Blockers (2018)

Intermittently funny is the only way to describe Blockers. Not as bad as it could have been, but certainly not as funny as it has every potential to be. Blockers, judging by the trailers, was either going to be Neighbors 3 with a heaping helping of cringe, or a completely unexpected comedy slam dunk. It lands somewhere in the middle.

Blockers is a teen-sex comedy starring females. While most teen-sex comedies center within the male-gaze, Blockers turns that on it's head. These are three senior high school girls desperate to lose it before college, and all three of their parents turn the world upside-down in order to stop them. What Blocker's presents is a fascinating perspective that you don't usually see at the movies. Why do parents treat a daughter's sexual desires any different than they would a son? Why is the boy celebrated while the girl is feared or punished? These questions and more could all be explored fantastically cinematically. But Blockers, perhaps not surprisingly, doesn't commit. There's no chutzpah in it's convictions. After all, it's a dumb sex comedy, so pile on the penis and vagina jokes... if only the vast majority of them were funny.

Blockers suffers long stretches of no laughs, and at times even worse. Whenever Ike Barinholtz appears you're almost guaranteed to be filled with contempt. He's positioned here, much like he was in Neighbors, as the outrageous frat boy who is willing to say anything for a laugh. Endearing? More like punchable. Leslie Mann breaks it up with her dead-on physical humor and signature style of "emotional mom" comedy. John Cena is certainly a shining spot and worthy of a new comedy career. He's a beast of man, but a clown he sure can be. I never thought I wanted to see Cena butt chug onscreen, but I'm glad I did. Yes, you read that right. Not to be outdone are the three girls. I'm glad to see that this movie treats them as real, funny, awkward girls and not as stereotypical set pieces. By far the brightest star is Geraldine Viswanathan as Kayla. She's purely a natural. Witty and graceful. She's going to be very big, very soon.

Blockers isn't hilarious nor is it an unfunny mess. It's deserving of the title of "it has it's moments".