Operator, 2015
Another "long week, dumb fun" watch.
Pam (Mischa Barton) is estranged from her husband Jeremy (Luke Goss). She works as a 911 operator while he is a police officer. One day a mysterious man (Ving Rhames) calls Pam at work and begins directing her to crimes that have not happened yet, using her kidnapped daughter as leverage.
I will say that the movie gets a 4/5 for "dumb" and a "3/5" for "fun".
The premise of a 911 or other emergency operator playing cat and mouse with a killer is always a decent premise. The film tries to get most of its emotional heft from the idea that Pam repeatedly has to dispatch Jeremy to dangerous situations while trying to figure out who is pulling the strings. Barton and Goss are both fine in their roles. Rhames, as the mysterious caller, does his best to liven up a performance that is 95% sitting at a desk on a phone.
Overall, though, the film is just a *little* too stupid at times. We are told that Jeremy is a "good and thoughtful man." Okay, but in the very first sequence his partner ogles a woman and says she has a butt "like a 10 year old" and then immediately pivots to talking about Jeremy's own 10 year old daughter. And Jeremy's response is like "Ha! Oh, dude!". It sets such a weird tone for his character.
And on Pam's side of things, she will send vague text messages to Jeremy, but like, if you are already sending a message why not be more specific?
The best "bad" part of the film is that Pam and the mystery man have the same conversation about four different times:
[Something bad happens]
PAM: I'm not going to help you anymore!
BAD GUY: Yes you are!
PAM: Why would I keep helping you?!
BAD GUY: Because . . . I have your daughter!
PAM: Oh, yeah. Okay, what do I do next?
Like, she seems to forget about every 20 minutes that they have her daughter!
Anyway, this was a fine way to spend some brainless minutes. I wouldn't exactly recommend it, but it's the kind of movie you put on while you vacuum or do other little chores around the house.