30
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70Village VoiceNick SchagerVillage VoiceNick SchagerProving that its chosen genre is best when its tropes are treated with a balance of sincere sweetness and wink-wink absurdity, Playing It Cool thrives through sheer liveliness, as well as the chemistry of its perfectly paired stars.
- 50New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierScreenwriters Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair’s script feels like a first draft that was written in one night as they got pumped up on Red Bull and speed-watched Netflix. Guys: Another few polishes could only have helped.
- 50Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreA mediocre, gimmicky 2015 romantic comedy that featured a star-studded supporting cast, some cute characters, witty banter and adorable leads.
- 40VarietyBill EdelsteinVarietyBill EdelsteinEven in a self-absorbed role, Evans, who also exec produces, manages to be eminently likable, though the narration he’s asked to spew isn’t half as smart as the filmmakers think it is. Monaghan is luminous, and indeed, the actors shake every last bit of believability out of the thin gruel that’s given them.
- 38RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoRogerEbert.comBrian TallericoOnly the really strong cast, including great chemistry between the leads, keeps Playing It Cool from totally derailing.
- 33The PlaylistKevin JagernauthThe PlaylistKevin JagernauthIf Playing It Cool is meant to be an ironic interpretation of what happens to these characters, the film isn't sharp, smart or insightful enough about how actual humans interact to pull it off.
- 30Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinPlaying It Cool is a strained romantic comedy that seems to exist only to show how many talented, successful actors — first and foremost "Captain America" star Chris Evans — can be featured in one unworthy movie.
- 25Slant MagazineSteve MacfarlaneSlant MagazineSteve MacfarlaneAs characters endlessly digress on the differences between rom-coms and real life, the film evinces a schizophrenic relationship with its own inside-baseball cynicism.
- 20The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisProceeding with a strained quirkiness that infects much more than the names of its main characters, this first feature by Justin Reardon is a paean to the kind of narcissism that sucks the air out of every scene.
- 10The DissolveCharles BramescoThe DissolveCharles BramescoThere’s nothing clever or subversive about Playing It Cool, which makes the film’s overt self-satisfaction exponentially more infuriating.