Review: ‘Blockers’ is an overkill in crudity department

Women, both young and old, drive this vulgar teen coming-of-age sex comedy.

It’s not surprising because the director Kay Cannon is female and her key characters are women, helping to shape her narrative thrust from a more feminine perspective.

Blockers is a Judd Apatow-type comedy with low-level, toilet humour played out at every opportunity with women mostly doing the execution here. They have certainly come of age in this department.

The lead protagonist is Lisa, played with a mix of sweetness and venom by Lesley Mann (Apatow’s wife). She’s a scary, overbearing mother. There is no mention of a father figure at any stage in the development of her attractive, blonde daughter Julie (Kathryn Newton), but we do know mom is a single parent.

When she gets wind that ringleader Julie and her two school buddies intend losing their virginity on prom night she decides to put a stop to it. She is aided and abetted by two stupidly incompetent fathers, Hunter (Ike Barinholtz) and Mitch (former wrestler John Cena), who attempt to help her thwart the sex plans of their respective children.

The film features three relatively unknown young actresses playing the teen girls – Newton, Geraldine Viswanathan as Kayla and Gideon Adlon as Sam.

It’s Julie’s eagerness to lose her virginity that spurs the other girls to form a pact and do the deed on the same night.

Numerous male-driven films have the same storyline, but instead of concentrating solely on teens, this one brings their concerned parents to the party, too. Here both the younger and older generations are learning lessons in a double-edged coming-of-age scenario.

The fathers have baggage. Hunter is a loud-mouth, alcoholic idiot who is not particularly concerned about his daughter Sam having sex; he is, however, concerned that it’s with a boy, since he can tell that Sam’s a closet lesbian.

The muscular Mitch has a short fuse. Married to an Asian woman, Mitch is protective of Kayla, but doesn’t know how to go about the job. He’s like an innocent child locked inside a giant’s body.

Written by five men, Blockers treats its young male characters as if they would do the correct thing in any situation. They may be horny teens, but they are also gentlemen.

Miles Robbins, who plays Connor, Kayla’s wannabe hippie date, provides some of the funniest lines of the whole sorry bunch.

Woven into the fabric of the story are gender issues, cross cultural relationships and, of course, sex. Overall, though, Kay Cannon’s production suffers from overkill in the crudity department.

Info

Cast: Lesley Mann, John Cena, Geraaldine Viswanathan, Gideon Adlon, Kathryn Newton, Ike Barinholtz

Director: Kay Cannon

Classification: 16DLNS