Review: Prime Video's "THE UNDERDOGGS" is Vulgar, Funny and Holds The Titty

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 5 of 2024 (No. 1949) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Underdoggs (2024)

Running time:  96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)

MPA – R for pervasive language, sexual references, drug use, and some underage drinking

DIRECTOR: Charles Stone III

WRITERS:  Danny Segal and Isaac Schamis

PRODUCERS:  Kenya Barris, Mychelle Deschamps, Jonathan Glickman, Constance Schwartz-Morini, and Calvin Broadus (Snoop Dogg)

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Mitchell Amundsen (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Paul Millspaugh

COMPOSER:  Joseph Shirley

COMEDY/SPORT

Starring:  Snoop Dogg, Tika Sumpter, Mike Epps, Elias Ferguson, Jonigan Booth, Caleb Cm Dixon, Adan James Carrillo, Alexander Michael Gordon, Kylah Davila, Andrew Schulz, Thom Scott II, Kal Penn, Kandi Burruss, Tony Gonzalez, Terry Bradshaw, and George Lopez

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SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

--Snopp Dogg is excellent is this truly funny sports comedy.

--This film has a lot of profanity and bad behavior, and their reference to sex acts and sex organs is plentiful.  It's family comedy that is not appropriate for viewing, unless the family is a bit daring.

--The Underdogg's scatological tale of a washed up, arrogant coach and a group of kids who know mostly disappointment does not come across as corny or phony.  The Underdoggs keeps it real, perhaps, too real sometimes.

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The Underdoggs is a 2024 sports comedy film from director Charles Stone III.  The film is an Amazon “Prime Original” that began streaming on “Prime Video” January 26, 2024.  The Underdoggs follows a washed-up former professional football player who decides to coach a peewee football team as way to regain his fame only to learn some important live lessons.

The Underdoggs opens at the “California High School State Championship 1997.”  Jaycen "Two J's" Jennings (Elias Ferguson) is the star wide receiver at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, and by catching the “Hail Mary” pass thrown his way, he wins the state championship for his school.  Jaycen goes on to be a star professional football player, but his ego eventually gets him tossed from the professional ranks.

Now, Jaycen Jennings (Snopp Dogg) is a washed-up ex-professional football star – an arrogant washed up former football star, and the days of being “Two J's” are behind him.  Still, he is desperately trying to hang onto fame, hopefully by landing a plum gig hosting his own Fox Sports TV show.  However, Jaycen hits rock bottom when he is sentenced to community service after an accident.

Eventually, he finds his way to the Los Angeles County Community Outreach Program, where he decides to coach a peewee football squad, a group of poor kids known as “the Green Team.”  Jaycen, however, sees this as a chance to get what he wants, but will he be forced to really give these kids what they need – a coach that cares?

I am shocked by how much I really like The Underdoggs.  Of course, the screenplay by Danny Segal and Isaac Schamis (from a pitch by Snoop Dogg and fellow producer, Constance Schwartz-Morini) revisits familiar territory.  The tale of a fallen coach, mentor, or role model and his team of poor kids, outcasts, and assorted misfits has played out in such films as The Bad News Bears (1976) and Role Models (2008).  The Mighty Ducks (1992), which is referenced in The Underdoggs, is apparently a similar film, but I have never seen it (nor have I ever wanted to).

I have been a long-time fan of Snopp Dogg, and perhaps because of serendipity, he is perfect as an actor is this story of underdogs.  I like that the film allows Jaycen to stay true to himself while also evolving, but the children also keep it real while learning to take pride in themselves and in their efforts.  In this way, The Underdoggs is a perfect, lesson-heavy, family film, but...

The Underdoggs is rated “R” by the MPA for “pervasive language, sexual references, drug use, and some underage drinking,” and alla' that shit is actually in the film, sometimes in large quantities.  There is even a funny “disclaimer” at the beginning of The Underdoggs that basically says that today's children use the same profane words spoken in the film.  Perhaps, the filmmakers' argument is this is indeed a thoroughly modern family-friendly film.  I think the “F-bomb” is said in The Underdoggs seemingly more than one hundred times.  So its appropriateness will vary from family to family, respective of decorum and personal tastes.  I have to admit that I was uncomfortable with the amount of profanity and bad behavior in this film, but...

I still laughed a lot.  The Underdoggs is uproariously funny.  I think Mike Epps as Kareem, Jaycen's friend who becomes his assistant coach, and Tika Sumpter as Cherise Porter, who was Jaycen's high school girlfriend, make the best of characters that are not that well written.  Epps is always a scene-stealer in everything from comedy to action to horror, and he grabs all he can here.  Sumpter makes Cherise an effective moral check on Jaycen's selfishness.

In the end, I feel totally comfortable recommending The Underdoggs to adult and older teen viewers.  It is one of the funniest films of the new year, so far.  I think some young viewers will be crazy about The Underdoggs, whether their parents approve or not.

A-

7 of 10

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 10th to 16th, 2020 - Update #29

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

Support Leroy on Patreon:

BLACK AMERICA AND COVID-19 - Crisis or... :

From TheVox:  (May 8th) - Social distancing arrests target people of color.

From YahooNews:  A tale of two parks: Enjoying the sun in wealthy Manhattan, social distancing under police scrutiny in the Bronx

From YahooGMA: (4/28) - Rana Zoe Mungin, a 30-year-old teacher from Brooklyn, died on Monday, April 27th for COVID-19.  She had twice been denied a test for the coronavirus after showing symptoms.  Her family and friends blame racial disparity in the health care system.

From RSNWashPost:  How COVID-19 is a perfect storm for Black Americans.

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From NBCNews:  Because COVID-19 is NOT killing enough black people fast enough for some people... Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT worker, was killed in a botched police raid on the part of the Louisville Metro Police Department.

From ABCNews:  This article has a picture of the three Klansmen... I mean Louiville police officers who slaughtered Breonna Taylor.

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From NewYorkTimes:  Because COVID-19 isn't killing enough black people fast enough for some people... a timeline in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.

From YahooSports:  NBA superstar and champion, LeBron James, speaks on the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.  "We're literally hunted everyday," James says.

From YahooSports:  NFL champion and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, Tom Brady, signs letter on Ahmaud Arbery.

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From USAToday:  Because COVID-19 isn't killing enough black people fast enough for some people... Dreasjon "Sean" Reed was killed by the Indianapolis Metro Police Department on May 7th.

From TMZ:  Cops joke about "closed casket" funeral after killing Sean Reed.

CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 NEWS:

From CDC:   The Centers for Disease Control has a "COVID Data Tracker."

From YahooNews:  Why does COVID-19 kill some people and hardly affects others?

From YahooNews:  Yahoo has a dedicated page of links updating news about COVID-19.

From Deadline:  The news site "Deadline" has a dedicated page for news about coronavirus and the film, TV, and entertainment industries.

From TheNewYorker:  The venerable magazine has a dedicate COVID-19 page free to all readers.

From YahooNews:  Re: the federal government's response to COVID-19: What if the most important election of our lifetime was the last one - 2016?

From YahooLife:  What is "happy hypoxia?"  And do you have this COVID-19 symptom?

From JuanCole:  Remeber when President Donald went crazy and suggested that we ingest household cleaning supplies and UV light to fight COVID-19.  Here is the video and commentary from Juan Cole.

From RSN:  Former U.S. Secretary of Labor (under President Bill Clinton), Robert Reich, list the new "class divides" with their inequalities that he says the COVID-19 pandemic has created.

From Grist:  The scientists that saw coronavirus coming are hunting for the next pandemic.

From YahooNews:  Senate majority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell (Republican of Kentucky) blames former President Obama for current President Donald's piss-poor response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 OBIT:

From CNN:  Entertainer and magician, Roy Horn, has died at the age of 75, May 8, 2020 of complications of COVID-19.  Horn was best known as one-half of the Las Vegas animal and magic act, "Siegfried & Roy," with his partner Seigfried Fischbacher.

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Oscar-winner Danny Boyle is set to direct Micheal B. Jordan in the film, "Methuselah," which is based on the Biblical character.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Warner Bros. is remaking director Blake Edwards' 1979 comedy, "10," which originally starred Julie Andrews, Dudley Moore, and Bo Derek.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Universal Pictures has tapped Luca Guadagnino ("Call Me By Your Name") to direct its reboot of the film "Scarface."  Joel Coen and Ethan Coen wrote the latest version of the script.

DISNEY - From Variety:  Disney+ is in the early stages of developing the "Percy Jackson" book series as a live-action series.  Fox previously produced two live-action films based on the books by Rick Riordan.

MOVIES - From CNN:  Russell Crowe's thriller, "Unhinged," gets a July 1st, 2020 release date.  This may make it the first new film to arrive in movie theaters during the pandemic.

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney+ will stream a filmed version of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, "Hamilton." beginning July 3, 2020.  Director Tommy Kail, who also directed the musical, comprised the film version by shooting three live performances of the musical.  Disney paid $75 million for the worldwide rights to the movie.

