Director: Allan Ungar
Writers: Omer Levin Menekse, Quinn Wolfe, Allan Ungar
Stars: Josh Duhamel, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Rick Hoffman
Synopsis: After fleeing the UK from a job gone wrong, a down on his luck hitman is forced to babysit the son of his new crime boss and show him how to become a man.
The odd couple movie is a staple of the new action comedy. From 48 Hrs. to Ride Along, people have paired straight man, funny guy, and guns to great effect. It relies heavily on the chemistry of the leads, but it also has to make a certain amount of sense in whatever world it takes place in. London Calling upends this dynamic in a unique way even if it sometimes fails to make sense in the world it’s in.
Instead of two people being thrust together when they’d rather not be. In London Calling, two people are thrust together who would rather not be in a sort of dark twist on a big brother type mentorship program. Instead of learning to be a good human, Tommy (Josh Duhamel) is teaching Julian (Jeremy Ray Taylor) to kill people.
It’s a silly premise that has a lot of fun pay offs. Yet, the story takes too much time to ramp up to this dynamic. We are given a great deal of background on each of the characters. They each have a fleshed out plot thread, but this is one instance where it’s wholly unnecessary for each of them to have so much backstory. It makes this into a co-lead situation when it’s obvious one of the storylines is much weaker than the other and drags down much of the rest of the story.
It doesn’t help that director Allan Ungar, who was likely working on a strict budget, didn’t opt for many action set pieces. Much of the action is pretty well worn territory. There is one gun fight that takes a turn toward classic John Woo as Tommy and his adversary take human shields and then proceed to shoot through their human shields and the other henchmen in the room in slow motion. One good shootout does not an action movie make, though.
The writers should have tried harder to focus more on the relationship of Tommy and Julian. In his own way, Tommy is a guy who has a lot to offer someone like Julian. He can teach Julian to defend himself and that this life of the underworld is not for him. The mentorship that turns into friendship is pretty wonderful. There’s twists and turns in the relationship, but when they see each other’s value it makes the story much more fulfilling.
The reason this works for the film is the chemistry between Josh Duhamel and Jeremy Ray Taylor. The tall, ruggedly handsome guy and the short, out of shape guy who lacks confidence is a great combination. The absolute funniest moments are when these two are interacting. Taylor’s mix of intelligence and naïveté with also a general air of wallflower, blending into the background energy makes him perfect for this role. Duhamel has the comedic chops as well as the look of a guy who has done some intense work. Their combination is terrific and it’s a shame the film spends so much time elsewhere.
London Calling is a film that wants to stretch itself beyond the one note plots it crams together into one story. It feels like the filmmakers wanted to elevate a so-so script, but couldn’t think of just the right thing and so added in everything. There are many genuinely funny lines and situations. It also features Rick Hoffman, an actor who has made a career of playing the most cretinous jerk in the room, at his smarmy best and his too farfetched worst. London Calling is not a film that will polarize the audience, but it hits a sweet spot in the solidly O.K. realm. It’s a good movie to put on to forget about the Sunday scaries and have a decent time.
