Sommerleigh Pollonais – Senior Writer
When you were a kid, did you ever play “Pass it On”? Maybe you knew it by another name. Basically you would sit in a circle and the first person would whisper something in your ear and say “pass it on”. You would then whisper the secret to another person and so on and so on, until the final person would say out loud what they heard. It was NEVER what the first person said and it was stupidly hilarious.
The Argument is sort of like that, with a couple who throw a party that instantly gets awkward once their friends all arrive. Boyfriend Jack, played by Dan Folger (Fantastic Beasts) is an unsuccessful screenwriter, whose girlfriend Lisa, played by Emma Bell (The Walking Dead) has hit it big as a theatre actress. Her co-star Paul is beyond flirtatious (Tyler James Williams, another Walking Dead alum and Chris from Everybody Hates Chris) and as the night goes on, things get extra cringey causing a huge argument that brings the festivities to a halt. Both sides can’t figure out who started it, so Jack and Lisa decide to re-enact the entire thing, forcing their friends to take part so they can all see who was wrong.
The movie definitely feels more like you’re watching a stage play than a film, and the somewhat odd story could’ve worked if not for the redundant way it was executed. Watching the re-enactment take place over and over again was like listening to the same joke ten times in a row. I don’t care if Dave Chappelle himself is delivering the punchline, there is no way that joke is gonna keep being funny.
The only spark of brilliance found here was in the final act when Jack hires actual actors and actresses to play them in the (final) re-enactment. It’s genuinely funny, as these poor people are giving their all because they think it’s for an actual movie, instead of the weirdest episode of Casting Couch ever. I also loved watching Danny Pudi do his thing (I’m still holding out for that Community movie…any time now) and Maggie Q is surprisingly funny here as his super serious wife. I would’ve never thought of putting them together as a couple but it works!
Sadly the laughs comes way too late to save this one. The Argument feels like you’re playing a game of Monopoly. Seems like a fun idea, until your realise five hours of your life is gone, the banker has been cheating the entire time, and inevitably someone rage quits by flipping over the table. Did I mention I really hate Monopoly?
Sommer’s Score: 5 out of 10
For my review of comedy The War with Grandpa you can click here. And for more reviews that are never too late with the laughs (take that with a big teaspoon of salt) you can like and follow Redmangoreviews on Facebook here.
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
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