The Late Bloomer

This film is okay for adults but no children please. Not really my cup of tea but some really liked it.

I turned into this because it seemed like a good premise and there were like 500 stars in this thing. I was a bit confused by the start of this movie. We are introduced to Peter Newmans, a therapist. For me though, this part went on wayyyy too long. But it is to establish that Peter has no sexual desires and, due to that, a very successful life as a sex addiction therapist. Eventually at about the half way point Peter is hurt and goes to the ER and during the examination it comes to light that he has a tumor on his pituitary gland and has not "matured" properly. I have a bit of a problem buying that this was never discovered by a doctor before this or brought to the doctor's attention. After removal of his tumor puberty decends on Peter and his perfect asexual life - confusing and upsetting just about everyone. The second half of this movie is played for crass laughs - when it should have been played for heartfelt humor about what would happen to a 30 year old entering puberty. I thought everyone tried and there was good talent, but it was the script and writing.

The movie gives it to you straight. From the opening when there is quite a rude conversation (or rather horny one) you should know what to expect. The dialog is not safe for work - unless your job is to listen to those people telling you about their sex addiction and you have to help them. And he is cool as ice. The first scene alone some might question his non-reaction especially those in puberty but also others.

Other than that there is nudity and as already hinted at swearing. But there is also a sweet side. While the mixture is not always working the movie sort of works around those scenes. Not perfect by a long shot, but with an engaging cast and some funny dialog (if you are not offended easily of course) this can be entertaining to watch

First of all I love "stupid" sort of funny stoner types of movies. I can appreciate raunchy sort of humor. The problem with this movie is it just doesn't deliver. I'm a Kevin Pollak fan... and I think he was going for some sort of "American Pie" type of humor here...but it just misses the mark. Lot's of potential and a pretty good premise but just failed to make me actually laugh. I thought the lead actor was sort of meh in it...he did an OK job but wasn't very likable.... and had they done a few things differently I think it could've been funny. Some people probably will say this movie would only be funny to a certain type of person...but I'm that type of person...and it literally didn't even induce a smile. It's not that it wasn't well acted...because it was (kinda)...but they just didn't push the envelope far enough with this one. This is one movie that could've really used some extra raunch to make it funny. The relationship between the main character and his friends doesn't have any chemistry...the guy who is supposed to be the comic relief is just...not funny.... there is nobody likable in this film and that's sort of a problem in a movie where you're supposed to be pulling for the lovable loser...he isn't lovable... he is most certainly a loser...but ...I dunno this movie had a cool enough premise to be funny...they just failed miserably at making it funny in the slightest. Waste of a good cast. :-/

Okay, so here's the thing -- I watched this film over a week ago, and I'm still thinking about it. Why? Because I get riled up over films that are SO CLOSE to being good, but just... aren't.

The Late Bloomer definitely falls into this category. There are bits of dialogue and interactions between characters which are genuinely top-notch comedy, and the supporting cast put in one of the best ensemble performances I've seen in ages. Seriously. Kumail Nanjiani in particular is fantastic, and J.K. Simmons continues to be the best supporting actor in Hollywood right now.

Buuuuuut... there are six writing credits listed, and it's likely that therein lies the problem. The moments of brilliance are almost completely overshadowed by other bits of writing which are, at best, trite, and at worst completely cringe-worthy. The last twenty minutes or so of the film legitimately don't even make sense, and are among the worst I've seen all year. It really feels like something that was cobbled together from different people who had different ideas of what the film should be, and maybe some of those people were... incorrect.

So yeah, I wish this film was as good as it could have been. A lot of inspired performances and great dialogue that deserved better than what this ends up being.