From GQ:  Robert Pattinson shot his own cover for the latest "GQ" magazine and its "A Dispatch from Isolation" interview with him.  He talks about a number of things including his role in "The Batman" and his struggle to describe the plot of Christopher Nolan's "Tenet."

From THR:  For its Fall 2020 schedule, Fox is picking on "L.A.'s Finest," a scripted original series for cable provider, Spectrum.

From Deadline:  Ryan Murphy is working on an anthology spinoff of his hit FX series, "American Horror Story."  It will be titles "American Horror Stories."

From Variety:  There will be no Cannes Film Festival this year - even in the fall.

From Deadline:  Not even a basket of horrid "X-Men" can stop writer-producer Simon Kinberg's career trajectory.  Netflix has picked up his heist spec script, "Here Comes the Flood," for deal in the mid-7 figures.

From Deadline:  Kal Penn talks about CBS' 2020-2021 TV sequel to the 1991 Oscar-winning film, "Silence of the Lambs."

From Deadline:  CBS has picked up three new series for next season: The Equalizer reboot starring Queen Latifah; "Silence of the Lambs," sequel "Clarice," starring Rebecca Breeds; and the Chuck Lorre-Marco Pennette multi-camera comedy, "B Positive," headlined by Thomas Middleditch and Annaleigh Ashford.

OBITS:

From Deadline:  Veteran film and television character actor, Fred Willard, has died at the age of 86, Friday, May 15, 2020.  Willard was known for playing a long list of roles in various comedic films ("Best in Show" and "How High" to name a few) and television series ("Fernwood 2 Night" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" to name a few).  On IMDb, Willard has 311 credits.  He will be seen posthumously in the upcoming Netflix comedy, "Space Force," with Steve Carell.

From THR:  The comedian and actor, Jerry Stiller, has died at the age of 92, Monday, May 11, 2020.  He is best known for TV series.  First is for the recurring role of "George Costanza's" father, "Frank," on the NBC series, "Seinfeld" (1989-1998), from 1993 to 1998.   The second role is that of series regular, "Arthur Spooner," on CBS' "The King of Queens" (1998 to 2007).  Decades ago, Stiller was best known for being part of the comedy team of Stiller and Meara with the late Ann Meara, who would become his wife.  The couple had two children, actor and filmmaker, Ben Stiller, and

From Essence:  Noted R&B and soul singer, Betty Wright, has died at the age of 66, Sunday, May 10, 2020.  Noted for her use of the "whistle register," Wright had a number of hit songs.  His signature single was "Clean Up Woman" (1974), a top 10 hit on "Billboard" magazine's "Hot 100" and "R&B" charts.  In 1975, she had a hit with what is called a "proto-disco" song, "Where is the Love?"  She won a "Best R&B Song" Grammy Award for composing the song with Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch of "KC & the Sunshine Band."  Wright was also a prolific and prominent background vocalist who performed on recordings for a number of popular recording artists, including Gloria Estefan, Stevie Wonder, and David Byrne, to name a few.

From RollingStone:  One of the founding fathers of rock and roll music, Little Richard, has died at the age of 87, Saturday, May 9, 2020.  He combined blues and gospel music to create a thrilling new sound, and his flamboyant and gender-bending persona helped to create the sound and spirit of a new art form, rock and roll or rock 'n' roll music.  His best known recordings included "Tutti Frutti" (1955), "Long Tall Song" (1956), and "Good Golly, Miss Molly" (1958).  In 1986, Little Richard was among the first inductees of the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

From RollingStone:  Little Richard wrote this tribute to himself in 2010 for "Rolling Stone's" "100 Greatest Artists" issue.

Review: Brandon Routh Lifts "Superman Returns"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 142 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Superman Returns (2006)
Running time: 154 minutes (2 hours, 34 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some intense action violence
DIRECTOR: Bryan Singer
WRITERS: Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris; from a story by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, and Bryan Singer (based upon the Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics)
PRODUCER: Jon Peters, Bryan Singer, and Gilbert Adler
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Newton Thomas Sigel, A.S.C.
EDITORS: John Ottman and Elliot Graham
COMPOSER: John Ottman
Academy Award nominee

SUPERHERO/ACTION/DRAMA/SCI-FI with elements of romance

Starring: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, James Marsden, Frank Langella, Eva Marie Saint, Parker Posey, Kal Penn, Sam Huntington, Tristan Lake Leabu, and Kevin Spacey

To the world at large, he disappeared five years ago, but Superman (Brandon Routh) was searching for the planet of his birth, Krypton. Now, he’s back and so is his secret identity, Clark Kent. Clark returns to the city of Metropolis, where he works as a reporter for the newspaper, the Daily Planet. He discovers that the love of his life, fellow reporter, Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), has moved on with her life, but still holds a grudge against the man she passionately loved before he disappeared, Kent’s other identity, Superman.

