In Players, Mack works as the sportswriter for a New York newspaper. When she’s not writing copy, she hangs out with her friends and colleagues, Adam, Little, and Brannagan, and together the foursome work out various schemes in order to hook-up with strangers.
The latest person in Mack’s sights, who she is very keen to hook-up with, is Nick – a British journalist who is new at the newspaper. However, on this occasion, Mack doesn’t need to come up with an elaborate scheme to get Nick into bed, as he takes a shine to her very quickly and the two spend the night together.
The next day, Mack decides she would like to turn the one-night stand into a long-term relationship. But rather than leave it up to fate, Mack enlists the help of her friends to convince Nick that Mack is dating material.
Directed by Trish Sie, Players stars Gina Rodriguez, Damon Wayans Jr., Tom Ellis, Augustus Prew, Joel Courtney, and Liza Koshy. The movie is a romantic comedy, which is new to stream on Netflix this week, and it’s pretty decent, so long as you can get beyond the central premise of four friends tricking strangers into sex.
In fairness, no one is forced to have sex in the movie; the friends merely play up certain advantages to make them appear more attractive. However, they do operate in a very grey area, so I appreciate this may not tickle everyone’s pickle.
But if you can look beyond this, Players offers up a fair bit of fun. It’s never hilarious, but it is mildly amusing, and there’s some interesting ideas in here about attraction.
The core concept of the film is about hooking Mack up with a guy who she thinks is perfect for her, but as the movie progresses it appears she might be aiming her focus in the wrong direction. This brings up the notion that maybe conning people into a romance is never going to work long-term, because attraction can’t be forced, it has to come naturally.
Although Players is ensemble movie, Gina Rodriguez takes the lead as Mack, and she’s perfectly cast. Rodriguez plays the role with confidence and has a likeable screen presence.
The same can be said of Damon Wayans Jr. who plays Adam. Wayans Jr. brings a calming tone to the film, and Adam becomes a character to root for.
Without giving too much away, Mack and Adam have far more in common than Mack and Nick, and this becomes a big part of the story. As the movie progresses, the romance angle opens up to new avenues, and this allows the film to swing around to a new place, which in turn provides some growth for Mack.
There’s also some growth for the other characters too, and the way it all comes together is enjoyable to watch. Not necessarily original, but enjoyable nonetheless.
Players is a much better movie than it might seem on paper. Yes, it is fairly predictable, and the ending can be guessed a mile off, but it’s kind of cute, and everyone involved does their best to make it shine.
Players won’t have you laughing you ass off the sofa, but it may have you chuckling from time-to-time, and the romance in the story will draw you in. If you’re feeling loved up right now because it’s Valentine’s week, give Players a go.
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