Martha’s (Anna Kendrick) life is a mess following the discovery that her boyfriend is cheating on her. Her spiraling life begins to turn around when she meets Francis (Sam Rockwell), whose eccentricities seem to be on par with her own. Things seem to be going well for the couple until Martha realizes that Francis claims of being a hit man are true.
Mr. Right as a whole is quite charming, thanks primarily to the chemistry between Rockwell and Kendrick. Looking back on their previous roles, you can see why they were cast together here. Kendrick’s trademark awkward bubbliness is in full force here, and Rockwell finally makes the turn to convincing leading man.
The plot of Mr. Right is very reminiscent of the Michael J. Fox produced 1995 black comedy Cold Blooded (a film I like very much), starring Jason Priestley, Peter Riegert and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. In it, an emotionless mob bookie is promoted to hit man, and finds himself falling for a yoga instructor. While Cold Blooded concentrates more on the relationship between Priestly and his mentor Riegert, the elements of the romantic relationship in it ring similar to Mr. Right. Where Cold Blooded is more successful, however, is in tone. Cold Blooded has a very intentional deadpan approach to the subject matter, giving it a very specific identity, whereas Mr. Right seems to toggle between being a black comedy, a quirky romantic comedy, and an action film. There are also elements lifted from the films Mr. & Mrs. Smith and True Lies, elements that were handled better in those films.
The always welcomed Tim Roth has a nice role as an old acquaintance of Rockwell who is tasked with taking him out, and while that plot works fine, the subplot of two mob brothers scheming to work their way up in the family is given entirely too much screen time.
The script is just smart enough to be enjoyable, and the performances are just engaging enough to warrant a viewing, but I would like to see the two leads in a film together that has a stronger sense of identity.
Like many Blu-rays these days, very little is provided in ways of extras. The only extra on the Blu-ray is a very short vignette called “The Sweet Couple,” which offers very little in terms of content. I can’t imagine including some bloopers and on the set interviews would be that difficult of a task these days, but for some reason, studios have been skimping out on it. The transfer is decent, despite some inconsistencies in color, and the sound quality is on par with the current standard. A solid home release can make up for a mediocre film, and while Mr. Right is decent enough, a few more extras would have gone a long way.
- Format: NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Language: English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)
- Subtitles: French, Spanish
- Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
- Region: All Regions
- Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated:
R
Restricted
- Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment