'Playing With Fire'

There’s dumb, there’s really dumb, and then there’s a movie directed by Andy Fickman — like “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2” or the new “Playing With Fire,” which depends on the subtle comical stylings of John Cena.

Cena plays Supt. Jake Carson, the big guy in charge of a U.S. Department of Forestry (no such thing) smokejumper crew in central California. He is heroic when facing down a raging forest fire, leading his men (played by Keegan-Michael Key, John Leguizamo and Tyler Mane) in their lifesaving missions. He’s a shoo-in to replace the retiring fire commander (Dennis Haysbert), to bring honor to his late father, who ran the smokejumpers’ depot before him and died in the line of duty.

In areas of human contact, though, Jake’s skills are lacking. This is clear when he walked out on a date with Dr. Amy Hicks (Judy Greer), a charming scientist doing field research on toads in a nearby lake. And it’s even clearer when Jake rescues three siblings — teen Brynn (Brianna Hildebrand, from the “Deadpool” movies), 9-year-old Will (Christian Convery), and pre-schooler Zoey (Finley Rose Slater) — and has to house them at the depot.

Fickman and screenwriters Dan Ewen and Matt Lieberman go for the cheapest laughs, whether they involves changing Zoey’s diaper or letting Will go crazy with the soap suds. But the script seems to have left actual punchlines unwritten, and relies on its cast to ad-lib the funny. That’s marginally OK when it’s Leguizamo or Key (who’s quickly becoming the Garfunkel to Jordan Peele’s Simon), but when Cena tries to be funny, it sticks out more than his bulging biceps.

Here’s the thing, though: At the Saturday morning screening where I was suffering through this vast wasteland of labored gags, the audience around me was laughing fairly consistently. I had a moment like Principal Skinner on “The Simpsons” did, where I wondered if I was out of touch — but then, after the 14th lame “fire” song on the soundtrack, I decided that, no, it’s the audience that was wrong.

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‘Playing With Fire’

★

Opens Friday, November 8, in theaters everywhere. Rated PG for rude humor, some suggestive material and mild peril. Running time: 96 minutes.