Review: Blockers

Blockers is arguably the best comedy of the year thus far, replete with side-splitting sight gags and hilarious one-liners, but also touched with tremendous heart and insight. That it also happens to be a teen sex comedy from a female perspective and that it celebrates healthy sex and sexuality are mere bonuses.

At the film's outset, parents Lisa (Leslie Mann), Mitchell (John Cena), and Hunter (Ike Barinholtz) drop off their young daughters at school and are heartened to see their kids become fast friends. The parents become friends as well, though their bond dissipates over the years as various personal crises rock the status quo, particularly Hunter's infidelity with the babysitter, which has led him to feel ostracised for his sexual preference. "Sleeping with women who aren't your wife is not a sexual preference," Mitchell points out, to which Hunter retorts, "It is. I prefer them."

The parents find themselves reluctantly reunited during another important milestone in their daughters' lives: prom night. The estranged Hunter is determined that it be the best time of his introverted daughter Sam's (Gideon Adlon) young life. Lisa and Mitchell are just hoping that their daughters Julie (Kathryn Newton) and Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan) have a good, sex-free time. Lisa, masking her loneliness under a sunny exterior, is feeling especially vulnerable upon learning that Julie secretly applied to and was accepted by UCLA, whose distance is too much for Lisa to bear. Mitchell, meanwhile, is refusing to acknowledge Kayla's blossoming sexuality. Upon realising the lacy underwear he found in the laundry basket is his daughter's, he says, "What, am I giving her allowance in singles?"

The parental trio's insecurities run into overdrive when, upon discovering the girls' group chat on Julie's open laptop, they realise that the girls have made a sex pact to lose their virginity during prom night. Horrified, the parents decide to track down their girls as they go from prom to house party to hotel party and get to them before they make good on the pact. The premise allows for a great deal of shenanigans - the most outrageous involving Mitchell having to butt-chug beer, but no less hilarious are Mitchell and Hunter having to deal with a blindfolded and naked couple playing sex games and Lisa having to make her way out of the hotel room without Julie and her date spotting her, a physical comedy bit played to perfection by Mann.

Directed by Kay Cannon and written by Brian Kehoe and Jim Kehoe, Blockers also carves out time amidst the raunch and gross-out humour to focus on its characters, all of whom could have easily been cliches. The parents' worries are well-founded and their intentions are good if misguided. The girls are smart and relatable, and their individual experiences in fulfilling the pact are very much on their own terms. The filmmakers make pointed commentary about the double standard of guys being celebrated for losing their virginity whilst girls are shamed, but the message never becomes too preachy. Blockers has a refreshingly positive attitude about sex and its breezy tone, deeply heartfelt moments, treasure trove of one-liners, and excellent performances render it a must-watch.

Blockers

Directed by: Kay Cannon

Written by: Brian Kehoe, Jim Kehoe

Starring: Leslie Mann, John Cena, Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Viswanathan, Gideon Adlon, Gina Gershon, Hannibal Buress, Gary Cole, Graham Phillips