Deep Cover is one of those random movie finds. It’s Saturday night, we’re scrolling through Amazon Prime for something to watch and it pops up as a new comedy movie. Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom and Nick Mohammed in a comedy together – why haven’t I heard anything about this movie? All movie talk this week has been about The Life of Chuck, Materialists and How to Train Your Dragon.
It’s a shame because Deep Cover is hilarious and truly one of the best movie experiences I’ve had this year. I would have paid good money to watch this with a full cinema, but this is the state of movies now, with mid-budget flicks getting dumped on streaming sites instead of getting their chance in the theatres. Hitman suffered the same fate last year, getting its debut on Netflix when it could have been quite the commercial success if released in the cinema.
Howard plays Kat, an improv comedy teacher still looking for her big break. Things look bleak though; she’s older and all her friends have settled comfortably into their cushy lives while she’s still trying to get her solo show off the ground. Then she meets Billings (Sean Bean), a cop who is looking for actors to conduct low-level stings. Left with not a whole lot of options, Kat agrees to participate and enlists the help of fellow improv actors Marlon (Bloom) and Hugh (Mohammed). You wouldn’t expect this trio to work so well together, especially Bloom who hasn’t done much comedy, but they are great together and have fantastic comedic chemistry.
Kat masquerades as Bonnie, the ringleader of the trio, Marlon is Roach – the muscle – while Hugh is nicknamed The Squire. No reason behind any of the names besides Marlon just making stuff up as he goes. Due to their commitment to the bit and ability to think on their feet, they soon get in with the big leagues and begin working with Fly (Paddy Considine). While they initially want to abandon cover as things become fairly life-threatening, Billings persuades them to keep their cover for the opportunity to become national heroes. For out of work actors and a man desperate to be liked, this is enough stakes for them to continue their infiltration of London’s criminal underbelly.
Bloom is the best thing about this movie. His character Marlon wants to be one of the acting greats – he probably resonates with Timothee Chalamaet’s speech at the SAG awards – but he’s been stuck doing commercials and spinning signs as an elf (sadly this isn’t a Lord of the Rings gag). Watching him transform into Roach, and delivering the various ridiculous backstories he’s created for the character is laugh out loud hilarious. He’s constantly escalating the situations they’re in because he’s too deep in character – it’s giving Jared Leto scale of method acting – and Bloom’s ability to switch back and forth between Roach and Marlon is a testament to how good he is.
Mohammed’s Hugh is a similar riff on his Ted Lasso character – an awkward man in need of confidence and proper soft skills. His awkwardness just adds to the hilarity of situations, and his single eye tear cry is award-winning stuff. Howard’s Kat has to be the more normal one to balance the shenanigans of these two lunatics, but she manages to be memorable even in the straight woman role. As the ringleader, she’s the one adding credibility to their roles, providing information but shying away from giving too much details so as to not blow their cover. Howard’s acting abilities are so stellar that she’s able to make you feel Kat’s fear bubbling just under the surface of Bonnie’s bravado. Howard’s styling as Bonnie is also great – she looks so bad-ass and cool with all that dark eye make-up and fantastic blow-outs.
The comedic set pieces are simple but they work. Even when the hilarity of watching them slip in and out of these personas have worn off, the brisk pacing and tension keeps things interesting. The movie isn’t afraid to put these characters into truly jeopardous situations. I genuinely felt frightened for the trio even though I know they’re safe because this is a comedy. We come to truly care for Kat, Marlon and Hugh – even criminals like Fly and Shosh (Sonoya Mizuno) are so likeable despite their heinous actions.
This movie is the perfect example of how to make full use of your ensemble. In Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the ensemble is reduced to the peripheries of the film instead of being a part of the main stakes. Here, we have Sean Bean and Ian McShane in minor roles, but they’re a part of major plot points and are given enough material to make an impression.
So commit to the bit and watch Deep Cover on Amazon Prime, especially if you’re a Lord of the Rings fan and just wanna see Bean and Bloom on screen together again.
REVIEW SCORE: 4/5
