Blockers

Directed by Kay Cannon

Starring:  Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz, John Cena, Kathryn Newton, Graham Phillips, June Diane Raphael, Hannibal Buress, and Sarayu Blue.

Reviewer: Mitchell Peters

[rating: 3.5/5]

“When three parents stumble upon their daughters’ pact to lose their virginity on prom night, they launch a covert one-night operation to stop the teens from sealing the deal.”

How’s that for a premise? If you watch an 80’s teen flicks long enough, the kids eventually become the parents and the age old right of passage is back on centre stage, but with a twist.

A laugh out loud riot, Blockers is directed by Kay Cannon (best known for writing the Pitch Perfect films) and was written Brain and Jim Kehoe.

The film stars Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz, John Cena, Kathryn Newton, Graham Phillips, June Diane Raphael, Hannibal Buress, and Sarayu Blue.

If you’re slow with the vernacular, the title is a reference to cock-blocking. And, if you want to lose your virginity, the last thing you want is a blocker within 500 yards. Enter uber-parents Lisa Decker (Mann) and Mitchell (played by actor and WWF star John Cena). The third wheel is seemingly dysfunctional dad, and the sole voice of reason, Hunter (Barinholtz).

In the 80’s, the stars would have been the kids, Julie (Newton), Sam (Adion) and Kayla (Viswanathan). Here, the stars are the parents. Mann plays most of the film as ‘straight man’ to the hilarious Cena. Of course, you’ve already seen him chug beer through his anus in the trailer, but nothing will prepare you for seeing it on the big-screen.

Let’s be honest, you’re not buying a theatre ticket do see Citizen Kane here. But, what you are seeing is a top shelf American comedy that has enough crazy sex, drugs and rock and roll to have you in stitches.

Without giving away too much of the plot, the trio of teens cover everything from ‘true love’, to the sexually curious to the burgeoning lesbian. Cannon handles the whole shebang well. At the heart of the film is a story about empowerment and girl power that feels distinctly 2018.

But, is it funny? Hell yes. It’s so funny, this reviewer had to find a quieter seat in the theatre to catch the one-liners.