason. And Evans does sell the whole “out of his element” vibe, although we’re reminded that Cole was a high school ‘rassler. At least the promise of de Armas as an action goddess has been realized here after her too too brief role in the last Bond flick. She’s super cool and sultry as she dispatches the baddies, plus she too kicks in the charm key in the romantic first meeting “dance” around Evans. Sadie’s an enigma for most of the story, so de Armas really brings out her vulnerability when she finally opens up about her past and her current “occupation”. Brody camps it up as the effete sneering villain and is given great support by his main henchman, the cold-blooded, threatening Mike Moh as Wagner plus Tim Blake Nelson channeling his inner Peter Lorre as the sadistic Borislov (nice name). Though seeming a bit too youthful to be Cole’s folks, Tate Donovan and Amy Sedaris are warm and befuddled as the parents, while Lizzie Broadway brings the right amount of sassy snark to the role of Cole’s kid sister.
After scoring big hits in the musical bio genre with ROCKETMAN and as the rumored backup for BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, director Dexter Fletcher deftly juggles the rom-com beats and the big action set-pieces. He eases into the changes in tone to insure viewers won’t feel a “whiplash’ in going from the comedy to the explosive thrills. And the film benefits greatly from the many delightful cameos, but I won’t spoil them (perhaps some of his MCU brethren…mmm). Fletcher really gets his leads to commit to the adventure, but they can’t quite get past the uneven script as it begins to echo sequences in superior action epics, with a ludicrous finale that apes a Hitchcock classic (the old merry-go-round). And what adult would really think that traveling across the world after a first date is a great idea (for once the kid sister is right)? Obstacles are predictably tossed in the couple’s path, but we’re sure that there will be last-minute reunions and that Cole will “step up” to be worthy of Sadie’s love and respect. Evans and de Armas are a terrific pairing, but they deserve something more original and clever than the rehashed cliches of GHOSTED.
2 Out of 4
GHOSTED streams exclusively on AppleTV+ beginning on Friday, April 21, 2023
