The Underdoggs

Posted on January 25, 2024 at 8:50 pm

B-

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for pervasive language, sexual references, drug use, and some underage drinking
Profanity:	Constant very strong and vulgar language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Marijuana and alcohol, including children getting drunk
Violence/ Scariness:	Some peril
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie

Normally, seeing kids use bad language does not make me laugh, not because I am offended but because it is just lazy. So I’m not proud of it, but I admit that “The Underdogs” made me laugh, not because kids use four-letter words or because star and producer Snoop Dogg does, but because it was about more than the shock value. No one will ever call Snoop an actor –he can barely focus on playing a character designed to be as much like his off-camera persona as possible — but he is an able performer and this basic underdog story benefits from being so evidently dear to his heart. We learn from end credits sequence that Snoop created a real-life football program for kids. And we learn from the pre-movie warning that the movie has strong language “that may not be suitable for children” and then goes on to say, in very colorful terms, to disregard that because kids who are not supposed to be watching this….stuff… curse more than the rest of us…..explitives. Those two bookends set the scene.

Snoop plays Jaycen, known as Two Js, a selfish and arrogant former star football player who now spends his days rattling around his gigantic mansion, smoking weed, and getting into trouble. A judge (Kandi Burruss) offers him community service coaching a kids’ football team and he refuses. He does not want anything to do with kid or, really anyone else. So he is given clean-up duty instead, with an orange vest and a pole for picking up dog poop.

And who should be at that location but a scrappy little team of, say it with me, underdogs. And, what a coincidence, who should be the mother of one of those kids but Jaycen’s high school girlfriend, Cherise (the always-appealing Tika Sumpter). She gives Jaycen something the judge did not, a reason to at least pretend to be someone who cares about something other than himself. It is still pretending, of course, but we all know where this is going, as do the characters, who have all seen “The Mighty Ducks” and probably countless other movies about scrappy underdog sports teams with reluctant coaches who grudgingly realize they want to to be the person the team needs them to be.

Trailer for The UnderDoggs

It’s no one’s idea of a classic, or even of being what you might call “good,” but it is an easy watch that stays out of its own way. Mike Epps shows up as Jaycen’s old friend, Kareem, a hustler and sometime carjacker, who moves in and talks his way into a spot as assistant coach. The kids on the team are the basic Smurf-types, each one getting one attribute — quiet, mouthy, butterfingers, etc. Snoop has good chemistry with the kids, though, and they are tougher than he is, which helps keep things moving. George Lopez shows up as Jaycen’s high school coach, reminding us of the difference it can make in a child’s life to have an adult who cares.

The film meanders back and forth between the kids’ underdog team formula and occasional meta-commentary on the classic tropes of the genre, but either way it is enjoying itself so much it is impossible not to go with it.

Parents should know that this movie is raunchy and vulgar. Characters, including children, use constant strong and graphic language with many insults. A child character’s nickname is a coarse word for a female body part. Characters smoke weed and drink and children get drunk and throw up. There is some potty humor. A character is careless with a gun but no one gets hurt.

Family discussion: What made Double J decide to take coaching seriously? What makes a good coach? Is it true that we want to see successful people fail?

If you like this, try: “The Mighty Ducks” and “The Bad News Bears”

Trailer: Blithe Spirit

Posted on March 1, 2020 at 11:59 am

A new version of Noel Coward’s ghost comedy “Blithe Spirit” is coming! This one stars Dan Stevens, Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, and Dame Judi Dench.

I am fond of the original film version with Rex Harrison and an unforgettable Margaret Rutherford as the dotty ghost whisperer Madame Arcati.

Isn’t It Romantic

Posted on February 13, 2019 at 8:28 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for language, some sexual material, and a brief drug reference
Profanity:	Strong language, some bleeped but still evident
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drug dealer, drinking to deal with stress, joke about getting drunk
Violence/ Scariness:	Comic peril, mugging, injury
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	February 14, 2019

As they say, it’s not a bug; it’s a feature. Yes, romantic comedies keep relying on the same elements. All the Jessicas and Jennifers who star, all the quippy best friends, all the cute apartments and makeover montages, all the strolls through the farmers markets, looking through the mounds of fruit, coming home with grocery bags filled with bottles of wine and baguettes, the kisses in the rain, the misunderstandings, the initial antagonism that turns to love, the race to the wedding (to stop it) or to the airport (to keep that special someone from flying away), and all those bouncy pop songs on the soundtrack to make up for the absence of actual lines of dialogue. Why should we hear what people say to each other when they are falling in love when we can imagine it as we bounce along to the music and watch them stroll on the beach and ride bicycles and playfully toss soap bubbles or autumn leaves or pillows at each other?

