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Since this movie was directed by Richard Linklater, I was quite eager to check it out and since it had been well received, I also had some rather high expectations. Well, to be honest, I have to admit that I was actually rather disappointed by the damned thing. I mean, this true story definitely had some potential and I do think that they could have delivered a really strong movie. Unfortunately, I'm afraid the end-result never really grabbed me though. I think the first issue was with the tone. Sure, to go for a comedy did seem to be a fine choice but their approach was just too light, at least for me. Seriously, to me, it felt like they were saying 'Yeah, we did find this incredible true story but we think it's just fine as it is and we won't make any effort whatsoever to deliver something you won't forget during the next 5 mins after you watched it'. The other issue was that, even though Glen Powell was praised for his performance, I think he was actually rather miscast here. Indeed, I never believed he was actually Gary Johnson and, to make it worse, in real life, he looks just way too much like his alter-ego Ron. I think they should have gone for someone more similar to Gary in real life, then it would have been a much bigger stretch to become Ron. At least, Adria Arjona was actually really good here and she might even have delivered her best performance so far. The whole thing was also rather scattered. Indeed, was it about a college teacher moonlighting as an undercover agent with all kinds of crazy outfits or was it about an undercover agent falling in love with a possible suspect? Of course, you could say that it was both but, in this case, it was maybe too much and both sides felt rather undercooked as a result. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it was a decent watch but, in my opinion, it is probably one of the most overrated movies delivered by Richard Linklater so far.
6/10
