‘Blockers’ Is A Surprisingly Heartfelt, Raunchy Comedy That Shouldn’t Be Pushed Away [Review]

There are so many different ways “Blockers” could’ve gone sour. The directorial debut of screenwriter Kay Cannon (the “Pitch Perfect” movies), the bare premise of this raunchy comedy follows a gaggle of concerned parents trying to “cock block” — as the title doth (half) suggest — their teenage daughters from losing their virginities on prom night. Portrayed in the wrong light, it’s a potentially problematic, troubling idea for a comedy, one that could be easily be approached uncomfortably, clumsily and or just plain insensitively. Admittedly, the trailers looked pretty dire, to say the very least, and it wasn’t hard to instantly write off this one as another juvenile-minded romp without the proper mindset. After all, how often do these things not work out? Thankfully, there are times when disparaging initial impressions are wrong. “Blockers” is one of those times.

A winning, endearing, surprisingly heartfelt R-rated studio comedy that provides an equal dose of raunch and sweetness, not unlike “Superbad,” “Knocked Up” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” from the decade prior, “Blockers” is not only benefitted by keen insight, progressive footing and the high energy of its talented ensemble, but it’s also bolstered by avoiding the often dreaded male gaze in this scenario. Among the sadly few R-rated studio comedies directed by a female filmmaker in the Hollywood machine, Kay Cannon’s inspired, mindful, considerate and unexpectedly touching examination on the divides between mismatched generational gaps and the rise of sexual self-exploration in today’s tech-friendly youth culture. It’s not without its faults, namely towards its awkwardly sincere third act, and it’s unlikely to become a new-age classic. But it’s a real charmer — and one that actually benefits the conversation expected from it instead of providing another cinematic nuisance.

Single mother Lisa (Leslie Mann) has been raising her daughter Julie (“Big Little Lies” highlight Kathryn Newton) through everything. Now that Julie’s getting ready to move on to the next phase of her life, i.e. college, Lisa’s beside herself. She wants to be supportive but she also doesn’t want her daughter to leave the nest. Julie, meanwhile, is ready to live out her life. That begins with prom. Having dated her cool, understanding boyfriend Austin (Graham Phillips) for six whole months, she’s ready to take her relationship to the next level. Translation: she is ready to have sex, and she doesn’t want to do it alone. Sam persuades her two life-long best friends, Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan) and Sam (Gideon Adlon), to join her, and they agree. The three girls form a “sex pact,” as they call it, and they make it their mission on prom night to throw away their V-card before the sun comes up. Their parents — including macho-minded (and inexplicably super-built) Mitchell (John Cena), Kayla’s strict father, and the over-the-hill party-lover Hunter (Ike Barninholtz), Sam’s absent father — are obviously left out of the loop. But when the parents wind up creeping on their daughters’ texts and discover their kids’ intentions for the evening, the three parents make it their mission to do everything they can to prevent their kids from having sex after prom.

“Blockers” stretches roughly an hour — maybe 75 minutes — of plot into 102 minutes. This overall structure of the film, while reasonably well-paced, can feel a bit clunky and haphazard, resulting in a good bit of filler thrown in throughout, most notably with one running subplot involving Austin’s hyper-sexual parents (Gary Cole, Gina Gershon) and another weird and oddly pretty cruel running gag with a breakdancer teen who keeps getting hurt by Hunter. Neither adds much other than padding out the running time, and there’s the ongoing suspicion that there are at least 40 minutes (or more) of jokes and comedic stunts left on the cutting room floor. Nevertheless, despite some of its storytelling missteps, “Blockers” focuses most of its attention on the high-strung antics of the parents, played with dedication and persistence by Barniholtz, Mann and especially Cena, who once again proves himself to be completely game for anything in the name of comedy, including nudity and butt chugging.

The wrestler-turned-comedic actor has tremendous comedic timing and he completely owns up to the cartoonishness of both his character and the movie’s loosey-goosey tone. After all, how else would you care to explain how someone who looks like a superhero among men is living as just your average concerned suburban dad? His character is easily the least well-defined, as it’s never completely clear if he’s the conservative dad trying to prevent his daughter from reaching maturity or if he’s a beefed up tough guy who doesn’t know how to get in touch with his sensitivity or both. But John Cena sells it for all its worth, and his heightened, ballooned comedic presence embodies everything that works in Kay Cannon’s persistently enjoyable new movie.

“Blockers” adopts a less-than-realistic tone throughout, likely aided by producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. But when it comes time to delve into serious topics and discuss some genuinely relatable ideas, the movie keeps itself lighthearted while not ignoring the seriousness of its convictions. It’s a tough balance that Cannon proves herself adept at handling with her first rodeo in the director’s chair. While the end of the movie gets as preachy as you would expect, complete with a litter of plot holes and story beats left completely unexplained by the time the credits roll, there’s a warmth, an intelligence, a fine tenderness and a deep sincerity to its emotional moments that it wins you over, despite some of its general unevenness in these last 20-ish minutes. The screenplay, which is credited to Brian Kehoe and Jim Kehoe but likely given an uncredited rewrite by the director, doesn’t give the teenagers at the center of “Blockers” the same amount of screentime as the parents, to the film’s detriment, but it also never lets the fine character beats between the zany comedic beats with the three adult leads feel intrusive or poorly fitting. If anything, they help give it breathing room, and it’s remarkable that it’s able to keep its spunky consistency in the midst of this needed character growth. But it’s ultimately a testament to “Blockers” that it knows what it’s trying to be, despite all the chaos that it produces in its nearly two-hour package, and succeeds in its intelligent, moving efforts.

“Blockers” is the kind of movie that Hollywood typically gets wrong. They make it too crude or too wild or too inconsiderate. Thankfully, “Blockers” is an unexpected triumph, even if it’s not quite as great as it could’ve been. Kay Cannon’s amusing-yet-impactful first feature as a director showcases fine attention to character and comedic rhythm, working in harmony together. Though not without its rough patches (the first 20 minutes are pretty tough) and not without its awkward missteps (again, it’s weird that a movie as otherwise pretty considerate and fairly sensitive as “Blockers” would feel the need to take the piss out of teenage breakdancers for no good reason), “Blockers” is, nevertheless, the rare original studio comedy that genuinely surprises you. It also proves once-and-for-all that John Cena is a comedic superstar that needs to be given more work this instant. [B/B-]