WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Free Guy, now in theaters.
It’s safe to say, being a Ryan Reynolds-led film, Free Guy has many hilarious sequences. Guy, aka “Blue Shirt Guy,” with his innocence and naïveté is at the heart of so many of these as he fumbles through love in the game known as Free City, hoping to win over Molotov Girl, aka Millie (Jodie Comer). However, Guy’s not the core driver of the film’s funniest scene; that goes to none other than Channing Tatum in a comedic cameo, but the weird thing is, this also turns out to be Free Guy‘s creepiest encounter.
It occurs when Guy gets wind of a special mission from Millie. She wants to steal some key intel from Soonami Studios, which she thinks is hidden in the game. It’s a video proving that Antwan, the owner, stole it from her and used her and Keys’ source code for Life Itself to create Free City. She initially wanted it to be about characters living and evolving, but Antwan’s warped it into a violent game à la Grand Theft Auto.
Guy’s up for the challenge, as he’s leveled up and become a fighter capable of getting the material so she’ll fall in love with him. He shows up expecting a firefight, but ends up meeting Tatum’s Revenjamin Buttons, a dance-happy avatar who puts down moves like the “Shaky Man” and “Thanos’ Glove.” Usually, Buttons would kill any intruders, but he’s a fan of Guy’s, as the world has fallen in love with how wholesome the character is. The 22-year-old gamer, Keith, is actually the one behind the control, using this avatar to then bond with Guy.
As he livestreams, he asks Guy for some shout-outs and to take some screenshots as digital autographs to commemorate the meeting. Simply put, Keith thinks of Guy like a celebrity, but it gets weird in the game when the avatar starts getting too up close and personal. It’s humor akin to Tatum’s roles in 21 Jump Street and This Is the End, getting a bit crude as he starts crotch-grabbing, breathing on Guy, and invading his personal space. The moment nods to Tatum’s dance background, but it starts to get a little too uncomfortable for Guy’s tastes, and he tries to mosey off.
However, the icing on the cake comes when Keith’s mom in the real world berates him for being that awkward male playing too many video games as she tries to vacuum. He hates the noise she’s making and as Guy exits stage left, Keith starts yelling for his mom to put down his “special sock.” It’s a candid, gross moment that leaves Free Guy‘s audience just as freaked out as Guy, suggesting Keith fits that particular gaming stereotype, and needs to take a break every now and then from the online portal.
To see Channing Tatum’s creepy cameo, watch Free Guy in theaters now.
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