There are times when a person has the desire to be able to reach through the screen and slap some sense into the characters of a story, but at the last second a person has to realize that without the drama and the utter stupidity of some characters there wouldn’t BE a story. The irony is real, as is the struggle since people want realism in their stories, but they also want a thrill now and then. Endangered Species with Rebecca Romjin and Jerry O’Connell looks like it’s poised to give at least some semblance of both as the fact is that the wilds of Africa aren’t inherently deadly in every region, but they’re not exactly welcoming to those that are thinking that they’ll just stroll through and ignore warnings when they’re put up for the benefit of those that don’t know the area, what the animals are like, and what could possibly happen if they stray off the beaten path. Any place can be dangerous if a person has little to no working knowledge of how the locals are bound to react to them, but the fact that Romjin’s character requires insulin, only to find that a charging rhino has not only flipped their car but broken her insulin vials, is bound to be a complication that can’t be pushed past so easily.
Tacked onto that is the fact that Jerry O’Connell is playing a poacher that obviously doesn’t want to be busted by a family on vacation for his acts, which means that he and his partner can’t let them go. So what becomes a huge save in essence becomes a hostage situation very quickly since poachers are never too keen on being exposed by those that don’t see their profession as favorable. It’s definitely a different look when seeing O’Connell as a villain, especially since Romjin’s role as the villain has been well documented in the past. But from the trailer it’s pretty clear that the family, however foolish they might be when it comes to braving the African wilds, aren’t about to be taken captive for long and are going to attempt to turn the tables on the poachers, but not without running straight into danger once again since the trailer makes it pretty clear that they’re not going to survive without a few huge pitfalls to get past. If anyone is debating just how dangerous the African wilds can be they might want to read up on the region and how dangerous it can really be. It’s not just the animals that can kill after all.
This is actually kind of a common story, at least part of it since the idea of a family going on a dream vacation and ignoring obvious warning signs that are set into the landscape is something that has played out in a number of different ways. Even the poacher angle isn’t exactly new, but it’s a refreshing tale to pick up all the same since Jerry O’Connell and Rebecca Romjin, who are married remember, look as though they’re set to put on a very convincing act that will hopefully astonish and please the audience in a very convincing manner. Perhaps it’s because O’Connell has been in a number of comedic roles that makes it hard to see him as a hardened bad guy, but it’s always possible that letting go of that preconception could do wonders for accepting him as someone that might be capable of taking a family hostage. It’s possible, but it’s going to take a pretty good performance to make it happen, and while O’Connell is no doubt capable of this, it’s also fair to say that it won’t be too surprising if he comes off as a little lacking in the bad guy department. On the plus side, he does have plenty of costars to help out with the story just in case things don’t appear to be completely genuine.
It is kind of interesting to think of how spouses and family members can work on the same movie without getting on each other’s nerves in a very big way, but it does stand to reason that they might also be able to work with each other simply because they know how they’re going to react and they know how to improvise and work with their costars to make sure that the act comes off as smooth and with as few issues as possible. It’s kind of easy to say that it might be hard to see another man kiss or hold your wife, but this is how acting goes, and most people in the business know that the act doesn’t mean anything since it’s part of the job. Plus, O’Connell and Romjin have been married since 2007, have two kids, and they’re both professionals, so it’s fair to say that they’ll put on a good show.
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