Under normal circumstances, audiences would have responded to 2017’s “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” for what it was — a B-rate bit of forgettable hijinx that would never have drawn the talents of a Ryan Reynolds or a Samuel L. Jackson. Instead, armed with the straight-A’ist of A listers, the movie made a surprising $76 million on a $30 million budget, despite earning the ire of most critics.
The secret of the film’s success was pretty simple — it had very little competition. The buddy-comedies that used to be a fun staple of summer movies have not-so-slowly-but-surely disappeared in an age too sensitive for the shoot-outs and raunchy punchlines that typically appeal to men. Thus, the number of projects for comedic actors of Reynolds and Jacksons’ caliber — jokers who specialize in the outrageous and offensive — are few and far between. If you don’t have to work that hard to get them to sign on to your project, you won’t.
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