'Blockers' Is More Than Just a Bawdy, Clichéd Comedy

Blockers starts off with parents Lisa (Leslie Mann), Hunter (Ike Barinholtz), and Mitchell (John Cena) dropping their respective daughters Julie, Kayla, and Sam on the first day of kindergarten.  The three girls immediately become best friends, and the parents also start hanging out.  Years later, Lisa (Kathryn Newton), Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan), and Sam (Gideon Adlon) are now in high school and their bond is as strong as ever.  On the other hand, the same can’t exactly be said with their parents.  However, when they discover that their daughters made a pact to lose their virginity on prom night, the horrified parents proceed to work together to stop their teenage daughters from carrying out their plan.

I didn’t expect much from this movie.  I thought it was simply going to entertain with cheap, bawdy laughs and touch with clichéd parent-and-child sentimentality. Well, it does have those things.  But it’s also smarter and fresher than expected.  There are raunchy bits, of course, but it also has its share of clever humor.  And though I don’t agree with a good deal of the values it promulgates, it nevertheless has a truly heartfelt message at its core, once all the negative themes are shed.

The performances are pretty solid, and there are good chemistry all around – among the trio of parents, among the trio of daughters, and between the parents and their daughters.

I’m especially pleased that John Cena stars in a comedy movie again.  He was the best part about Trainwreck, and since then, I’ve been hoping of seeing him in more comedic ventures.  For though he did well with a limited serious role in The Wall, it’s clear that, at this point of his acting career, his biggest strength is comedy (what’s up with wrestlers being good comedic actors?  Batista and the Rock also have impeccable comedic timing and execution).

It was also nice to see and notice Kathryn Newton.  I first encountered her in BBC’s Little Women (she also had very small roles in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Lady Bird), and I thought she shone more in this movie than she did as Amy March.

In the end, Blockers is not particularly special.  But it’s really worth noting that it could have easily succumb to settling with just the basic crudeness typical in a sex comedy.  Instead, it succeeds in being something more.  All in all, it’s adequately original and funny.