We don’t go to see romantic comedies in spite of this repetition; we go because of it. Just like we play the same songs over and over, it is the very predictability we find so satisfying. So “Isn’t it Romantic,” starring Rebel Wilson, is as much an affectionate tribute to the romantic comedy as it is a parody of it. In the first scene, the mother (“AbFab’s Jennifer Saunders) of a young Australian girl is telling her that the movie she is watching, “Pretty Woman,” is unrealistic, like all romantic comedies, and, in fact, she says that there is no such thing as love. “In real life, girls like us can’t get that.” (If this reminds you of the “monogamy isn’t realistic” flashback of the romantic comedy “Trainwreck,” buckle up, because the call-outs of other movies are non-stop.)

Twenty-five years later, that girl has grown up to be Natalie (Rebel Wilson) is an architect in New York, cynical about romance and shy about standing up for herself at work. She has an assistant (a terrific Betty Gilpin of “Glow”) who spends all day watching romantic comedies instead of doing her job and a friend zone buddy named Josh (Wilson’s “Pitch Perfect” love interest Adam Devine). When she bangs her head after a mugging in the subway station, she wakes up in the hospital — and the world has been transformed to a romantic comedy, wisecracking gay best friend, meet cute dreamboat, her apartment quintupled in size, her neighborhood all bright colors, flower shops, and cupcakes, “as though a beauty filter had been applied to all of New York.”

At first she resists, but then she decides the best way to get back to real life is to create a happy ending, at first with a handsome millionaire who finds her “beguiling” (fellow Aussie Liam Hemsworth), and then with Josh, who by this time is caught up in his own romantic comedy with swimsuit model/yoga ambassador Isabella (Priyanka Chopra). The film manages to pay tribute to/make gentle fun of films like “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” “Notting Hill,” and “13 Going on 30” while folding in some female empowerment, too. It mostly escapes the failures of the silly “Scary Movie” franchises by recognizing that it is not enough to refer to something; you have to have something to say about it. At a brisk 88 minutes, “Isn’t It Romantic” manages to have something to say, and by the time the happy ending and yet another musical number it will have achieved what all good romantic comedies do — it will leave you smiling, and maybe a little bit hopeful about romance.

Parents should know that this film includes strong and crude language, sexual references and non-explicit situations, crude humor, brief nudity, drinking, a drug dealer, comic mayhem and violence and a mugging.

Family discussion: What is your favorite romantic comedy and how does this movie compare to it and comment on it? Why are romantic comedies so popular?

If you like this, try: “Notting Hill,” “27 Dresses,” and “Pitch Perfect”

I Feel Pretty

Posted on April 19, 2018 at 5:17 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
Profanity:	Some strong and crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Alcohol
Violence/ Scariness:	Comic peril and accidents, some graphic images
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	April 20, 2018
Date Released to DVD:	July 16, 2018

Amy Schumer shines in I Feel Pretty, an adorable fantasy that both draws from and slyly subverts the classic Cinderella story.

I’ve written before about the “makeover movie.” From the original Cinderella fairy tale to movies that range from “The Breakfast Club” to “Gigi” to “Clueless,” “Princess Diaries,” and “Now, Voyager.” There is something thrilling and akin to superheroic about the idea that a klutzy doof in glasses can be transformed into a capital B Beauty. And beauty has often been depicted as the primary power that a female character has, with an almost magical ability to control others, particularly men. This is the story of someone who thinks she has had that makeover but everyone around her — including us — knows that she has not.

Renee (Schumer) desperately wishes she could be “undeniably pretty.” She works for a cosmetic company, where most of the employees look like — or are — supermodels. 1960’s real-life supermodel-turned-actress Lauren Hutton plays the company’s founder, and it is now run by her granddaughter, Avery (Michelle Williams). Renee is convinced that if she could just be conventionally beautiful she would have all of the love, attention, and fun she dreams of. When she meets a model (Emily Ratajkowski) she asks whether just walking off a plane in another country leads to an invitation to a fabulous trip on a yacht with beautiful and wealthy people, and the answer is, well, pretty much yes.

And then one day, Renee has a SoulCycle accident and hits her head badly. When she regains consciousness, somehow she sees herself as the beauty she always dreamed of being. She is immediately and irrepressibly confident, which leads her to apply for a more visible job as the company’s receptionist and to flirt with the guy in line behind her at the dry cleaner shop. Both are very successful. But she is less successful with those who knew and loved her as the “old” Renee, her best friends (Busy Phillips, married to the film’s co-writer/director, and Aidy Bryant).

