In Wild Target, Bill Nighy plays an uptight assassin who accepts a contract on manic pixie dream girl (MPDG) Emily Blunt. But there’s a problem: Emily Blunt is too smart to play a MPDG. Something about her eyes doesn’t let her do “carefree and irresponsible.” She looks like she’s faking it.
Nighy never looks like he’s faking anything, and he makes for a fine straight man in this British comedy. Rupert Grint shows up as a hapless stoner and displays good comic timing, as does Rupert Everett as a very angry villain and Martin Freeman as a competing assassin. Unfortunately, we never really buy Blunt in the Zooey Deschanel role, and this sucks the air out of the proceedings.
It’s too bad, really. I’d buy Ms. Blunt as a detective or a scientist or the Queen of England. But she just doesn’t have MPDG in her. Here’s hoping that next time, she chooses a role more in line with her strengths.
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