The mistaken identity trope is well-worn in Hollywood. North by Northwest, The Big Lebowski, Three Amigos, School of Rock, just to name a few. It can add a fun little twist to an otherwise fairly standard story. The Man From Toronto is the latest to addition to this list.
Kevin Hart plays Teddy, a struggling fitness entrepreneur. He’s also a screw-up in his day job, in sales or marketing (maybe? they don’t really give a black and white answer) at a local gym. He gets fired just before going on a weekend getaway with his wife Ruth (Jasmine Mathews). And it’s here where things go wrong, hijinks ensue.
Teddy printed off the rental confirmation at home, but the ink was low, and the information, including their specific lodge number, are smudged and blurry. This is also where The Man from Toronto starts to lose me. Unlike any reasonable, logical human adult, Teddy does nothing to try to confirm this number. He doesn’t pull up the email confirmation, he doesn’t print off a new copy somewhere else, he doesn’t call the Airbnb owner. He just tries to make it out on the blurry copy he has. And he goes to the wrong house; the very wrong house.
When he arrives, there a a couple thugs waiting for the titular Man from Toronto (Woody Harrelson), an under-world renowned assassin, to carry out a job. And because his identity is kept so secret, only a select few people on the planet know what he looks like. So when Teddy shows up instead, they believe him to be Toronto (Wikipedia names him as Randy, but I don’t remember hearing a name, so I’ll be referring to him as Toronto). Teddy bumbles his way through the interrogation, only for the authorities to show up before everyone can get out there.
They quickly confirm Teddy is not the real Man from Toronto. But because of the confusion, they need Teddy to continue impersonating the Man from Toronto, as they have some intel that could lead to his arrest, along with the takedown of other major players in the assassination game. When Toronto catches wind of this plan, he finds Teddy and forces him to work together to finish his original job.
This should be a fun setup. Hart can be a great comedic actor (when he’s a little more reserved, which he is here). And we all know how incredible Harrelson is. You put them together in a buddy comedy set-up like this, and it should be an easy win. But I go back to the inciting incident.
Maybe it’s nitpicking, but it really bugged me. Obviously there has to be some confusion, some mix-up to allow the identity mix-up to happen. But it was so easily avoidable. I’m not asking for anything in-depth or complex here. Have the Airbnb give Teddy the wrong room number. Boom. Reasonable explanation, exact same end result. Many viewers will probably be able to look past and ignore it. But when the conceit of the movie has such an easy explanation for why it shouldn’t have happened, it sticks in my craw.
But even moving past that – and I am admittedly am probably making a bigger deal out of this part than is necessary – there still isn’t much in the way of a story. From the Harrelson side of things, it doesn’t get any more detailed than “we need to catch a bad guy because he’s a bad guy.” And Toronto’s mission is the furthest thing from interesting. There’s nothing engaging about it. Teddy’s relationship with Ruth could have provided an interesting emotional hook, but everything there is pretty boilerplate too.
That leaves the cast and the action. The action leaves something to be desired, though there are a couple okay fight sequences. And the special effects aren’t doing the movie any favors either, with at least a couple instances of really poor green screen work. The action isn’t a huge detractor, though, as the main draw is the Hart-Harrelson buddy concept.
And that’s where The Man from Toronto delivers. There are maybe only one or two truly laugh out loud moments, but it’s consistently funny throughout. Hart is a little more reserved in this role too, keeping his manic energy in check. That’s where he loses me as an actor. But when he puts in a performance like this, he can be really effective. And Harrelson is terrific, as you would expect. The two of them have great chemistry, which helps elevate the average script. I also need to mention Kaley Cuoco, even if only briefly. She just has a bit part as Ruth’s friend, but she brings a new energy to the scenes she’s in, managing to change the vibe and get you re-engaged.
While The Man from Toronto may not be much more than a standard issue Netflix offering (even though it’s not a true Netflix original, initially planned for a full theatrical release; but it still has that same vibe), Harrelson and Hart generate enough good will and laughs to make it an easy watch. It’s not going to blow you away, but you could do much worse when endlessly scrolling through your Netflix list.
Score: 68/100
