Review of Blockers (2018) by Devaughn B — 06 Apr 2018

With Game Night and now this, this is going to be a great year for comedies - and we still have Deadpool 2 and Ant-Man and the Wasp to look forward to! I've been hearing many people and outlets calling this film the best studio comedy in years. Personally I wouldn't quite put it on that level; Game Night is still one of my favorite films of the year, and easily the best comedy hands down. This is a fun, over-the-top story. But being completely honest, I only found myself laughing out loud, holding my sides two, maybe three times. Leslie Mann and John Cena, are absolutely hilarious at certain points in this film, but Ike Barinholtz really stole the show for me. The guy's comedic timing is always perfect. Hilarious in the Neighbors films, and even in Suicide Squad (which I despise), his extremely small comedic role really stood out to me as a high point, in an otherwise train derailment of a project.

The younger cast, the teens in this film, every single performance really stands out here, and that is so refreshing. One of the best aspects of this film is seeing the story unfold from the perspective of the teens, very much reminiscent of American Pie. The three young female leads are just superb from start to finish! This film does have an important message about parenthood, bonding, and being able to let your children be free to explore. My only issue with Blockers is that every single heartfelt moment that is clearly meant to be taken seriously, is always undermined by a joke that doesn't always land. Game Night is still in theaters so I definitely still recommend seeing that if you haven't yet, otherwise if you want some good laughs and a very nice story, check this one out.