Film Review: Bottom Line is ‘Blockers’ Has Some Decent Laughs

CHICAGO– Comedy is purely subjective, and the new film ‘Blockers’ sets out to prove it, by expectorating joke after joke in all categories of sophistication. Physical pratfalls, witty asides, gross-out, sex, nudity, drugs, surrealism and more are all on the humor buffet, so pick, choose and laugh, as they pile it on.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Produced by the comedy mavens Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, among others, the story is basically framed within their style of keeping the humor flowing fast and furious. Some joke doesn’t land? They’ll be another one in a about a minute. It’s interesting in a pace like this frenzy that the film still seems overlong, but that really just has to do with the plot… parents wanting to deny their teenage daughters the opportunity to lose their virginity on prom night. It’s easy to guess the outcomes, which pretty much come to form within a bunch of clichés, but along the way there are some original obstacles put up – both by the parents and the kids – and also some side stories that are so outside the main premise that it’s through-the-looking-glass surreal. Comedy is also a bag of tricks.

It’s senior year for three best friends, Julie (Kathryn Newton), Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan) and Sam (Gideon Adlon), and they anticipate their era-ending prom. For some reason, they make a “sex pact” to lose their virginities on that prom night. Only Julie has a steady boyfriend, and that is what gets her single Mom Lisa (Leslie Mann) suspicious about the upcoming dance.

Lisa recruits two other parents, Kayla’s Dad Mitchell (John Cena) and Sam’s estranged Dad Hunter (Ike Barinholtz) into the information about the pact… which they find out about through a series of text message gymnastics. It’s is up to these three stooge parents to “block” their daughters from doing the deed, even if it means infiltrating the prom and its after parties. Hilarity is about to ensue.

“Blockers” opens everywhere on April 6th. Featuring Leslie Mann, John Cena, Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Viswanthan, Gideon Aldon and Gary Cole (and his body part). Written by Jim and Brian Kehoe. Directed by Kay Cannon. Rated “R”