Genre: Comedy
Related Titles: Bad Moms, American Pie, Superbad, Why Him?
By Leanne Harragan
Julie, Kayla and Sam make a pact to lose their virginity on Prom night. Lisa, Michelle and Hunter are there overprotective parents who are not keen when they find out about their daughters' pact. They work together on a mission to stop the girls - no matter the cost.
The main premise of this film is something that has been done before, American Pie, Superbad, I could go on. But this time the main characters are three teenage girls. There is a double standard for women when it comes to sex, a man is promiscuous and he just a 'lad' but a woman is, she is labelled a 'slut.' This film knocks that double standard on the head and is constantly showing the girls choices as a way of feeling empowered and being in control of their own bodies.
While it is as the trailer suggests a gross out comedy, with butt-chugging, drinking, drugs and nudity. Underneath the easy laughs is a deeper more meaningful message about the importance of lifelong friendship for the girls and for the parents they learn how hard it is to let their daughters grow up and fly the nest. Director Kay Cannon has somehow found the perfect balance between a coming-of-age and midlife-crisis story - all with a touch of gross out comedy that ties it all together.
The film is sharp and quite witty and I think that is in part down to the cast. Leslie Mann is great in this role as mum who thinks she is best friends with her daughter but learns the hard way that she maybe isn't as in tune as she thinks. John Cena proves that he is pretty funny and plays the overly protective dad role to a tee. Ike Barinholtz is also very good as the 'bad' dad who hasn't really been there for his daughter and is tries to be 'down with the kids.' The whole cast really are pretty good and make the jokes work, with their delivery of the funnier lines.
There's is honestly not much that can be said for this film, it is everything that you would expect from the trailer. It is very easy to watch, I'm sure it will relate to everyone in one way or another and probably has a joke or two that will get everyone.
Gay Scale: This film so casually had a lesbian character, she spent the film questioning her sexuality but it was handled so inadvertently. She was also one of the main three characters which seems so minor - but if you look at LGBT representations in films, this is a huge step.
Rating: 7/10
By Rebecca Mannick
Blockers is one of the better 'teen' flick movies around. It has everything a teen movie should have and also was full of meaningful messages that are relevant to both the teens and parents. In Blockers it follows three girls on their school prom on a quest to lose their virginities. That's where their overprotective parents find out about their plans and try to stop them.
While this was a good movie there are a few slight problems that I had which stopped it getting to the next level. Firstly, the editing was really sloppy which made watching quite difficult. Especially when characters are having conversations and they cut the angle behind and then in front of them. You can just tell when everything isn't quite in sync which bothered me the whole way through. Sometimes it was hard to focus on the dialogue and comedy as it was really off putting. This is rarely a problem in movies and everything is usually perfect in each frame that this tiny problem was just so noticeable to me this time. Secondly and finally, John Cena is just a terrible actor and unlike Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson his transition to the big screen wasn't so smooth.
Aside from these things it was an enjoyable movie and had all the elements that you would expect from this genre. I also liked the character traits of the three girls. They were all confident young women who aren't afraid to explore their new 'sex' lives. Whether thats actually losing their virginities or realising they aren't ready. I also liked the friendship between the parents, they complimented each other very well to create entertaining moments. I would have probably scored this lower but I have to take into account the inclusion on the LGBT+ character. One of the girls (Sam) goes to prom with a boy but she realises that she is a lesbian. Honestly there are such a lack of gay characters in Hollywood movies so this is literally so great.
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