DVD Review: Mr. Right

Mr. Right
[DVD Mr.]

This was a fun oddball cross-over between rom-com and violent action. Anna Kendrick plays Martha, one of her stock “quirky”, neurotic young women, fresh off a break-up with her boyfriend and leery of getting involved with anyone new. Sam Rockwell plays Francis, the charming and equally quirky man she crosses paths with only to have them “click”, relationship-wise. They seem perfect for each other. But the “perfect” turns out to be flawed, when she discovers that he’s a former hit-man, now on the run from the bad guys who had hired him, and from his former “killing” trainer, who’s frustrated that Francis has left the business. He may only kill bad guys now, but that doesn’t mean violence and mayhem aren’t following him around.

Kendrick and Rothwell seem like an odd pairing, but they have good chemistry, and watching Martha evolve as a character from wishy-washy to “badass” was fascinating. Tim Roth provides great support as the former mentor of Francis, who’s also after him. And rapper RZA has a comic turn as “Shotgun Steve”, one of the bad guys’ “muscle”, who turns out to have a personality of his own. None of the “bad guys” really stood out, though.

The violence is fairly extreme, and the coarse language flies fast and heavy. But the snappy dialog is funny, and the relationship between Martha and Francis really made this film pay off in the end. Recommended, with warnings for violence and language.

[ If you enjoyed this, you may also enjoy Grosse Pointe Blank from 1997, similar in theme and tone.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Mr. Right web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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