HE’S NOT A KILLER, BUT HE CAN PRETEND.

A University of New Orleans professor (Glen Powell) has a side hustle: assisting the police in sting operations by acting as fake hit-men for hire… but things get complicated when he falls for a target (Adria Arjona).

A fanciful story, but actually based on real-life events, as chronicled in a Texas Monthly article. Richard Linklater and Powell turned it into a thriller-comedy that gives its star plenty of chances to play around with various disguises; a key theme of the script is the power of change that comes with a new identity.

On the verge of becoming too silly, but ultimately fun and sexy. 

2024-U.S. 115 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Richard Linklater. Screenplay: Richard Linklater, Glen Powell. Cast: Glen Powell (Gary Johnson), Adria Arjona (Madison Figueroa Masters), Austin Amelio (Jasper), Retta, Sanjay Rao, Molly Bernard. 

Trivia: Co-produced by Linklater, Powell and Jason Bateman. 

Last word: “[Studios] really didn’t want to make the film. Glen and I wrote it speculatively and we didn’t get paid anything, we just tried to get the film made. We really felt we were onto something, we felt we had written a film noir, a crime film that’s also a screwball comedy about a couple that you’re rooting to be together, but I think they wanted it to be just one thing.” (Linklater, BBC)