Beyoncé and Jay Z would like you to know they have a lot of famous friends—so much so, in fact, they made a video about it. On Saturday, the duo released “Run,” which plays out like a trailer for an action movie starring Beyoncé and Jay Z as a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. Only, there is no such movie. Instead the video is a covert ad for their upcoming On The Road Tour (so covert that the tour is never mentioned by name). But mostly, the video serves as a reminder that Beyoncé and Jay Z are sexy, well-connected, and talented—and that somehow, blatant self-promotion only makes them more likeable.
Directed by Melina Matsoukas, the video has Sean Penn playing a mentor. Don Cheadle plays poker. Blake Lively plays Beyoncé’s worried best friend. Rashida Jones gets a punchline. Jake Gyllenhaal has a beard. There’s also a whole lot of compelling relationship and crime drama squeezed into its short run time.
The opening title card is a dead giveaway that the movie doesn’t actually exist—it’s rated R for “Roc Nation” by the “Motion Picture Association of Brooklyn, New York”—but given all these famous faces, it would be hard to blame someone for assuming this is real. The final “Coming Never” title card should really be accompanied by a Jay Z laugh and/or a sassy Beyoncé GIF.
