Wolfs should be seen in a movie theater. I can say that quite confidently, having just done it myself, but the odds you’ll be able to aren’t good. Apple had planned to give George Clooney and Brad Pitt’s reunion movie a full rollout, but just last month, that was cut down to just a limited, one-week theatrical run before it drops on streaming. Mixed experiences with releases over the last year encouraged the strategy reevaluation, rather than this specific movie, but even so, I think they picked the wrong one to start their pullback.

The premise is obviously a winner: A woman (Amy Ryan) having a bad night calls a “fixer” (Clooney) when the young man she invited to her hotel room ends up in a pool of blood on the floor. He shows up, ready to work his magic, only to hear a knock on the door. The hotel, spying via hidden camera, has called another one-of-a-kind problem solver to clean up the mess, and now the two men have to work together. Pitch that idea, and someone will want the script. Cast Pitt and Clooney, and you’re off to the races.

Wolfs Takes Exactly The Right Approach To Its Comedy
Some Of It Needed Clooney & Pitt To Work
Image via Sony Pictures

You don’t need to do more than hit this nail on its head, and writer-director Jon Watts knows it. Wolfs isn’t unnecessarily elaborate or flashy. But it isn’t paint-by-numbers either. It seems the filmmakers figured out what they needed was to make their version of a Shane Black movie, Christmas and all. Imagine if Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys had a more subdued cousin, and you wouldn’t be too far off.

Watts knows it’s not enough to make us laugh. We also have to care.

Wolfs isn’t just funny, it’s funny in all the different ways it needs to be. The scenario itself is of course played for laughs, and you can see it working with anyone in the roles. The two bicker over tricks of the trade, denying that they’re at all similar and that they could have anything to learn from the other. They each know a guy, so whose guy is better? They each have a place, so who’s willing to reveal theirs? All of that banter is written well, and played well.

But these two cleaners aren’t just anyone, and the film gets that, too. Watts takes full advantage of Clooney and Pitt’s star image, and he layers that meta-element gently over their arguing. There are jokes targeted at their age, as well as bits fuelled by their status as leading men. When the two find themselves simultaneously assuming they should talk first, we don’t only experience it as two loners chafing at working together. We also see two movie stars used to being #1 on the call sheet trying to own the scene.

Austin Abrams Is Wolfs’ Secret Weapon
And Jon Watts Deploys Him For More Than Just Laughs

And then, there’s Austin Abrams. You’ll know already if you’ve seen the trailer, but it’s no real surprise that the dead body they’ve come to clean isn’t so dead after all. A fun plot wrinkle, yes, but also an opportunity to throw Wolfs’ stars off their game by introducing a very different (and hilarious) character to disrupt their dynamic. The audience I saw it with was always along for the ride, but the scene where Abrams first talks to his captors is when this movie fully won us over.

This also speaks to its greatest strength: Watts knows it’s not enough to make us laugh. We also have to care. We have to be invested in watching Clooney & Pitt go from competitors to partners, and Abrams’ hapless zoomer is the perfect vehicle. He gives them something to bond over, as well as something to grow towards. And Wolfs is paced just right to give us time with these characters, instead of breathlessly taking us from scene to scene.

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On the same day as its theatrical release was demoted, this film was confirmed to have a sequel in development. While it’s unclear whether that’ll really come together, I’d like to see them use it to bring in a third. Send a more ruthless fixer after them, and either cast a Denzel or a Jodie Foster, who can match their wattage, or someone from the new generation of movie stars. Florence Pugh using all that Black Widow training to give Clooney and Pitt a run for their money? I’d pay to see that on the big screen.

Wolfs premiered at the Venice Film Festival. The film is 108 minutes long and rated R for language throughout and some violent content. It will release in US theaters on September 27.