Movie review - Double Threat

Double Threat ** (out of 5) (NR) This action comedy is based on a variation of a familiar theme - a mild-,mannered nice guy meets up with a crazy hot gal for a zany round of dangerous encounters. In this case, Matthew Lawrence (Joey’s younger brother) goes to a convenience store managed by a seemingly nice, cute woman (Danielle C. Ryan) who suddenly goes Rambo when a couple of armed thugs enter the premises. She disposes of them and dashes out, jumping into Lawrence’s truck. He drives off in a state of confusion. He soon learns she’s skimmed big bucks from a crime boss, and the bad guys are hunting her down, led by his wannabe Goodfella son (Kevin Joy). Lawrence next learns his passenger is actually two dissociative personalities in one body. Natasha by name, but Nat when she’s sweet and mild-mannered, who morphs into Tasha whenever the excrement impacts the ventilation device. She’s like Diana Prince and Wonder Woman, if the latter had no moral compass.

So legions of heavily-armed bad guys chase them across the country, with Nat luckily switching into Tasha mode whenever some of the minions catch up with them. Those are the best scenes in the movie, as Olivieri, who does most of her own stunts, kicks serious butt with a diverse and admirable skill set. Hapless Lawrence becomes, as convention would have it, a smitten sidekick.

The rest of the plot is fairly predictable, but periodically entertaining. Lawrence does well enough, but it’s really Ryan's movie. She’s got the chops for much better vehicles than this. The yet-unrated film plays out on the strong side of a PG-13 for violence and sex content, though possibly enough of the former for an R. Had director Shane Stanley been a bit bolder in the display of both elements, the product could have been far more entertaining. As it is, the production left too much potential from the plot, cast and settings behind. Pulling punches is never good in a film that thrives on punches. Same principle behind my disdain for PG-13 slasher flicks.

The ending dangles the prospect of a sequel. If they shoot one, the main reason to give a look would be to see more of Ryan in Tasha mode, ideally with freer rein to rival Uma Thurman’s Kill Bill character. That would be fun.

(Double Threat is available On Demand as of 6/3/22 from ITUNES, AMAZON, INDEMAND, VUDU/FANDANGO NOW, VUBIQUITY, DISH, HOOPLA, MIRCOSOFT STORE/XBOX, GOOGLE PLAY, DIRECTV, etc.)