Are improv comedians perfect for undercover sting operations? It's the core question at the heart of Deep Cover from Stath Lets Flats director Tom Kingsley, a master of offbeat British comedy and a newcomer to the Hollywood action realm.
Boasting a big-name cast, a sharp and funny script by sketch comedy duo Ben Ashenden and Alexander Owen with Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow, impressive cross-London action sequences, and one of the funniest performances you'll ever see Orlando Bloom give, Deep Cover rides high on its uniquely specific premise. "Yes, and…" becomes the sharpest weapon in the undercover arsenal for its bumbling protagonists, three unlikely heroes who get better at the job the more they mess it up.
It's just a real pity most people will watch it on streaming — Deep Cover really deserves an audience.
What is Deep Cover about?
Action comedies revolving around a team of socially overlooked misfits thrown into the deep end are the stuff popcorn is made for. Cycling a ride-share bike straight into a crowded genre canal, Deep Cover has an instantly intriguing pitch: Three improv actors down on their luck are recruited for a sting operation from wisened Detective Sergeant Billings (an always on-form Sean Bean). Bryce Dallas Howard is Kat, an improv teacher whose friends downplay her creative success. Orlando Bloom plays Marlon, an aspiring actor who takes himself extremely seriously despite being best known from his "Pizza Knight" commercials. And Nick Mohammed is downtrodden accountant Hugh, who tells his boss where to go in a desperate moment of peer pressure.
The art of making it up as you go along evolves into pure chaos in Deep Cover, as Kat, Marlon, and Hugh are empowered to think on their feet to get the dirt on London gang leader Fly (a frankly delightful Paddy Considine in Guy Ritchie mode) and his stylish, no-nonsense 2IC Shosh (fellow House of the Dragon star Sonoya Mizuno). But there are always bigger fish to fry, with big boss Metcalfe (a terrifyingly toothy Ian McShane) becoming Billings' true white whale.
It's a clever plot device from the writers, leaning on improv as the one skill that hopefully will get these three into the big leagues and out again unscathed — and the word "skill" here is open to interpretation, as Marlon, Kat, and Hugh somehow pull off mission after mission while striking out. Impossibly, they're so bad at the job they're brilliant at it, somehow perfecting the art of the bluff while in free fall.
Orlando Bloom steals the show in Deep Cover.
As an actor, Bloom isn’t widely known for his comedy chops, unless you’ve plundered the behind-the-scenes reels of The Lord of the Rings franchise . Deep Cover sees Bloom taking the absolute mickey out of his craft as a drama school-trained Serious Actor, overly dedicated to method, irritated by anyone who causes him to break character, and determined to "plumb the depths of the human condition."
Bloom's Marlon crafts nonsensical backstories for his undercover character, a Manchester rogue he dubs Roach and develops throughout each mission. "It's time to take revenge for what happened in Milan," he declares before an op, giving no context whatsoever but meaning every word.
Bloom's over-the-top theatricality pairs with Mohammed's awkward deadpan comedy as Hugh, who finds his underworld identity as "The Squire" a hilariously uncomfortable fit, and Howard's pragmatic Kat, the only professional improviser here and one who falls into criminal mode with unsettling ease. Attempting to wrestle the comedic spotlight back from the core trio are writers Owen and Ashenden, who appear in the film as detectives Beverley and Dawes, the former of whom constantly behaves like he's in a cop movie, aggravating the latter to comedic effect.
Hopefully, these comedic moments translate to the small screen, which will be how most viewers catch the film on Prime Video.
Deep Cover is best with a crowd, unfortunately.
Watching Deep Cover with an audience feels like the best way to watch it, though it's unlikely this will be how many people do. Seeing its global premiere in a full Barbican cinema at SXSW London, the film deserved such a spirited reaction, with Bloom's performance in particular getting the most laughs. As it's being streamed on Prime Video without a cinematic release, I’m unsure whether the silliness and comedy beats will land in the same way.
Nonetheless, Deep Cover embodies the pure fun of making it up as you go along in the hands of British comedy and Hollywood stars alike. Are improv comedians perfect for undercover sting operations after all? It depends how clean you'd like the job to be, and Kingsley's film thrives in the mess.
Deep Cover was reviewed out of its world premiere at SXSW London and will debut on Prime Video June 12.
