Known for his R-rated comedies like “Let’s Be Cops” and “The Girl Next Door”, Luke Greenfield’s newest action-comedy movie “Playdate”, which releases on Nov. 12 and stars Kevin James and Alan Ritchson as stay-at-home dads as their sons have a playdate, sees him take a more general-audience approach . I had the opportunity to sit down with Greenfield to discuss the movie and the making behind it.

Jake Lhotan (JL): You’re known for a variety of great comedy films (and I actually watched a few of them in preparation for this), with some of them being “The Girl Next Door”, “Let’s Be Cops” and “Playdate”, which is noticeably more family-oriented than some of these other films. So, if you could explain what potentially motivated that shift.

Luke Greenfield (LG): I mean, that shift happened late in the movie. We originally wrote kind of a rated-R action-comedy, and it was rated-R just for language. You know, I always find that language makes a funnier movie. My examples are “Superbad” and “Bridesmaids” and “Wedding Crashers”. So, we went into that and Alan [Ritchson] comes from a pretty edgy comedy background with “Blue Mountain State” and stuff. We shot, and we always shot a safety take where the f-words turned into ‘freakings’ and things like that.

So, the decision was made towards the end of post, when they were finishing the movie. Amazon felt that because there were two 12-year-olds, we would get much more eyeballs if it would be much more family-friendly. It still has an edge to it, for sure, but this is kind of my first comedy that doesn’t really have the language in it. It’s still the same movie, so there will be a director’s cut at some point. But they’re really not much different at all, really just language.

JL: Well, I certainly would look forward to that director’s cut, if you ever release it. I definitely agree with what you’re saying that you don’t necessarily need language. But that being said, you also did cite some very funny movies (“Superbad”, “Bridesmaid”, “Wedding Crashers”).

So, another thing I noticed about the movie is that you actually employed a lot of classic 70s and 80s music, which, as someone who is a self-proclaimed ‘old soul’, I definitely enjoyed. What motivated you to go with this aesthetic? Was it personal preference or do you think it worked with the movie? Or a bit of both?

LG: I love putting music to movies. I’m much more about picking songs that go with the emotion of the scene, and I always kind of pick the songs out way before we’re on set and shooting. I actually play those songs on set for the actors. I have an eclectic taste, and I’m sure you saw in “The Girl Next Door” too, those songs were 60s, 70s. I just go for the emotion of the songs. I’m not really a guy who’s like “Oh my God, what’s hot today? Let me throw one of Taylor Swift’s songs there.” It’s much more for the mood of the scene. That’s why you’re seeing Spencer Davis Group’s “Gimme Some Lovin'”.

I like giving audiences the chill, and what I think about that is, like how Scorsese does it. Just a perfect piece of music that really brings out the scene. Whether it’s adrenaline, whether it’s emotion, whether it’s heartbreak.

You know, I’m a writer, too. So, while I didn’t write this, I’m always kind of working with the writer. When we’re creating scenes and we’re creating the emotion for a scene, the song’s already coming into my head because I’ll start picturing it as a director.

JL: That’s very interesting and I do find it pretty compelling that you test that out with the actors. I can tell (and it’s not a spoiler to mention because the scene’s in the trailer) in the chase scene with “The Rhythm of the Night” that Alan Ritchson is really getting into it. I thought that was definitely a highlight of the movie.

LG: Thank you. That was, I mean, a great spot to point out. I was thinking about that chase scene and I looked at it as a “Bourne Identity” chase scene in the most inappropriate environment. So, why not have this f**ked-up chase scene inside safe Suburbia? And that, instead of using something aggressive for the score, wouldn’t it be funnier if Alan’s character had that as one of his favorite songs that kind of gets him all amped up? So, within all the chaos and destruction, it’s to “Rhythm of the Night”. I’m blasting that on stage and because I don’t think anyone knows the lyrics to “Rhythm of the Night”, I gave him the lyrics and he’s learning it on set. He comes from musical theater, so he’s just incredibly talented with dance and music.

JL: That was really fun to watch. From what I noticed, “Playdate”, like some of your other films, involves, at least, a semi-regular utilization of flashbacks. What would you say, as a director and screenwriter, makes this technique particularly appealing?

LG: Only for emotion, you know, or comedy. I think a lot of these quick flashes to, you know I don’t want to ruin the movie, Alan going to the police station and Alan meeting CJ. It’s just usually for emotion or comedy and I think in this movie, it plays much more comedy.

You know, when Kevin James’ character is asking “Why didn’t we go to the police?” and you do this quick flash, that tells a story but it’s really funny how Alan tries to go the police. It’s usually emotion or comedy.

JL: Were there any specific directors or films in general that influenced the visuals or action of “Playdate”?

LG: I like mixing genres. So, I think Michael Bay’s “Bad Boys 2” has one of the greatest car chases I’ve seen. Then the opening of the original “Beverly Hills Cop”, if you check that out, is kind of the same vibe, with an 18-wheeler truck going totally out of control in a car chase and it’s literally just almost killing pedestrians on the street. So, I was really setting up that kind of vibe.

