Yesterday we brought you the joyous news that Ashton Kutcher – the William Roache of his generation – had signed on to star in the body-swap comedy, Traded. Frankly, we thought that life couldn’t get any better.
We were wrong. For today brings the news that Kutcher will star alongside Katherine Heigl – the Gillian Taylforth of her generation – in a new thriller called Five Killers, which will be directed by Robert Luketic. And our cup doth overfloweth – two Kutcher movies in two days? Someone up there likes us.
Anyway, to the plot. Five Killers will see Kutcher and Heigl, who looks set to leave Grey’s Anatomy, roughly a year after anyone stopped giving a damn, play a couple who meet by chance while on holiday. After they get married, they start to believe that their neighbours are assassins who have been hired to kill them. Presumably because they got Punk’d.
So it’s a twist on Mr & Mrs Smith, essentially – the Mr & Mrs Smith Next Door, if you will. Of course, that movie had two genuine movie stars and a director, in Doug Liman, who may be flaky but who knows his way around an action setpiece. Luketic directed, erm, Legally Blonde, and his previous attempt to step outside his rom-com rot was the hideous 21.
Still, glass hall full and all that. Let’s look at the positives, shall we? Well, Luketic and Heigl worked together recently on the rom-com, The Ugly Truth, so they clearly have a good relationship. And it’ll be good for both leads, frankly, to stretch after a series of forgettable rom-coms, in which they’ve shown all the range of a Fisher Price walkie-talkie set. And Kutcher has lovely hair.
Lionsgate will be footing the bill for the film, which will shoot from next month in Atlanta and the South Of France. Sorry, what was that? South Of France, you say? We take it all back! Big hit! Big hit! Set visit, please! Yes, please!