Blockers (2018)

Directed by: Kay Cannon | 102 minutes | comedy | Actors: Leslie Mann, Kathryn Newton, John Cena, Geraldine Viswanathan, Ike Barinholtz, Ramona Young, Gina Gershon, Gideon Adlon, June Diane Raphael, Miles Robbins, Graham Phillips, Gary Cole, Sarayu Blue, Colton Dunn, Hannibal Buress, Jimmy Bellinger , Jake Picking, Rhoda Griffis

Making a successful comedy is extremely difficult, especially in times when the offer is so enormous that you can no longer get away with silly laugh-or-I-shoot jokes. It is therefore no wonder that ‘great’ American comedies such as ‘Fist Fight’ and ‘Snatched’ were mercilessly slammed by critics and audiences in 2017 and largely flopped. It may be a sign that audiences are waiting for comedy that offers something more than simple, bland humor. In that respect, director Kay Cannon seems to be taking a cautious first step in the right direction with her debut film ‘Blockers’.

‘Blockers’ fits entirely into the tradition of high school comedies such as ‘Superbad’ and ‘Easy A’, although in this case the film focuses on the children and the parents. Set on prom night, the story follows three best friends, Julie (Kathryn Newton), Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan), and Sam (Gideon Adlon), who try to use prom to get ahead of the curve. have sex first. Their parents, Kayla’s emotional family man Mitchell (John Cena), Julie’s single mother Lisa (Leslie Mann), and Sam’s riotous and refusing-to-grown-up father Hunter (Ike Barinholtz) find out by chance and try to prevent it with all their might. What follows is a crazy chase, where the parents are confronted with the most bizarre situations.

At first glance, ‘Blockers’ can therefore not be read so much as an intelligent comedy with deeper layers. Surprisingly, however, this is not too bad. Although the joke density is very high and the tone is more often jolly than serious, the makers occasionally raise quite relevant questions. After all, why is it such a problem for the parents that the daughters themselves want to choose to lose their virginity? Would it have been so bad if it had been about boys? Or as Mitchell’s partner (Sarayu Blue) puts it sharply: ‘how are we ever going to achieve equal rights between men and women if you are so narrow-minded about your daughters’ sexual relations?’ The film is therefore mainly aimed at laughter, but strangely enough also feels very touching and relevant at these kinds of moments, especially in a time that is characterized by #metoo.

The hypocrisy and intolerance of the parents are bitten in the film, as Leslie Mann’s character states at one point that she is not intolerant at all, ‘she walks along in every imaginable protest march’; a wonderful example of the double standards that are so characteristic of many so-called progressive parents. Another extreme is the dynamic between Sam and her father Hunter, who have a difficult relationship, but slowly recover due to Sam’s lesbian feelings. It is often quite a challenge to make these kinds of storylines work well in a film that mainly relies on humor, but it turns out surprisingly endearing in ‘Blockers’.

Still, ‘Blockers’ is above all an old-fashioned comedy where the focus is mainly on laughter, and here too the film largely succeeds. The characters soon run the risk of becoming too caricatured (the emotional family man, the hysterically protective mother), but the obvious fun of the actors ensures that this never becomes disturbing. The jokes are also surprisingly intelligent and well-timed at times. The film sometimes goes on a poo and pee humour, but the makers have forgiven that, especially because the humor is combined here and there with a touch of absurdism (think of a bizarre storyline with nymphomaniac parents who maintain their marriage with role playing).

‘Blockers’ has therefore mainly become a very entertaining comedy that occasionally also raises some interesting propositions. Some jokes are a bit too obvious and the film certainly doesn’t always convince at the dramatic moments. But all this cannot prevent the fact that ‘Blockers’ has become a surprisingly fun film that, contrary to what the trailer suggests, does not just opt ​​for the quick and simple humor. Just as a film like ‘Game Night’ already turned out to be a surprisingly successful comedy, ‘Blockers’ is also a film that knows how to entertain, with strong acting by the actors and cleverly thought out storylines.