‘Players’ Proves Gina Rodriguez Is the New Queen of Romantic Comedies

Players, a new Netflix original that began streaming on Valentine’s Day, wouldn’t work without Gina Rodriguez. If not for her charm, you might not enjoy sitting through the all-too-familiar romantic comedy tropes, the ending you’ll see coming from a mile away, and the dated-and-potentially-offensive portrayal of pick-up artists. And yet, when it’s Rodriguez—with her fast-talking, witty charisma—leading you through all of the above, those tired tropes become delightful. The predictable ending becomes a comforting security blanket. And the questionable ’90s-era pick-up moves are suddenly no longer problematic, but hilarious and playful. If nothing else, Players proves that Rodriquez is the perfect rom-com leading lady.

Directed by Trish Sie (Pitch Perfect 3), with a screenplay by Whit Anderson, Players stars Rodriguez as a “one of the guys” 30-something named Mack. Mack, a baseball-obsessed sports writer in New York City, doesn’t use an app to find dates. Instead, she employs an elaborate series of moves—aka “a play”—on potential hook-ups. It’s part of a system she has with her college buddies—Adam (Damon Wayans Jr.), Brannagan (Augustus Prew), and Little (Joel Courtney)—in which they take turns wing-manning to get each other laid. But after Mack successfully runs a play on a hot, mature, Pulitzer-prize winning (OK, fine, Pulitzer-prize finalist-ing) author named Nick (Tom Ellis), she decides she wants more than just a one-night stand. She and her friends need to run a new kind of play: A relationship play.

As Mack, Rodriguez leans into her cool, sexy, city girl side. (As a Chicago native and the daughter of a boxing ref, she likely didn’t need to dig very deep!) She rocks many a crop top in the movie and looks fantastic in all of them. She’s one of the guys, yes, but she’s also hot and feminine. She’s no longer Jane the Virgin—she’s a confident, promiscuous woman who treats sex the same way stereotypical straight men treat it. And what’s wrong with that? (Well, a few things, actually—but don’t worry, she learns her lesson by the end of the film.)

Again, if it weren’t for Rodriguez’s charm, this character might be an insufferable “not like other girls” type. But the thing is, Rodriguez is as hilarious as she is beautiful. She delivers her lines with just a touch of lovable cluelessness—like when she brags that Nick saved a child from a burning building in Syria.

“Was it burning?” asks Wayans.

“Collapsing?” Rodriguez throws back, with sheepish uncertainty.

It’s hard to explain why, exactly, that delivery elicited a full-belly laugh from me, but it did. It’s just Rodriguez’s natural charm and talent, which slots perfectly into the sort of sexy-but-relatable allure that makes for a perfect romantic comedy star.

Rodriguez, of course, became famous for her leading role in the smart, sexy, and soap-y romantic comedy series Jane the Virgin, which ran from 2014 to 2019 on The CW. Rodriguez’s comedy chops were on full display on that show, and Jane’s status as a fumbling-and-naive 20-something catered to the young adult crowd. But in her 30s, Rodriguez has cemented herself as a competent leading lady for more mature films in the genre.

In 2019, she led the Netflix original Someone Great, a sort-of anti-romantic comedy in which her character finds herself after a tough break-up. She doesn’t get her guy back in the end, but she does have amazing chemistry with her on-screen BFFs. From there Rodriguez starred in the Prime original rom-com I Want You Back—but she played the callous ex-girlfriend who breaks the heart of Charlie Day, while Jenny Slate took on the role of the romantic lead. Now, finally, Rodriguez is the lead of a romantic comedy for adults where she successfully gets the guy. And, surprising no one, she’s really good at it.

It helps, of course, that Rodriguez has a talented supporting cast surrounding her in Players, including the adorably goofy Wayans and the scene-stealing former Vine comedian Liza Koshy. But Players is truly Rodriguez’s movie, and she elevates the material from forgettable to delightful. To all the Hollywood producers whom I assume read my articles religiously, please take note: Like Meg Ryan before her, Gina Rodriguez ought to be the next rom-com queen.