Well I fell off the face of the Earth there for a while, but I'm back in action. This time getting a preview of Kevin James' new flick. And I was pleasantly surprised. The basic idea is a less than enthusiastic school teacher must resort to extreme measures to save the music program at his school.
The story is simple and predictable, but the action is still fun and entertaining. There are no terrible twists and jabs that throw you off track. There are a couple of side quests our hero takes on that were not crucial to the story, but they did add to character appeal. He is flawed, and must overcomes those flaws to triumph. Everything plays exactly how you want it to (or at least how I wanted it to) which is OK, this time. There are plenty of jokes to really suite all ages. From gross to just plain funny. There was a young girl (who was a excellent movie goer btw) who laughed at everything she was supposed to. From her and my reactions I can surmise that this movie does have general mass appeal.
The characters for me were what made this story worth it. I really liked James character. He was charming, cool (in an awkward way), and genuine. Made his journey to success one that you want to succeed. Heeeeyyy! I don't know if I am just lame, but I really like Henry Winkler. He just seems like the nicest guy on the planet. He is just a kind simple teacher who loves the arts. I loved him. James trainer Niko is played by Bas Rutten. I often have problems with athletes being "actors". Not this time. He really put some effort into his show, making another truly likable character. There are many terrible things in the world. from the state of the economy, to trouble in the middle east, to bacon shortages. The one constant is that Salma Hayeck is still hot. Yes, I know. You are thinking, "Still?!" Yes, still. And still acting wonderfuly to boot. Greg Germann, Joe Rogan, and Mark Dellagrotte round out the cast notables. Well, except Mookie Barker who was the creepy assistant principle. Actually now that I type this it makes sense. He did well, also.
Something else that I enjoyed from this flick was the action. There were often parts where James would have a strain, and I would catch myself tensing up with him in hopes of adding my strength to his own in somehow lol. There were also some cameras shots that were intended to be inside the grapple of the fighters. It was pretty neat. There weren't too many so that it got old, but enough to make it and interesting sensation. By its very nature Mixed Martial Arts is intense and this did an excellent job conveying that intensity in the fights while keeping them fun to watch.
There was also a very small spiritual aspect to the film where Dellagrotte quoted the Bible and they prayed before a fight. As a Christian I appreciated the sentiment. And it was not preachy so as to exclude anyone, just very natural feeling and nice.
All together this film has some small issues, but nothing to write it off for. It is a family friendly film (except perhaps the fights, which aren't too bad) that anyone who goofy enough will laugh at. As a film student I appreciate that it does try and convey how important the arts are, but doesn't show any direct examples. "A" for effort in that area. If you like a decent but obvious comedy go for it. In my opinion much better than Paul Blart and Zookeeper... if that is saying anything.
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