I’m a bit mystified that this film has had some blowback from viewers who see it as exactly what it is opposing — a body-shaming underscoring of rigid standards of beauty. On the contrary, this is the opposite of the makeover movie (including those listed above and many many others like “The Mirror Has Two Sides,” “Ash Wednesday,” “She’s All That,” and “Strictly Ballroom”), those films where a female character has to pretty up to be worthy of male attention. Makeovers are to girl movies what origin stories are to boy movies — they reveal a transformational source of power.

This movie makes it clear that everyone — from the beauty industry itself to the standards of guys who use online dating sites to screen romantic prospects on the basis of looks to the snooty attendants at the gym who seem to think you have to have a perfect body to work out — is trying to meet standards that are (1) superficial and (2) impossible. Some online commenters criticized the trailer for making fun of Schumer’s character for participating in the bikini contest. But like her date and the guy who runs the bar, the movie expects us to be charmed by Renee’s pure pleasure in participating and feeling good about herself, and we are.

Characters in the film include a cosmetics executive who could be a supermodel who is insecure about her ability and her childlike voice and an actual model played by an actual supermodel (Emily Ratajkowski) who has her own reasons for low self-esteem. It also makes it clear that confidence is itself an extremely attractive quality, as is consideration for and interest in others and competence on the job. And when Renee herself briefly is almost swept away over a man’s good looks (and his confidence), she realizes that it is character that matters. She learns that confidence in her looks can get her noticed, but being good at her job gets her respect. She also has to learn that too much confidence can be a problem when her joy in her new persona makes her inconsiderate to her friends.

There are elements in this story of Tom Hanks’ “Big” (which Renee watches) and “Never Been Kissed” (by the same screenwriter), and of the traditional cautionary fairy tale that wishes never turn out the way you hope.

It is fresh, funny, and heartwarming, with a genuinely beautiful performance by Schumer, ably supported by Williams, Bryant, Phillips, and Scovel, with some real insights about confidence, class, and empathy and a sparkle of romantic comedy magic.

Parents should know that this film includes some comic peril and violence including accidents with some graphic images, some strong language, and sexual references and a non-explicit situation.

Family discussion: Where is the line between being confident and being obnoxious? Why did strangers appreciate Renee’s new attitude while her friends did not? What did Renee see when she looked in the mirror?

If you like this, try: “Shallow Hal” and “Pitch Perfect”

Gringo

Posted on March 8, 2018 at 12:39 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for language throughout, violence and sexual content
Profanity:	Constant very strong and crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drugs and drug dealing, alcohol
Violence/ Scariness:	Constant peril and violence with many graphic and disturbing images, characters injured and killed, guns, car chases and crashes, torture, kidnapping
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	March 9, 2018

“Gringo” is the story of a hapless dupe named Harold (David Oyelowo, showing deft comic timing) who gets stuck in the middle of a lot of bad people and bad decisions.

Harold is an immigrant from Nigeria, married to Bonnie (Thandie Newton, criminally underused), and in financial trouble. “Are you saying I’m cash poor?” Harold asks his accountant. “No, I’m saying you’re poor poor, ,” he replies.

The accountant also tells Harold that his company may be merging, and he could lose his job. But Harold reassures himself that his boss Rich (Joel Edgerton) is an old friend, who has even hired Bonnie to decorate his apartment, and will not let him down. Rich reassures him as well, reminding him that he promised Harold’s life would look like a rap video if he stayed at the company. It’s obvious to us that Rich is a crook and a liar, but Harold has no clue.

Rich’s co-president of the company is Elaine (Charlize Theron, having a lot of fun as a ruthless executive whose self-pep talk includes “Who’s Daddy’s Blue Ribbon girl?”). They come along on Harold’s business trip to Mexico, where the company’s marijuana-based pills are manufactured. That merger means the end of lucrative off-the-books sales to a powerful drug dealer. And that leads to mayhem involving a fake kidnapping, a real kidnapping, a toe sent by international mail, a murder for failing to give the right answer to a question about which Beatles album is the best, a mercenary, and many betrayals.

Nash Edgerton (Joel’s brother) directs with high energy and clearly relishes very dark humor of the story, with many twists and turns as the various bad guys collide with each other. Paris Jackson (Michael’s daughter) has an impressive cameo as a girl enticing a hapless guitar salesman into helping her steal some of those marijuana pills. If you like your crime stories to be nicely nasty, this one does the trick.

Parents should know that this film includes extensive and graphic violence, chases, shootouts, torture, disturbing images, many characters injured and killed, drugs and drug dealing, alcohol, very explicit sexual references and situations, and very strong and crude language.

Family discussion: Was Harold’s father wrong? Why was it hard for him to see what was happening? What is the point of the banana/carrot story?

If you like this, try: “Big Trouble” and “Midnight Run” and, also from the Edgerton brothers, “The Square” (not the recent Cannes award-winner, the Australian crime drama)