Blockers

Honestly, I went to see this movie to kill some time. To see a bit of a mindless, sophomoric, escapism comedy. And although it did have these things and some jokes didn't land as well as others, it was so much more than that. There some pretty funny moments, several unexpected funny moments that caught me by surprise, and a whole lot of heart that actually built character and moved the plot forward more than I expected. It was still a comedy at heart, but there were some sincere, touching moments that helped the film instead of hindering it. It masterfully touches on parenting today and what it means to be an independent person as you mature as a young adult in both in your sexuality and in other ways. I'd say more of a 7.5/10 but as far as I know can only rate in full numbers

Blockers is a film that I personally looking forward to a bunch. The trailers completely sold me on this idea of a hard R, raunchy comedy that was original, heartfelt, and delivered some dang good laughs too!

Unfortunately, all the stuff you heard that was funny in the trailer is either not funny because you've heard it all before or it's cut out of the movie entirely.

So don't see Blockers. It's a painfully unfunny crude-fest that delivers crap humor, no emotion, disney-channel acting, and a worthless story. The only good things about it are the three daughters and one of their dates.

Giving this one a generous C- or on Imdb, a 5/10

If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would enjoy a movie where John Cena butt chugs a beer, I would have been shocked that you made such a specific accusation, but then probably agreed with you. Aside from its moments of corniness and absurdity, Blockers accomplished its goal of getting a few good laughs out of me. The coming of age plot hidden behind our adult protagonists was charming.

After all the recent Oscar winners I have been watching, Blockers was a welcome break. I had expected it to be really cheesy and a bit vulgar (and it was!) but it had some surprises and made me laugh! I had a really good time.

The parents were a hoot, and in character, John Cena and Leslie Mann were both really funny. I think the dialogue between girls could have been a bit more realistic. It felt contrived. Like guys writing for girls and how they think...since the script was written by 2 guys, that makes sense.

A fun movie to watch, even though a bit unrealistic!

As a movie fan, I don't care for "genre movies" - meaning, in general, any project done just because authors imagine this kind of thing being hot right now.

As a rule, such efforts lack depth because they rely on cliches but rarely concentrate on fleshing out the world and characters which are the basic building blocks of decent storytelling.

As a result, I don't usually watch musicals, superhero stories, or computer animations... but I still like raunchy comedies. Not that I have high hopes for them, it's just a guilty pleasure.

"Blockers" falls into the latter category so if this kind of thing is not your cup of tea, you can stop reading now. Watching this wouldn't change your mind about sex, genitalia, bodily fluid, or partying related jokes.

Having said that, "Blockers" feels like one of the best raunchy mainstream comedies around. Definitely one of my favorites since the current wave was kickstarted by Judd Apatow's "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" in 2005.

I mentioned the legendary comedy screenwriter-director-producer on purpose. Here we have one of the more successful attempts to use Apatow's particular blend of entertainment to a great effect.

You know - dirty jokes but also a lot of heart, laid-back stories about everyday people, improvisational but strong dialogue, enough room to let everyone's personal charm shine through.

Apatow's formula has been around for a while now - finding a thankful audience with the short-lived cult series "Freaks and Geeks", gaining worldwide attention with "Virgin". But there's only few comedies that have managed to use it to such a good effect as "Blockers".

It's even cooler that the successful imitators are not comedy pros or Apatow veterans but (judging by their IMDb's resumes) relatively inexperienced screenwriting brothers Brian and Jim Kehoe. Plus the director is a woman, called Kay Connon.

I don't consider myself biased but women's efforts to helm modern raunchy comedies don't seem too encouraging, as witnessed in "Rough Night" and "Bad Moms 2", two recent examples that just suck.

Connon, on the other hand, has experience with the genre, having co-written the whole of "Pitch Perfect" trilogy. And her achievement as a first time director is denifinitely a noteworthy one. "Blockers" is just chock full of committed and charming performances. This is always a sign of good director because memorable performances rarely just happen, even in the best of times.

I am not mainly talking about the three leads (Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz, John Cena) as parents on a mission to cockblock their youngsters' prom night sexcapades. The overall coolness of the big cast is something to savour, including Miles Robbins who feels like a second coming of Russell Brand in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall".

The compatibility and impeccable comic timing of every major player is just great. Special shout out should go to John Cena - who knew that WWE star could be such an asset in comedy, and not in supporting role as used to, but as one of the leads.

Traditionally, the "Apatow formula's" weakness has been lack of strikingly interesting story which often brings an overreliance on mediocre dialogue.

"Blockers's" story is not that interesting either - and some section could be shorter, such as teenagers in hotel - but the result works even when it gets corny, offering enough energy and inspired mayhem to be worth of genre fan's time.

All in all, "Blockers" kind of reminds me of "Step Brothers", one of my modern comedy favourites from 2008. The story is not the strong point and suffers from staying "middle of the road", lacking the one great punch which would raise it to the leagues of insta-classics. But the result is greater than sum of its parts, and the charm of the cast puts it a league of its own.

There's one thing that I'm a bit sad about though. The trailers make it seem like a mindless mainstream offering although the movie is slower and a bit more thoughtful than usual.

If possible, please watch "Blockers" itself first and trailers later, otherwise you may feel that you have seen all the stand-out bits already, which may make you miss out on how nice the movie feels as a whole.