Lois has child Jason White (Tristan Lake Leabu) and is engaged to Jason’s alleged father, Richard White (James Marsden), nephew of Daily Planet editor-in-chief, Perry White (Frank Langella). While Lois claims that Richard, the editor of the Planet’s international desk, is Jason’s father, the child is five years old… Once upon a time – five years ago – Lois knew that Clark was Superman (before he wiped her mind of that secret) and they had an intimate affair. Clark would like to reveal his secret once more and perhaps rekindle their love, but he can’t shake the feeling that she doesn’t really want a relationship with Superman anymore.

Meanwhile, Superman’s bitterest enemy, Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey), is out of prison and plotting both his conquest of the world and his revenge on Superman. Luthor invades Superman’s North Pole sanctum, the Fortress of Solitude, where he steals advanced technology and alien secrets from Krypton, which he in turn uses in a diabolical plan to recreate part of Krypton on earth. And if the Man of Steel interferes, he has a deadly Kryptonian item that will stop Superman once and for all.

Superman Returns is the first Superman film in 19 years (since 1987’s box office bomb, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace). Superman Returns takes place in the wake of the events of 1981’s Superman II (which saw Superman reveal his identity to Lois and the two have sexual relations). Director Bryan Singer (X-Men, X2: X-Men United, and The Usual Suspects) reuses parts of John Williams score for the 1978 film, Superman: The Movie. He also reuses parts of Marlon Brando’s performance from the original movie as Superman Kryptonian father, Jor-El. The two elements firmly connect Superman Returns with the franchise’s big budget cinematic beginnings.

Those touches are nice, but Superman Returns ends up feeling like the recent X-Men: The Last Stand, which was technically a well-made film, but had the fatal flaw of being a film in which the characters and situations were two dark or in which the characters seemed… oddly out of character. Superman Returns is also from a technical stand point very well made, and from a narrative point pretty good. Still, Bryan Singer, who not only directs the film, but also wrote the story upon which the screenplay is based, has two flaws. It’s too long and it is too obviously trying to be something important – something more than just being a movie based upon a comic book.

Singer stuffs the film with chick flick sensibilities – lots of romance, romantic entanglements, yearnings for lost love, etc. Some of it good, but it gets old after awhile. Actually it gets in the way of Superman in action, which is a bad thing because Superman is a superhero and superheroes do cool things with their powers. The film is also rife and ripe with mythic aspirations and religious symbolism. There are a few powerful speeches about Superman being Christ-like – the savior or the only son sent by powerful being (his Kryptonian father Jor-El) to Earth to help the tragically flawed humans. That’s nice, but it’s also overkill, just fluff in the way of the cool scenes of Superman being Superman.

That’s one of the good things about Superman Returns – which is that it occasionally remembers how cool Superman is, so Singer treats us to lots of scenes of him soaring over the city, through the sky, and into space. When Superman is using his powers or even if he’s just flexing his muscles (there’s a nice flashback of a young Clark Kent learning that he can run fast, leap to dizzying heights, and also levitate), Superman Returns springs to glorious life. The film also looks good, although some of the visual effects and CGI are so obviously fake that it’s painful to spot them. The score by John Ottman (who also co-edited the film) is a worthy successor to John Williams’ music in the original film.

The cast ranges from adequate to good. Kevin Spacey is cool, vicious, and sinister as Lex Luthor (because Spacey is evil). Sam Huntington has a youthful snappiness and genuine friendliness as Clark’s cub reporter pal, Jimmy Olsen. Kate Bosworth makes a decent love interest in the film, but she is wrong as Lois Lane; she just doesn’t capture the spunkiness and boldness that defines Lois Lane as the kind of reporter who can tackle any story. On the other hand, James Marsden makes Richard White more than just an add-on to the Superman mythos. While Parker Posey seemed out of place in Blade: Trinity, she fits in here as Luthor’s “girlfriend, Kitty Kowalski.

How well did Brandon Routh fill the late Christopher Reeve’s shoes as Clark Kent/Superman. He does a damn good job. Routh makes his Clark Kent a humble and gentle soul, but he shows us the secret and barely hidden fire that burns in Clark’s eyes – that which is Superman ready to burst out. Routh’s Superman is both mythic and godlike. Routh creates an otherness about Superman – a stoic savior who takes on any task without blinking and likely not a doubt in his mind. Not only is Routh as good as other actors who’ve given the best performances playing superheroes (Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man), but Routh’s performance rings with truth. It’s as if the fictional Superman of the comics has sprung to life from the pages of a comic book.

