Blockers

I'll be honest, I knew about this movie months in advance, and the preview made it look terrible. Then, on top of this, whenever I watched tv, ads for this movie would run during the commercials, and they were insufferable. I thought this movie was going to be absolute garbage(because that's what the previews made it out to be) and was kind of annoyed when my friends picked this of all movies to see. The theatre was almost empty, even though it was only day 2 of it being out. I'm guessing everyone else saw the ads and decided not to see it.

Anyway, to my utmost surprise, the movie actually turned out to be quite decent. I laughed throughout the movie. And it actually did have somewhat of a plot, and it was original humour, as opposed to the cheap sex and weed jokes that I expected it to be from watching the previews.

It's a shame. I feel that because they ran so many terrible ads for this movie that a lot of people will never get to experience this movie.

Blockers is a relatively newer R rated comedy, released in 2018 and having making somewhat of a profit (although perhaps the studios thought it would be bigger). The comedy in this film is as in which we have seen before, from these type of teen sex comedies. A lot of jokes were quite predictable and just weren't funny. The premise is good decent as it is gender opposite and makes sense in a way, but overall the comedy just wasn't funny.

The cast was good, John Cena as the over protective father was perhaps the highlight. Other than that, the film is predictable in the end, with somewhat of a sequel type ending. However, this film probably won't end up getting a sequel due to it not being that big of a success. And perhaps its for the best.

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.

Blockers is one of the funniest and best comedies in years. I want to get that statement out of the way first.

Three girls who have been best friends since elementary school agree to each have sex with their dates on prom night. Their parents catch wind of the plan and decide that they must stop this from happening. They play the role of blockers.

That's really all you need to know about the plot. This movie is fueled by the characters, all of which are more layered than they first seem. Look out for Ike Barinholtz's moment in the third act. And John Cena's. And Leslie Mann's. Heck, every featured character has at least one impressive dramatic moment.

But let's be clear-this is a comedy. Several scenes in this movie had me absolutely cracking up, and I was far from the only viewer laughing that hard. One guy started wheezing and even exclaimed, "oh man, this is too much; I can't breathe!" Then the crowd laughed even more. All of this uproarious laughter from a movie that contains no comedy stars. It's rare.

Btw, I have nothing but love for Leslie Mann (a comedy standout, not quite a star) and John Cena (a star, perhaps, but not yet for his comedy).

Then I realized something. There are comedy stars in this movie. They just haven't become stars yet. What I'm saying is, remember the names and faces from this movie, especially the three daughters. In a few years you will look back and see this as their breakout moment.

In addition to the humor, which is abundant, this movie has quite a bit of heart. That's what takes it up a level. Each parent-daughter relationship feels real and lived in. This helps viewers who are not already parents themselves understand what these parents are going through.

When one daughter asks why sex is so bad (a totally reasonable question), her dad stammers for a moment, then says he doesn't know. It's tough to explain. The movie wisely doesn't take this conversation any further. If it had, the conversation would have become preachy. Her dad has an answer, but it's a long, complicated and messy one. The scene (and the movie) works better without attempting to provide this messy explanation.

That's a line that the writers walk carefully and successfully. They say just enough to provide both sides of thought on why the parents want so desperately to stop their daughters. Are they wrong to manically chase their daughters down? Well, yeah. Are they wrong to want to protect them? Not at all.

That's what this blocking attempt is really about. Protecting their daughters. To the parents, sex is a step into adulthood and all its problems. They just want their daughters to stay safe and innocent as long as they can.

It's a warm message that works because it never patronizes viewers. This movie is much smarter than it looks in the trailer. I certainly didn't expect to laugh this much, think this much, or feel a lump in my throat when I saw promos for Blockers. But I did. And now I'm giving it a strong recommendation.

Go see Blockers. It's a hilarious story that also manages to make you care.

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!