Movie Review: His Widow and His Girlfriend search for His Murderer — “Double Life”

I got a few laughs out of “Double Life,” a Canadian thriller about a two-timing man who gets murdered and the widow and his chick-on-the-side who team up to solve the crime.

Whatever grieving widow Sharon (Pascale Hutton) doesn’t suspect of this pretty barmaid Jo (Javicia Leslie) who just happens to drop by her husband’s grave is nothing to what we don’t expect from the lovely-sexy Jo the first time they’re in a jam.

Jo kicks ass. Jo takes names. Jo, in the parlance of the post-“Taken” thriller genre, has “particular skills.”

Sharon’s husband (Niall Matter) was a prosecutor living a “double life” — wife and steady after-the-bar-closes hook-up. His big case involved a big polluter, so when he gets himself dead on the drive home, you’d think the cops would be in a tizzy.

Well, there is a detective (Carmen Moore) on the case. But when Sharon and Jo get threatened by a veteran local “fixer” in the employ of somebody sketchy, attacked at the scene of a SECOND homicide, making Mr. Strand (John Cassini) and his minion the TOP SUSPECTS in two murders — positive ID, as in “I NEVER forget a face I punched! — this is all Det. Traxler can tell her.

“Now, you’re both on his RADAR!”

No, “We’re ON it” or “We’ll have them in custody” or anything. What, they don’t have “All Points Bulletins” or citywide manhunts north of the border?

Perhaps Traxler senses what the viewer does, that as far as heavies go, these guys are about as scary as Ryan Reynolds. I mean, they ARE Canadian, and not every Canadian is as frightening as Michael Ironside or Kim Coates.

Our intrepid duo bond as they stumble towards The Real Killer and tumble into the Big Secret each is keeping from the other. No, other than that first time Jo charges into danger and drop-kicks some Murphy down some stairs, there aren’t any real surprises.

“Double Life” — scripted by Michael Hurst and Chris Siverston — is so generic that the moment Jo senses danger which she passes on to victim-to-be Mark, we know what he’s going to say and know precisely how wrong he is, right down to the number of minutes that will pass before his demise.

“You don’t need to worry about me. I’m a big boy.”

At least she got in a good, cheap shot as the last words she says to her paramour.

“Not THAT big.”

Rating: PG-13 for violence, language and some sexual content.

Cast: Javicia Leslie, Pascale Hutton, Niall Matter, John Cassini, Vincent Gale and Carmen Moore.

Credits: Directed by Martin Wood, scripted by Michael Hurst and Chris Siverston. A Paramount release.

Running time: 1:31

About Roger Moore

Movie Critic, formerly with McClatchy-Tribune News Service, Orlando Sentinel, published in Spin Magazine, The World and now published here, Orlando Magazine, Autoweek Magazine
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