Mr. Right: Anna Kendrick, Sam Rockwell star in Action Comedy

(L-R): Anna Kendrick as Martha McKay and Sam Rockwell as Francis/ Mr. Right, in the action comedy “MR. RIGHT” a Focus World release. Photo credit: Cook Allender courtesy of Focus World.

Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick star in Mr. Right, the romantic action comedy opening Friday in limited theaters and Video on Demand platforms. The two have perfect chemistry together in this enjoyable comedy.

Paco Cabezas directs from a screenplay written by Max Landis. Rockwell and Kendrick lead a cast that includes Tim Roth, James Ransome, Anson Mount, Michael Eklund and RZA.

Landis’ screenplay has it all and because of that, the film is hard to market. Is it a comedy? Is it a romantic film? Is it an action film? It’s all three combined and that makes the film enjoyable as outrageous as the concept may seem. Mainstream studios passed on the movie and that’s a shame because it’s worthy of being seen.

Martha (Kendrick) is going through a breakup and not really at her best when she meets Francis (Rockwell) at a convenience store, where they bumped into a stack of condoms of all things. It’s the last place one would expect the typical meet-cute to be. Francis doesn’t come off in the best sort of ways as he tries asking her out but Martha is interested and the two go out. Of course, she doesn’t know he’s a professional hit man.

Francis is a different kind of hit man. Instead of taking out the people that other people want killed, he kills the people that requested the hit. When he tells Martha that he has to go shoot someone, he isn’t kidding around.

Francis’ services are soon required by a client who is being chased by an FBI agent (Roth). Martha has to quickly figure out if he’s going to join Francis in the action or leave the scene. Most people would run away after finding out they are dating a killer. Not Martha. She decides to stay and becomes even more attracted to Francis.

Rockwell describes the film as Mr. and Mrs. Smith meets Silver Linings Playbook. That’s a fair assessment. Nobody could have played Francis as well as Rockwell–Landis wrote the part with him in mind.

Kendrick is no stranger to comedy or drama and the actress has delivered great performances over the years. Martha is crazy from the get go and Kendrick pulls it off very well, right down to the girl being turned on by the gunfire even as she gives off the vibe of being the nice girl living next door.

If you’re not up to seeing The Boss this weekend and want some laughs, check out Mr. Right. You won’t regret it.

Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.

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