Deep Cover review: There’s nothing deep about this fairly funny crime comedy

Deep cover review

Film: Deep Cover
Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, Nick Mohammed, Paddy Considine, Sonoya Mizuno, Ian McShane, Sean Bean, Freya Parker
Director: Tom Kingsley
Rating: ' ' 1/2
Runtime: 100 min.

This is a crime film with a humorous centre. The story sounds ridiculous, the plotting is silly, and the set-up quite preposterous. The cast of Tom Kingsley's feature co-written by Colin Trevorrow, is what makes a huge difference to the experience. They really make it goofy and entertaining.

Bryce Dallas Howard plays Kat, an improvisation teacher in London who is longing for her big break. Particularly, two members of her class are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Marlon (Orlando Bloom), is a method actor who takes everything seriously, and Hugh (Nick Mohammed), takes Kat's class to learn the improv skills to hold a conversation with his office mates.

Kat, Marlon, and Hugh are hired by a cop, Officer Billings (Sean Bean) to infiltrate the London mob. After some low-level dealing, they manage to get close to Fly (Paddy Considine), who has access to the king of the criminal underworld, Metcalfe (Ian McShane).

Though you don't get taken in by their antics, you can't help but laugh at their silly efforts to get taken seriously. Mohammed does the coke testing and he's a dead giveaway as a first timer. Bloom says he is a runaway who ran away from home at age five, and Howard seems to be the boss of the three. They are playing it for laughs but one can't figure out how the criminals buy into their pretentious stories. The three talk their way out of deadly situations and manage to stay alive despite their obvious playacting.

Howard, Mohammed, and Bloom appear to be having a whale of a time and it's infectious. The action scenes don't cut ice; they look like slapstick gone wrong. The script is all about shallow characters gleefully rubbing off on each other. So it's not the writing but the acting that counts here.

The central conceit doesn't work up any steam. The film is fairly enjoyable, having an upbeat pace and some genuinely chuckle-worthy moments. This is a wacky comedy with great character actors doing silly things in a crime film that doesn't take itself too seriously.