Taglines: An almighty con.
Playing God follows “Rachel and Micah, a brother and sister con-artist duo who find themselves scamming a grieving billionaire, Ben, by convincing him they can introduce him to God, face-to-face. They recruit their longtime mentor, Frank, to ‘play’ God as the three of them attempt the biggest con of their lives.
After an opening credit sequence with typeface, credit ordering, and layout that suggest early Wes Anderson—and hey, what do you know, the cityscapes beneath the title tell you this picture was shot in Houston, where Anderson grew up—this movie, written and directed by Scott Brignac, introduces its main players. Hannah Kasulka and Luke Benward, attractive actors who, I predict, will be steered toward Hallmark movies by their agents in the not-too-distant future, play Rachel and Micah (it is perhaps no accident that they are given Biblical names, people).
Fraternal twins and low-level con artists, they work grifts from the you (the mark that is)-had-it-coming variety (charming street musician is mugged and loses her guitar!) to the more actively despicable (fake kids’ charity with added distraction of fake friendship). Micah, the more aggressive/ambitious of the two, got $100,000 on one of his cons. Problem is, his mark is now onto the twins, is a psychopath, and wants double his money back.
So the kids have to swing for the fences just to stay alive. That’s where Tudyk’s character, referred to the duo by some kind of Mark Referral Service, comes in. His Ben is a self-made millionaire who’s lost his family and, after several failed spiritual awakenings, has taken to going to Houston churches and drunkenly haranguing the Almighty. He’s got a safe in his mansion. Micah hatches a bold plan: to actually introduce Ed to God.
The twins enlist their former criminal mentor—the venerable role of the guy who taught the crooks everything they know—Frank (Michael McKean), fresh out of prison and back running his roller rink. Having sold Ed on the crackpot talk-to-God idea, they buy an intimidating suit for Frank and prep him for some serious Dressing-Down-Job action.
One of the first things Frank tells Ed in God mode is “I find your lack of faith disturbing.” I understood that reference!After an opening credit sequence with typeface, credit ordering, and layout that suggest early Wes Anderson—and hey, what do you know, the cityscapes beneath the title tell you this picture was shot in Houston, where Anderson grew up—this movie, written and directed by Scott Brignac, introduces its main players.
Hannah Kasulka and Luke Benward, attractive actors who, I predict, will be steered toward Hallmark movies by their agents in the not-too-distant future, play Rachel and Micah (it is perhaps no accident that they are given Biblical names, people). Fraternal twins and low-level con artists, they work grifts from the you (the mark that is)-had-it-coming variety (charming street musician is mugged and loses her guitar!) to the more actively despicable (fake kids’ charity with added distraction of fake friendship). Micah, the more aggressive/ambitious of the two, got $100,000 on one of his cons. Problem is, his mark is now onto the twins, is a psychopath, and wants double his money back.
So the kids have to swing for the fences just to stay alive. That’s where Tudyk’s character, referred to the duo by some kind of Mark Referral Service, comes in. His Ben is a self-made millionaire who’s lost his family and, after several failed spiritual awakenings, has taken to going to Houston churches and drunkenly haranguing the Almighty. He’s got a safe in his mansion. Micah hatches a bold plan: to actually introduce Ed to God.
The twins enlist their former criminal mentor—the venerable role of the guy who taught the crooks everything they know—Frank (Michael McKean), fresh out of prison and back running his roller rink. Having sold Ed on the crackpot talk-to-God idea, they buy an intimidating suit for Frank and prep him for some serious Dressing-Down-Job action. One of the first things Frank tells Ed in God mode is “I find your lack of faith disturbing.” I understood that reference!”
Playing God is a 2021 American film written and directed by Scott Brignac and starring Luke Benward, Michael McKean, Alan Tudyk, Hannah Kasulka, Jude Demorest, Marc Menchaca, Danielle Evon Ploeger, Elle LaMont, Charley Townsend, Vanessa Alanis and Melody Debraux. It was released in theaters and on-demand on August 6, 2021 in the United States.
Playing God (2021)
Directed by: Scott Brignac
Starring: Luke Benward, Michael McKean, Alan Tudyk, Hannah Kasulka, Jude Demorest, Marc Menchaca, Danielle Evon Ploeger, Elle LaMont, Charley Townsend, Vanessa Alanis, Melody Debraux
Screenplay by: Scott Brignac
Production Design by: Lindsay Lipscomb
Cinematography by: Cody Bess
Costume Design by: Eryn Brooke
Art Direction by: Kevin Blosser
Music by: Joshua Moore
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Vertical Entertainment
Release Date: August 6, 2021
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