The new raunchy teen/adult comedy Blockers is one of the funniest Hollywood films in a while (well, if you don’t count Game Night which you totally should). The film has a rooster above the title so we know what the REAL name of the movie is… but we’ll just go with Blockers for now.
Basic premise of the movie – three teen girls decide to lose their virginity on prom night and their parents find out and freak out. Cena’s character seems befuddled his jock daughter is even wearing a dress and is sure he should be protective… but he seems more indignant that her date has a pony tail and a smirk. Leslie Mann is scared her daughter will get pregnant at too young an age like she did. The third parent, played by Ike Barinholtz, is fine about his daughter having sex… but he’s angry because he’s sure she’s gay and she’s planning on sleeping with a boy and adhering to prom stereotypes.
The film is half raunchy teen sex comedy and half over-protective parent comedy… the cool thing is, it gives almost equal time to both parents and teens. It’s a little more about the parents since they have bigger arcs but it’s almost as much about their kids (who also have story arcs). I was really impressed by the casting and the likability of these actors, especially the girls. But you must appreciate John Cena, pro wrestler, once again willing to put it all out there in a comedy. And Leslie Mann is at the top of her game. Of the teen girls, the newcomer who plays Cena’s daughter – Geraldine Viswanathan – steals the movie. She’s a genuine, charismatic, funny actress and I hope we see more of her.
I laughed a lot at this film… not the hardest I’ve ever laughed but I laughed often. It’s a consistently funny film… but also one with heart. There’s genuinely charming and moving scenes between the older and younger actors. I smiled almost as much at the sweetness on display as a I did the (sometimes VERY raunchy) comedy.
Now, it did run a little long and they had to resolve three independent stories for each girl/parent so that didn’t work out as well as I’d hoped. it’s a relatively minor gripe since so much of it works… but just not ALL of it. Plus there’s some occasionally abrupt edits or transitions to other scenes that were noticeably abrupt. Not catastrophic, but noticeable.
I overall really enjoyed my time in the theater. It’s certainly one of the strongest and most well-written comedy in a while (not counting the slightly better Game Night) and all the actors – not just the parents, not just the teens – really nailed it. They worked well together in their social groups as well as with each other as fathers/mothers and daughter.
Rating: 85