I’ll give Superman Returns the provisional six out of 10 that I gave X-Men: The Last Stand, but Routh makes this colorful and brightly lit fantasy worth seeing. He puts the super and the hero in Superman Returns.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, July 1, 2006

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover, and Jon Thum)

2007 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard Hoover, and Jon Thum)

2007 Razzie Awards: 1 nomination: “Worst Supporting Actress” (Kate Bosworth)

"Harold & Kumar 3" Goes into Production

Mandate Pictures and New Line Begin Production on the Third Harold & Kumar Comedy

John Cho and Kal Penn Head the Ensemble Cast in the First 3-D Installment of the Comedy Franchise

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The ensemble cast has been set for Mandate Pictures’ and New Line Cinema’s third installment of the Harold & Kumar film franchise, which began with the 2004 cult hit “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.” John Cho (“Star Trek,” TV’s “Flash Forward”) and Kal Penn (“Superman Returns,” TV’s “House”) reprise their title roles in the holiday-themed comedy, which recently began principal photography on location in Michigan.

The first of the Harold & Kumar comedies to be shot in 3-D, the film is being directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson, marking his major feature film directorial debut. Academy Award®-winning producer Greg Shapiro (“The Hurt Locker”) and Mandate president Nathan Kahane return as producers. The screenplay is by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who wrote the previous two movies and directed the second, “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.” They are also serving as co-producers, together with Nicole Brown, who is overseeing the project on behalf of Mandate.

It would not be a “Harold & Kumar” film without Neil Patrick Harris, who reunites with Cho and Penn in the cast. Returning “Harold & Kumar” cast members also include Paula Garcés (TV’s “The Shield”) as Maria; Danneel Harris (TV’s “One Tree Hill”) as Vanessa; Bobby Lee (“Pineapple Express”) as Kenneth Park; and Eddie Kaye Thomas (“American Pie,” HBO’s “How to Make It in America”) as Rosenberg.

Joining the “Harold & Kumar” ensemble are Tom Lennon (“17 Again,” TV’s “Reno 911”) and Danny Trejo (“Grindhouse”). Rounding out the new film cast are Amir Blumenfeld (TV’s “Pranked,” CollegeHumor.com), David Burtka (TV’s “How I Met Your Mother”), Fred Melamed (“A Serious Man”), Patton Oswalt (“The Informant!”) and Richard Riehle (“Halloween II”).

Harold and Kumar were introduced in the first film of the series, “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle,” which follows two post-college friends on their search for the best pot and snacks that suburban New Jersey has to offer. The second film, “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay,” found them being mistaken for terrorists and having to clear their names—with the help of old friend Neil Patrick Harris.

The new “Harold & Kumar” comedy picks up six years after the duo’s last adventure. After years of growing apart, Harold Lee (John Cho) and Kumar Patel (Kal Penn) have replaced each other with new best friends and are preparing for their respective Christmas celebrations. But when a mysterious package arrives at Kumar’s door, his attempt to deliver it to Harold’s house ends with him inadvertently burning down Harold’s father-in-law’s prize Christmas tree. With his in-laws out of the house for less than a day, Harold decides to cover his tracks rather than come clean, and reluctantly embarks on another ill-advised but hilarious journey with Kumar, taking them through New York City on Christmas Eve in search of the perfect Christmas tree.

Collaborating with Todd Strauss-Schulson behind the scenes are: director of photography Michael Barrett (“You Don’t Mess with the Zohan,” “Bedtime Stories”); production designer Rusty Smith (the “Austin Powers” movies, “Elf”), editor Eric Kissack (“Brüno,” “Role Models”), and costume designer Mary Claire Hannan (“Into the Wild”).

The film is a production of Mandate Pictures and New Line Cinema and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.


ABOUT MANDATE PICTURES:
Mandate Pictures is a multifaceted film production and financing company with a distinguished reputation and proven track record of success and profitability. Acquired by Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) in 2007, Mandate continues to operate as an independent brand delivering acclaimed commercial and independent films worldwide. Under President Nathan Kahane, Mandate has carved out a unique position in the film industry, having the creative autonomy and capital to finance, develop, package and produce theatrical films, including the Academy Award®-nominated film “Juno,” directed by Jason Reitman, written by Diablo Cody, and starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman.

ABOUT NEW LINE CINEMA:
New Line Cinema continues to be one of the most successful independent film companies. For more than 40 years, its mission has been to produce innovative, popular, profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line produced the Oscar®-winning “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which is a landmark in the history of film franchises. New Line Cinema is a division of Warner Bros.