I’m surprised this movie isn’t called “What About Floyd?”

“Coup!” is a pandemic comedy with a couple of differences. One: it takes place in 1918, during the Great Influenza pandemic. Two: it has a wiser and goofier edge than the COVID-19 comedy “Coastal Elites.” And three: it feels partly inspired by “What About Bob?” combined with themes of upper class vs. lower class. You know the game of how the rich and the poor can barely coexist, and what small war can emerge within.

Peter Saragaard plays a mischievous grifter named Floyd Monk, who arrives on Egg Island at the estate of the wealthy Progressive journalist Jay Horton (Billy Magnessum) and his wife Julie (Sarah Gadon) as their new chef. While he’s writing letters about the defiance of the President and the workers union during the pandemic, Floyd’s here to cook for them. But there are complications, besides the social distancing.

He’s forced to live in the service quarters (or staff quarters) with the strict Irish maid Mrs. McMurray (Kristine Nielsen), the Turkish driver Kaan (Faran Tahir), and the governess Mrs. Tildwell (Skye P. Marshall). The old lady has to be: “You live here, you live by the rules,” so she’s not somebody you’d want to be in charge of you.

While Mrs. McMurray is indisposed, Floyd steals a bottle of alcohol, and suggests to his co-workers that they can do and have whatever they want, considering that this pandemic has less workers, and that these three are all they got. They’re the ones risking their lives to get their groceries and supplies, so they all demand better, like better pay and living situations.

You could also say that transportation from the island to the mainland is impossible at the moment. And since the family are vegetarians, they may have the staff resort to hunting for food.

And given the circumstances of everything going on, the journalist starts to loose his sanity, almost like Richard Dreyfus in “What About Bob?,” especially when the wife denies her husband’s allegations against Floyd, and their two children Tom (Callum Vinson) and Molly (Willa Dunn) enjoy his company.

Written and directed by Austin Stark (the producer of “Infinity Polar Bear” and director of “The God Committee”) and Joseph Schuman (in his directorial debut), “Coup!” has a wickedly entertaining tone and characterization that has us eager to know how the workers can make their way into the high life, and how the patriarch struggles to get acquainted with them. There are plot twists involved that really has us going (more so than M. Night Shaymalan’s “Trap”), and even though there are moments that make us cringe (and I can’t spoil anything for you), we still are entertained by what direction the movie wants to head itself into.

I met Sarsgaard and Magnessum at various points in my life in the last decade, and they’re two appealing actors. I can sense they’re both able to adapt to their characters-who they are and what game they’re both playing-and I can sense they’re entering familiar territory, but spicing things up a bit. Pun intended, since Sarsgaard is playing a cook.

I also admired the performances from the female actresses, particularly Gadon and Nielsen. Gadon displays some wise consistency within her character, while Nielsen delivers the goods trying to set the Sargaard character straight. On both sides of the equation, they’re both convincing and smart.

“Coup!” does an entertaining job as a pandemic movie and a dark comedy about the distinction between rich people and their employees. Who has the upper hand, given the circumstances? And why do the workers act the way they do? My message to you is: treat your employees good, and they’ll treat you good back. But I can’t expect everyone to grasp my message.

In Select Theaters