I like doing character stuff and I really like to put the audience in the shoes of the actors. In “The Girl Next Door” in particular, that movie was made for that audience but people that were older and so my whole goal was that if you were 30 or if you were 40-years-old, the way it’s shot and the way your with that main character, you feel like your back in high school. So, I do a lot of that, especially in the emotional scenes between Alan and his father in this movie.

For me, visual film-making is everything. I grew up making short films (since I was 10 years old), so a lot of the exercises I would do was telling the story without dialogue. So, where does the camera have to be? What point of view? Why is the camera moving? Things like that.

JL: Sure, there is the old saying that a picture, or in this case a movie, tells a thousand words.

Did you know immediately that you wanted Ritchson and James for the leads? What would you say distinguishes these roles from their previous?

LG: Alan and I wanted to work together years ago. I’ve always been a tremendous fan of him and I always knew the comedic side of him. I actually met him right before he got ‘Reacher’ and I wanted to put him in a romantic comedy. Alan’s been doing a lot of action and as soon as I got this script, I immediately thought of him, as far as the fact it’s been a while since the world has seen him in this kind of comedic character. So, we just went straight to him and he immediately connected with the material and we had developed a lot of the material into his life so that it’s more personal to him.

Kevin James I had never met. The producers knew him and this was the first time meeting Kevin. So, I had met him a few times before we started shooting and obviously I know his work really well.

But I thought this combination was different for the two of them. Kevin is playing more of the relatable guy that we feel for and Alan’s the 14-year-old kid who’s kind of psychotic.

JL: They both really worked well with one another in this movie. So, I for sure think that you made a great choice in the casting.

LG: Thank you. And the other cast! I mean the other cast were really excited about this. You know, I think the supporting cast was spectacular in this movie. I mean, we had great luck in getting Isla Fisher, Paul Walter Hauser, Stephen Root and Alan Tudyk. I mean, these people are champions and we were so lucky to have them play supporting roles in the movie.

JL: Absolutely. Everyone just did a great job.

Aside from being a fun action film (which I can confirm it was), is there a takeaway that you hope audiences have with “Playdate”?

LG: I made this movie for a couple reasons. I always go to theme, and so about kids and parents and how Alan and Kevin, especially Alan, who has this distinct relationship with his father that’s kind of heartbreaking, and what defines a good parent, you know, it’s tricky, and having the confidence to feel like you can do it in the best way. I feel all parents are doing everything they can to be the best parent and to live by the mistakes of their parents.

So, for me, my movies always have an emotional part of them. I don’t really do straight comedies that you just like, feel nothing where you go in and laugh. I think the best comedies hit home, like “Midnight Run”, things like that. So, I just wanted a rollercoaster in this movie. I mean, the movie is pretty bonkers and crazy. It starts as one thing and then shifts to another, then it shifts to another. I like mixing genres. I like playing with tone. I like surprising, unpredictable movies, and that’s what I try to do, as much as I can.

The best experience for me in theater are really not knowing where the story or the character is going. I think that excites me the most, so that’s what I’m going for here.

JL: I could definitely tell that, not just with ‘Playdate’ but with your directorial style in general, there’s definitely a few surprises in ‘Playdate’ and ‘The Girls Next Door’ even. I went into that movie knowing nothing about it (other than the fact that you directed it, of course) and that really took me on quite a rollercoaster, in a good way.

LG: [Laughs]

Thank you, man. Yeah, that movie has always been very precious to me.

JL: Was there a particular sequence that you enjoyed filming among others?

LG: I love the park scene, the football scene. I like things that happen organically and, you know, I remember in pre-production, Alan had brought up the idea of “What if me and my son are whipping the football at each other as hard as we f***king could?” and I always thought that was hilarious and you know, that’s all visual effects. There’s no football there, obviously, he would’ve killed the kid. So, what I really loved was watching them pretend to throw and pretend to catch, and have it in sync. I thought that Alan and Kevin’s chemistry made it one of the best scenes. I was ruining a lot of takes and I was laughing so hard. It was just a very fun scene to shoot. I mean, they all were fun. They all were fun, but that was a day where I laughed a lot and I was really ruining takes and laughing too much on set.

JL: Well that’s great, sounds like you had a really good experience.

Do you have any major projects in the works, such as (even though it may be too early) maybe even a “Playdate” sequel?

LG: It’s not too early at all. I’m a writer, and so I usually write all my stuff.

So, yeah, I have a couple things that are somewhat going on right now. I’ve been on this movie for so long and this took all my energy. I’m beginning casting for the new one and we’ll see about “Playdate: The Sequel”. There’s been a lot of talk already about a franchise and what the storyline is for the next one, you know which Neil Goldman, the writer, we’ve been briefly talking about things. I think, when the movie is released, there will be a lot more talk about it, like “What’s the story?” and “When can we shoot it?”.

We here at The Ionian would like to thank Luke Greenfield for taking the time to sit down for an interview with us! “Playdate” releases on Amazon Prime Video on Nov. 12, 2025.